There are many questions to ask a matchmaker before you hire them. Look at who the Principals of the company are, where they are headquartered, if they’ve been sued, or if they’ve changed their company name. Research them using sites like Manta, the BBB, Crunchbase, Ripoff Report and Consumer Affairs. Don’t rely fully on online reviews, many of them, both good and bad, are fake.
Be careful about meeting with someone who makes a big deal about asking you to “bring a credit card with you as a second form of ID”. That is a sign that you may be entering a high-pressure sales environment where they hope to find a way for you to use that credit card besides identification.
To make an educated decision on what matchmaking company in Austin is best for you, I recommend asking the following questions ahead of time:
1.Do they have a local office and employees that live here?
Meeting anyone over Zoom is not an effective way to get to know someone and evaluate the most important aspect of someone’s personal life. Having a local office shows you that the company is invested in developing a personal relationship with their clients. Local Matchmakers will have the largest database of local singles to match you with and will be connected to the community.
2.What is their business model – national or local?
A national model works great if you are open to relocating and it is logistically possible. These logistics can possibly include having to change jobs, selling your house, etc Keep in mind that you will have to foot the bill for travel expenses.
However, if you are looking to only date in Austin then ask yourself how working with a multi office or franchise company will enhance your chances of finding love in Austin? These larger companies have a tremendous amount of overhead meaning your membership fee will go into employee salaries, office rents, and expensive advertising. Smaller local companies normally stay true to the company’s core values, have a better understanding of their client-base, and have someone in charge that has been with the company since its founding.
3.How much time in the consultation did they spend actually getting to know you not just trying to sell you?
You should start by keeping track of the questions they ask YOU. They should be asking you detailed questions to get to know you better and not just trying to make a quick sale. They should listen carefully, and expresses a true passion and understanding of this very important area of your life.
4.What specific services will I be receiving from you?
They should be able to provide you with a written document of all the things they will be doing for you as well provide you with a copy of the contract stating the specific services. They should be able to clearly explain their entire process to you.
5.How many years of experience do they have and is it their full-time job?
Most reputable Professional Matchmakers have been in the industry for years even before they got a business card. Some have even will tell you been pairing people since they were kids — it was just in their genes. Matchmaking is an easy industry to get into but extremely difficult to stay in. Matchmaking firms and dating services come and go all the time. Many people claim to be experienced yet they are working at Susie’s Nail Salon at the same time. If they don’t work there full time, it either means they are not that interested in the profession, or that the company is trying to convince you they must be successful since they have all these employees.
7.Do I get to approve the matches before I meet them?
Make sure you will receive a written biography of potential matches that includes how they compare to your preferences and requirements for a match, and that you have the ability to decline the match. They should be able to tell you up front what information you will receive and show you samples from others that make it easy to tell how and why the person was selected for you.
8.What is the feedback process after each date?
A reputable and experienced expert n Austin will have a documented date follow up process with specific questions to answer so there is an opportunity to improve the process and bring you matches who are better suited for you each time.
9.They should be able to explain clearly to you the sources they use to find potential matches for you.
They know that recruiting is an essential part of finding clients their perfect match. If they say they only match you with other paying clients, that means you may be extremely limited in the options you are presented. In the event they are not based in Austin, they may say they work with other local matchmakers to find you matches and but what you don’t realize is they have to pay fees to them, again this expense will be passed on to you.
10 How do you decide who is a good match for who?
Are they just matching on hobbies and interests? Studies show that shared hobbies are a very low indicator of compatibility. Are they just matching on broad categories like age range and location? If the factors used to match are too broad, you may be flooded with potential “matches” that don’t match at all. They should be able to give you specific criteria they use to determine what makes a good match. The criteria should be clear, consistent and make sense to you.
11.How many clients do you work with at a time?
There is a direct relationship between the number of clients they are serving and the quality of service all of them are being provided. If you are talking with a service that has multiple matchmakers on staff, find out specifically who will be working with yo is a good rule of thumb.
12.What is your success rate?
The fact is there is no standard way of measuring “success”. Any service who is quick to quote a success rate is probably making up the statistic so they can give you the most favorable number possible. I have seen “success rates” being defined as the number of clients who successfully completed their contract term with no complaints, or the number of clients who got a second date, or some other statistic that they can actually measure and spin positively.
If you think a service that claims an 80% success rates means 80% of their clients got married to someone during their contract, it is highly unlikely.
Just consider these facts. Most matchmaking contracts are for a period of time of 6 months to one year. How many people do you know got married within 6 months to one year of the first time they ever met their spouse? Sure, it happens, but it doesn’t happen often. A better question to ask is “what do your customers typically tell you they have learned and taken away from this process when their contracts end?”
Don’t fall for extreme optimism and a file full of beautiful people.
