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Question: it seems you help find a caller, then the same caller calls every week, and instead of a one time commission, you keep charging 60% afterwards for no

by oefrha 5y ago

Question: it seems you help find a caller, then the same caller calls every week, and instead of a one time commission, you keep charging 60% afterwards for no obvious value-add. So what stops people from cutting you out of the loop after a successful match?

Sawpaw19 5y ago
Nothing. That is best case scenario. That is friendship.
- effingwewt 5y ago
  That's your business. Helping elderly people find friends, not just paying for calls. I once worked as a beverage technician when I was younger. My heart would break when I worked retirement communities. The rich ones lived the life with activities and friends, the poor ones lived solitary existences and the despair and lonliness was palpable. So maybe you connect people until they have found a friend. Personally, I'd charge a bit less though, as many are on fixed incomes. Also maybe consider taking less off the top? I think of a gentleman I met once who loved being in the kitchen just to see something different and have an 'outside conversation'. He meant with someone who didn't work or live there. The workers there don't really treat the elderly like people sometimes. Good luck with the venture!
normac2 5y ago
Presumably nothing, except for maybe a contract that would rarely be enforced in practice. Tutoring sites like Wyzant are also like this. They make money on the first session and the portion of people who go on through the service. Wyzant does things to try and make the marginal cost of each lesson more attractive, such as the fact that you can make a payment at the push of a button with the amount filled in, instead of working out a separate agreement by PayPal or similar. Another thing Wyzant does is to give you a higher cut the more you teach on the site, which incentivizes you to use the site even with your longer-term students, to rack up. Doesn't look like there's anything similar going on here. At any rate, it's kinda a weird business model, but it's been tried in parallel situations and led to successful sites.

by oefrha 5y ago

Sawpaw19 5y ago

Nothing. That is best case scenario. That is friendship.

effingwewt 5y ago
That's your business. Helping elderly people find friends, not just paying for calls. I once worked as a beverage technician when I was younger. My heart would break when I worked retirement communities. The rich ones lived the life with activities and friends, the poor ones lived solitary existences and the despair and lonliness was palpable. So maybe you connect people until they have found a friend. Personally, I'd charge a bit less though, as many are on fixed incomes. Also maybe consider taking less off the top? I think of a gentleman I met once who loved being in the kitchen just to see something different and have an 'outside conversation'. He meant with someone who didn't work or live there. The workers there don't really treat the elderly like people sometimes. Good luck with the venture!

normac2 5y ago

Presumably nothing, except for maybe a contract that would rarely be enforced in practice. Tutoring sites like Wyzant are also like this. They make money on the first session and the portion of people who go on through the service. Wyzant does things to try and make the marginal cost of each lesson more attractive, such as the fact that you can make a payment at the push of a button with the amount filled in, instead of working out a separate agreement by PayPal or similar. Another thing Wyzant does is to give you a higher cut the more you teach on the site, which incentivizes you to use the site even with your longer-term students, to rack up. Doesn't look like there's anything similar going on here. At any rate, it's kinda a weird business model, but it's been tried in parallel situations and led to successful sites.