Finding a Date: Dating Agencies
November 3, 2009 by AlexT
Filed under Dating Tips
Dating agencies? Are you serious? That was the first reaction I received when advising a date-seeking friend to join dating agencies. Somewhere along the way, dating agencies catch this stigma of being the place for desperate and nerdy fellows to find dates; it is not for normal people. I have to say that this stigma is no longer true, and it probably never was true. Dating agencies are a great place to find dates, since you already know that the people you are meeting with are looking for dates themselves.
There are two types of dating agencies: offline and online. Offline dating agencies usually arrange meetings and dates based on information you give. When you sign up for their services, you are required to fill out a form, which will give them a clear picture of what kind of dates you are looking for. They will then match your profile with their database to find a suitable match and arrange a meeting with the suitable candidate. They often do group meetings as well, to give you the chance to meet their members and see for yourself if there is anyone you feel connected to. Online Dating agencies, on the other hand, gives you full control over date seeking activities. You need to sign up, usually pay a certain amount as a fee, and fill up a profile page just like when you are signing up in an offline agency. The next process is slightly different. You can browse through profiles of date seekers on your own, searching for the best match for yourself. This gives you full control on the entire search, since you will be able to decide yourself who you would want to meet.
As mentioned earlier, the key benefit of joining dating agencies is that you will be meeting people who are already looking for dates. Approaching suitors will not be hard to do under this circumstance, but several precaution steps are still needed. The main concern is when you are female meeting up with male date seekers. I personally advise to have a friend or two watching from a distance, just in case, when you meet up with new guys. It is only a preventive measure, but it would be better to do this than be sorry. Unless you know exactly what kind of person you are meeting, having company on your date watching from a distance would be better. Another thing you need to prepare yourself for is a reality shock, that is the condition where the person you are meeting may have certain negative traits you do not like. You need to have a plan on how you would end the date if you feel uncomfortable. The best way is to say it directly that you are feeling uncomfortable and you would like to end the date.
As you can see, dating agencies can be a great place to meet dates. It is not filled with nerds like you may have always imagined, and it could be fun to join. With a proper approach, you might be surprised on what you can find.