Suggestions for Contacting the Women

The Latin Social Network is here to help you meet that special 'non-gringa'! Please read and apply the following tips. They are designed to give you the highest response rate possible. While some are just common sense, others are not so obvious due to cultural differences, or just factors that we do not think about. First, be aware of the time that you call. It's not a good idea to call after 10:00 PM Their Time. We will reference the time relative to Miami, and you can make the corrections from there. During our summer, the time in most of Brazil is one hour later than Miami. They change time in Brazil in the Spring and fall just as we do but, since it is winter down there during our summer, they change one way and we change the other. In other words, it's 3 hours later in Brazil during our winter. They don't change times on the exact same day that we do, but it is within a couple of weeks. In Columbia during our summer, it is one hour earlier than Miami. Since they do not ever change their time, our clocks are exactly the same in the winter. Please address your envelopes EXACTLY as we provided in this e-mail with the exception of the girls number (i.e. br110100, you can exclude this). Use the full name of the girl and write 'AIR MAIL', preferably in red, in the lower left corner. Air mail stickers also work well and are usually available at no cost from the post office. A page or two with a photo still costs .80 cents to send, even after the postal hike in July 2002. I HIGHLY recommend that you include a self addressed stamped (we'll explain in a minute) envelope. While it may not seem like a big deal to us, you must remember that many of the girls that work in banks and stores only make about $70.00 U.S. Dollars per month. When you figure the cost of a letter plus postage at around a buck, you can see that a few letters are going to take a considerable chunk out of her monthly budget. You can buy an International Reply Coupon from the Post office. They cost about a buck and work fairly well. The problem with them will be evident when you go to buy one. It usually requires a supervisors help since they are not used often, and the blank stare you receive from the clerk here will be duplicated by the clerk down south when she tries to use it. We have been investigating 'on line' stamp purchases for stamps from the individual countries, but so far haven't had much luck. (If you know of any good ones, e-mail John at john@latinsocialnetwork.com and he'll comp you six addresses for your trouble). It takes about 2 weeks each way, so be patient. It will be worth the wait. Please include a good photo of yourself. While looks and age are not very important to most latinas, they will feel that something is wrong if you avoid showing them the goods. A good smile goes a long way with them, and use your judgment to find a photo that may suit your girl. (the small bios on the site tell a lot). Inform the girls that you received their address from the International Marriage Agency, Latin Social Network. Remember that phone service down south is reasonably good, but far from perfect. If your calls don't go through, keep trying. All the lines may be full in the area that you are calling, and usually a few hours wait is all it takes to get through. Also, it is not unusual for a girl to have her phone disconnected for a while here and there (this is the reason that phone numbers are not guaranteed). They are not hit with large reconnect fees, so if the budget is a little weak this month, they let the service lapse. Try again in a week or two and you'll be surprised to find it working again. Remember, also that very few girls can afford to live alone. Don't be surprised if a room mate or family member picks up. Just talk slowly, and say the girl's name, and they will understand. If they speak very rapidly for a long time, it usually means that the girl is out and try again later. You'll be surprised at how many people speak enough English to get the point across, so you probably will be able to stumble through. E-mails are usually a problem due to the fact that many people down south cannot afford a computer in their home. The girls only check their messages once every week or so when they go to a friends house or when they can afford to stop by the local Internet Café (yes, internet cafes are alive and well down south!). One large file such as a bunch of photos (or a bunch of spam) usually will fill up their allotted space and your e-mail may get returned. Just keep trying is all that we can suggest. A good time to try is on Monday, or even over the weekend when a girl is most likely to check her mail. Also try sending only one photo attachment at a time. You can translate your letters for free at www.altavista.com. Under Tools click translate and you will be taken to a page where you can type your text. English to Portuguese for Brazil, English to Spanish for all else. It works fairly well, but not perfectly. What we suggest doing is translating from English to the other language. Then copy the other language and translate it to English. If you can still understand it reasonably well, so will she. If not, change some of the words in your original document until the computer understands what you are trying to say and gives you a decent translation. Do to the fact that their words have gender differences and ours don't, you'll see a lot of he/she where a her or your belongs. Nothing you can really do about that, but even though it looks annoying when you translate back to English, she will understand what you are saying. If there is anything that we can do to help, please use the Customer Support button, or you can e-mail us at John@latinsocialnetwork.com , brian@latinsocialnetwork.com and we'll do anything possible to help. We may not be able to respond immediately because of our travels, but Debbie gets a copy of all the messages sent from the Customer Support button and can probably help you if we're not around. Also, just as a reminder, all of our postal addresses are guaranteed. If you receive a returned letter, E-Mail us a copy of the letter (or mail it to us via the postal service. B&L Enterprises of Martin, Inc. PO Box 1703 Palm City, Florida 34991) and we will give you an additional 5 addresses FREE and the girl will be removed from our site. Telephone Numbers and E-Mail addresses, when available, are sent as a convenience to you and are NOT Guaranteed. However, if you receive a bad e-mail or Phone number, PLEASE click the Customer Support button and use the problem with address link. We want to keep our database up to date, and without your help it's impossible. We will do everything reasonably possible to ensure a pleasant experience for you. If you are not satisfied with your response rate (or anything for that matter), use the Customer Support button, explain your problems, and we will personally try to help you to ensure that you are satisfied with our service. Use the Please use the Customer Support link for any other suggestions or comments. We are interested in ANY of your experiences, good or bad, so that we can constantly improve our site and our service. If you meet, date or marry, let us know about that too. We appreciate your faith in us, and sincerely hope to hear from you. Also, we now have a new feature that you can use to rate us and see what others have to say about us. It is also accessible from the Customer Support button. Give it a try! Also, we have a new partnership with an established company in Cali Colombia that has been specializing in SINGLES TOURS and they also have a wonderful BED and BREAKFAST. If you want to go to Cali to meet someone, they can help you. They have an extensive database of women from Cali, and they will handle introductions as well as in house translations! It's really a wonderful thing. The best part is you will save $50.00 if you book your stay with us. Just click the tours link for more info. If you would like to save some money and add some convenient features, consider becoming a member. It's free and you will have lower prices, the ability to search for the girls by their state or number, and you can pay for a package but order the girls over time (not all at once. 3 today, one tomorrow, 5 in a week. whenever you like) Also, the city and state where she lives is listed on her detail page! As always, we do not sell give or otherwise use (except for our own personal demographics) your personal information. We want happy clients that will tell their friends about us. It's just good business.