Yeah, Richard can be on the negative side. He's more pessimistic that any other reader you'll talk to, but he's usually right. I've been reading with him for three years. He's definitely not good at seeing the "good" in people, but he's honest. I just call him when I want to hear the worst-case scenario. He'll tell you what's bad about the person you're dealing with when you're too in love to see it.
For example, he told me my ex was immature, unstable, not worth it, etc., but at the end of the conversation he said "He'd even marry you, but would you want to be married to a guy like that?" So he'll tell you what you want to know after giving you a good dose of what he wants you to hear. He's very similar to Uli on CP. Both very honest and direct readers.