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Tue, Jan 29, 2008
Herworld, AsiaOne
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The dark side of dating agencies
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>You have invested your money and you expect something in return. But what if your matchmaker doesn't quite deliver?
According to Her World, some women have found out that dating agencies are not up to what they promise.
One 32-year-old said six out of eight dates that was arranged for her by a dating agency were less than satisfactory.
Charmaine* paid $1,200 for 12 meetings with "striking and successful men".
On one occasion, she says she had strange stares from people because they mistook her amorous date, who was 15 years her senior, for her sugar daddy. He was 10 years more than the maximum age she had asked for.
She has decided to forfeit the remaining four match-ups, worth $100 each, and is counting on her friends and colleagues to find her a mate instead.
Charmaine is not alone in feeling short changed by dating agencies.
In the past two years, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received 38 complaints against them, stemming mainly from the poor quality of their dates.
Worrying, don't you think?
Especially since the matchmaking sector is growing fast. The Dating Industry market Survey 2006 shows that 70 per cent of the privatised agencies here have opened in the past five years.
So how do you look out for yourself while looking for love?
You might want to avoid being in these two situations. Her World got these ladies to recount their experience with being set up by a dating agency.
Wrong age, not what I want
Lately, Nicole* has been worrying over the $1,000 she paid to find the man of her dreams.
She went on five dates arranged by a dating agency and four of them were disappointing - the men's ages and income levels fell far short of her basic requirements in a partner.
"The last straw came when they tried to set me up with a man who was 53, even after I explicitly stated that I only wanted dates who were 45 and below because I want children after marriage", the 34-year-old financial advisory manager told Her World.
Although the agency did inform Nicole that she would be meeting someone who did not meet her criteria, they did not respect her decision to decline the date and pestered her to go anyway.
Men who don't really want to settle
When Jane* first met Joseph*, she could not believe her luck by investing in a matchmaker.
The 33-year-old marketing manager wanted a soul mate to start a family with. Joseph was a charming, witty 32-year-old successful banker. The three hour long date went very well with the pair sharing similar aspirations and dreams.
Until Joseph revealed that he was recently divorced two months earlier and was still not over the anguish.
"He said he wasn't keen on settling down again, and joined the agency only because he wanted to meet women socially", says an upset Jane.
*Names have been changed.
Get a copy of Her World's February issue for more dating agency horror stories and the full report.
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