reprt, amor de cartagena, probably shoud be in "trip report"

[markanthony7]

Father time I really appreciate your constructive criticism, I don't think me and my agency are a verbal ass whipping, how can we improve in quality without honest opinions, "the good book says better are the faithful wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy", also it says "better is he that rebuketh a man than he that flatters with the tongue" Proverbs  ParLey Rey honey mooned at my condo and if you want I can give you many more from this board and I am not finished with Mudd yet, we all ready started working on Amor De Caratgena 2007 Summer edition , let me put it this way he is going to have Christmas in July!

1. One other thing father time and I would like to state a thread on this later because, is that a majority of the woman on or website are still available, if we temporarily lose a young ladies contact info we do have a recovery system in place, if we cant recover it in a reasonable amount of time we remove her, We don't perpertate fraud

[bundy_138]

I appreciate an honest trip report, and this was one guy's experience.  I am sure other guy's rave about Marks agancy and it's employees.  There are always two sides to every story and I appreciate both.  Gives a large, clear overview of the entire operation.

Muchas gracias!

Bundy

[mudd]

Hi Mark
im not going to split hairs with you over everything, but im pretty sure I know what a termite looks like, I live in California, we have lots. What you are referring too is the droppings that are left behind after they devour the wood, that’s about the size of a pin head, an actual termite is the size of a small to medium size  ant.

As for your girls that are on the web site and are not available and are still up, and this is by Luis who went through every girl on my list, looked at their photos from the computer in your apartment.
Adis useche page 27
vanessa madrid, page 24
marley de diego page 22
natalia lopez  page 15
shirley placin, page 15
natalia nunez- page 14
yerleys polanca- page 7,  moved to baq

you really need to get a  secretary!!!!!!

[fathertime]

Yo Mudd, are you saying that out of your list of 20 women, this group of 7 were unavailable.  I think that those women should be yanked right off the agencies website, if they are unavailable, otherwise it is false advertising. 

The number of "Unavailable ladies" is a bit concerning since it amounts to 35% right off the top, and of course they are some of the most attractive women.  What say you Mark?  It seems like the website should be purged a bit. I am sure there are enough attractive ladies without having a site with so much "Dead wood". 

I know when I tried to conduct a hands-on business from afar it went to
s h i t.  People must be held accountable, and being present to kick their ass in gear is critical.  If my smelly foot was 2100 hundred miles long I would have had a lot less headaches & a lot more money!     


Fathertime!

[daytrader]

Mark,

You have been (I guess) unwittingly digging a nice big hole for yourself and your business on this forum for some time.  You are probably well-meaning and a nice guy, but you lack (IMO) business acumen and experience. 

[1] Any negative trip report on any forum is a product of YOUR lack of followup with the client. 

[2] Any issues a client has with your service should be dealt with in a 24 hr cycle -- 'Mr. Smith, how are your accommodations?"  ...Mr. Smith, are you happy with  Luis' punctuality, service and professionalism?" 

[3] There's a thing called Skype, email and the internet.  No matter where you are in the World, you can communicate with any client via this technology.  A client should not be 'abandoned' or 'left alone' in a strange country.  Hell, a cheap cell phone with some minutes is only maybe $40.  If a first time client visits, the guy at the airport puts a prepaid phone in his hand for any emergencies or concerns he might have.  When he leaves, he gives the phone back.  If the client wants more minutes, he pays for them himself. 

Conclusion:  (I've read your posts for months and have never commented on them...this will serve as a comment on all your posts that over-promise but under-deliver.  An absolute NO-NO in the service industry.  I know, I've started several service businesses in the past and they have all been immediately successful...and they were ALWAYS the most expensive in the area!  People will pay for excellent service and never having to hear a wimpy excuse).   

  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Instead of spending your time on this forum demonstrating that you don't have your act together in Colombia, I recommend putting the same time into actually GETTING your act together in Colombia.  Revolutionary concept dude.  This may seem harsh but that's reality & that's business. That's why business owners get paid the big bucks for their time and risk capital.    When you take somebody's money your MUST deliver >= what you promise.  Period. 

Under-promise and Over-deliver next time.

DayTrader

[markanthony7]

I wanted to take the time to respond to Muddy and Father time first, first of all discern the difference between "not available" and her info "needs to be updated", I don't keep any young lady on our websites info that is not available that is fraud but whats important to understand is that if a young lady has been on the website for a year and a half sometimes her contact info changes and needs to be updated, thats what Luis was referring to, if you notice of all the young ladies you I identified they were toward the back of the galleries and have been on our website for sometime, we can still retrieve their information at a clients request, we have done this on a number of occasions, this is why we don't delete immediately them because technically they are still available, at Amour De Cartage when we intake a young lady, on the application form and waiver of rights release form we always get ask her to include her residential address so we can relocate her if her email and telephone changes

2. Yes you are right we do need a secretary yesterday!, we had one last year and she kept all the e-mails updated, the e-mail operation system ran a lot smoother and accurate, when she could not work for us do to personal problems I handed the responsibility to Luis but Luis is not an office like administative person, he is more of a field representative people person, so secretarial skills are not his strongest suit, when I return in July first a secretary is a first priority, this will help restore the quality in the e-mail service

3. Daytrade you make some interesting points but I have to disagree with you that I am digging a hole, I still get clients from this board and we have experienced growth, you can not utilize one or two negative reports to gauge the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of any agency or business in my opinion, I am sure even walmart and General Motors get customers that complain thats just with any business, Mudd is a sucsessful businessman but he related to me he gets customers that are dissatisfied, we also get customers that are satisfied but a lot of times people are more private about their personal life's and don't like to share their experiences, people like me and you and father time are vocal and opinionated and we like to delft into a subject and converse about a variety of issues, I was a preacher for 15 years and I know I cant shut my big mouth! but some people are not as candid and expressive about their personal lives and relationships, I had 2 people that are mad as hell at me because I disclosed the fact that they got a VISA and married through are agency! but please don't give the misleading impression that we are failing as a business because that is not true, we have been doing this for over 3 years now and you don't stay in business even that long if things are that bad, Mudd cited a few things he did not like but I know Mudd he is a very demanding customer he knows what it takes to be successful at business and thats why he is a successful business man him self , Ebony Prince had a few negative things but he did not say that the total our total service was bad, what I am saying is don't throw the the baby out with the bath water, does Amor De Cartagena need to tighten up in a few areas yes , improvement is an on going process for any business, I cant say we are where we need to be yet but we have certainly come a long, long, way from when we first started 3 years ago with 3 galleries and 30 women! and they did not look that good either, Also remember human nature you can do 99 things right and people will always call you out and remember you for the one thing you did that was bad, thats just life and thats just people but we have helped young ladies get VISAs and an innumerable amount of people find love and relationships and we will continue to do so, I want to start a new thread about the comparison and contrast about our agency and service and others because I personally believe there are some misconceptions about the quality and level of service and various expectations, I want board members to make a proper evaluation and not compare apples to oranges

[markanthony7]

Day Trade  we do have a vonage phone system, computer for our customers and high speed internet, both are provided free, so a customer can call me at any time as you suggested, this what I mean when I say people dwell on negative issues more so than what is positive about a service, for example what if Mudd saw a termite or ant but what about the beautiful Ocean view, accomadations right on the beach, glass elavators, free high speed internet , computer and free vonag calling back to the US, hot water, relatively new complex 10 years , new contemporary furishings and appliances, internal balcony and a loft external that over looks the Ocean, for $360 a week!, www.cartagenacondos.com , do you get my point, none of these good things were talked about in his trip report or discussed but he wants to make a big issue out of a damn ant!,I could understand if he said the place was infested but this was not the case, it was just a bug or two and IMO thats just to critical,"you can do 99 things that are right and people will always remember you for the one bad thing"

[Parlay Rey]

Mrs. Parlay and I honeymooned at cartagena condos last February. markanthony7 never asked me for a recommendation, review nor anything of the sort. I did it of my own volition. It's posted here somewhere and I received a PM asking about it.

I'll say what I said in the PM: re-read what I wrote and I stand by every word I said.

It is NOT the Wynn Resort Casino here in Las Vegas. Nor is it the presitigious Red Rock Casino here. It is a 1 bedroom apt over looking the carribean sea in Cartagena, Colombia.
 
It (when I was there) is cozy, accommodating, secure and most importantly clean. My wife is VERY picky, but not spoiled. We chose that place over a regular hotel because we wanted a snapshot of married life where she could cook, clean, etc.

The only "problem" we had was not knowing how to turn the gas on for the stove. His friend "Albert" came right up and took care of that.

The 2 most important areas for her were clean bedding, bathroom, and kitchen. We spent most of the time out and about sightseeing like lovebirds, anyway. Too much to see and do in Cartagena to be shut in. Well, there is something but even that gets tiresome at some point.

It's not perfect, no but the question is would we go back? Yes.

I can't comment on his agency as (no offense markanthony7) I abhor them and would never use one.

But that's just me.

Wanted to clear the air. You have mudd's take on it and you have mine.

Not knocking him, I just had a different experience.

[latinadreaming]

To add my "two cents" to the conversation, I stayed at Mark's Condo about six weeks ago which was my second time this year. I assure you, I would not be staying in any bug invested place.  Mark's condo is very nice for the price and in a fairly new building and close to Old Town or El Centro.  El Centro is wonderful and you can spend days upon days there.  Cart. is a wonderful city to explore and relax.  Mark's Condo has internet, and Vonage and is tastefully decorated with a fridge, stove and nice balcony overlooking the ocean with lounger chairs that helps for a romantic evening.  There are definately more expensive and nicer accomadations in Cart. that you could go to, so if you are looking for 5-Star accomodations you should seek other places. However, for the price, it is a wonderful alternative to a hotel in my opinion, especially since you don't spend that much time there anyway. 

I will glady stay there again!

However, I will agree somewhat about Luis.  I don't think he is a bad guy-I think it is more him not understanding how Americans like to do business vs. his culture. I spoke to Mark about this and I told him my concerns.  Luis is a work in progress. 

[markanthony7]

Owners frustration!
1. I am glad Latin dreaming and Par Ley Ray offered a diffrent perspective about the condo but this teaches everybody a lesson, that we are all individuals and its important when you are making a decision about what condo to stay in or what agency to use or even what woman you select for a relationship its good to take advice but everybody can be diffrent in their needs and expectations

2. Latin Dreaming you utilized both agencies, you met a plethora of young ladies through Jamie's agency and I know you at least had some success with one relationship from ours but that might be personal with you and I wont discuss it unless you feel at liberty to talk of it, but as an owner sometimes it gets frustrating because it seems like only half a story gets told, I know are agency is not as proficient as Jamie's at this point but that does not mean it is not a good agency, I just wished that some of the people that find relationships and romance would give us some credit but it just seems like its an issue where people don't like to talk about their personal life's and thats understandable, but it would bring a little more balance and candid truth about the effectiveness of our agency, I hope the board does not consider this whining but I feel a lot has been accomplished but this rarely gets published but people will lash out if you breathe in the wrong direction

[latinadreaming]

I have only met one lady from Jamie's agency, but I am planning a trip in a few weeks to Barranquilla and I plan to use Jamie's agency on a planned trip for the first time.  The lady I met I just called Jamie when I was in town and got one introduction, but I did not have much time, so I can really judge his services.  This time if we can work something out I would like to use his agency as my primary intro service and then I can make a better judgement of his services. 

As far the lady I met through your agency, she is very nice, but I have decided to move on. 

I met several ladies at your agency.  Luis does have some issues however, and a lot has to do what kind of service Americans expect and how they do business in the Colombian culture.  I am glad to hear that you will getting a secretary.  That will help a lot. I did meet several nice ladies however.

[Eric39]

I am surprised someone said that this is the only agency in Cartagena. I was in Cartagena in June 2006 and used the AFA agency for a tour. They put me up in a hotel in Bocagrande and this was a short walk to their agency. They also have their "Latin Club" membership where you can go there for a week and meet 3 girls a day. I cannot comment on the Latin Club, but the office staff was very helpful. There are always about 4-5 girls on the office and the manager is very helpful. I still e-mail her from time to time to see how things are going (She is engaged by the way).

I will write up a trip report of that 2006 AFA tour, but I do not know how many people will be interested as it is over a year ago. I will say it was generally positive, but this was my first and only tour, so I have nothing to compare it to.