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I find Match quite fascinating and am eager to talk (write)
about it. A regret in not speaking with and meeting more women
is the lack of such communication. Marketing, writing,
psychology--it is right up my alley.
I joined about a year ago, stayed for a few months, complained about something, and was kicked out. I thought I had pretty much figured it out--do some searching and with nice pictures and some humor and also honesty I'd receive winks and e-mails. I complained that the Who's Viewed Me function wasn't working properly; Match, in a horrible show of customer service, kicked me out and refunded my money. About a month later I missed it and wrote to the president (I had his e-mail address from my sign-up greeting) saying something like how can you improve and serve customers if that's your behavior? So I was re-instated for free AND finally they admitted the "Viewed Me" problem was/is real. In between I cancelled then signed-up again and my current subscription expires very soon (I likely won't re-join for a while). I am very, very fortunate in that I receive maybe 3-4 (new) e-mails a week (to which I always reply) and a greater number of winks. Some just say something like "Did you know Georgia is ranked #1 in football?" or "What kind of business involves elk and aspen?" Many are personal, detailed, and very, very well done. With I think one exception if someone winks I will only wink (at most) back. In the entire year I have contacted maybe 6-8 women, you included! At first it was just getting my feet wet after too long a time since the girlfriend I moved here with. (I think Match is remarkable as a confidence, learning, and self-awareness tool.) Only fairly recently have I come to see realistic, imminent possibilities. Maybe a dozen women have suggested meeting or calling; I've done so a couple of times... I'm quite turned-off when women suggest it almost immediately; I don't look at it that way. I just don't consider women in terms of me accepting every offer or opportunity that arises (more on that perhaps another time). One thing I have not found an answer to yet is what I would call odd security--if that's what's really behind it--behavior. You want me to call you or you want to meet me and you won't tell me where you live (not the address, but...) or where you work or your e-mail address? Is your e-mail address really a security threat? Part of it is you're not a very good judge of character... I find it insulting and disrespectful. Oh, and a shield. And irrational. Whew! (THIS PART DELETED.) Nine out of ten women who view and "Favorite" me I don't contact. It takes a stand-out profile to provoke me... And I am skeptical of women who are just waiting... I like women who are confident and NOT those who are are older, divorced, etc. yet act as though they are high school cheerleaders (per an earlier e-mail). (DELETED.)
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Mr. Enraght-Moon,
I wanted to write something about my experience with Match.com for my
website, blog, and a potential book on customer satisfaction (I am a
long-time consultant and am perhaps an "expert" on the
subject). Also, I am exploring the influence of online
complaint, (Internet) fraud, and even law enforcement reporting. Plus,
I wanted to send something to my credit card company in the hope
that they will investigate. I wanted to attach a name--yours--to
my investigation and correspondence.
I absolutely had expected to hear back from Match.com with an
explanation or even apology. My experience was about five weeks
ago and my "User Name" was "SingleInterest."
It is always possible for a company to convert a bad experience into a
positive one, thus gaining a life-time customer and proponent.
Below is a description of my experience.
Sincerely,
Peter Pfeiffer
Evergreen, CO
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Since I have to start somewhere it'll be with Match.com. It is the biggest online dating company and I recently decided to give it a try. From the start I had some smaller problems (five-day e-mail response time and outgoing e-mail to members locking up and disappearing) and then the following happened.
Over the course of about a week the site was not providing proper information on the number of people who had viewed my "portrait" or details of the viewers. This was critical for enjoyment of the site. I called Match.com: they said a technical representative would e-mail me within three days; oddly, they provided no other information and indicated that technical support was "separate" from customer support, whom I had reached. Four days passed with no word from Match and, on a daily basis, I printed evidence of the errors. I wrote customer service a strong but polite e-mail indicating the problem must be fixed immediately and suggested I receive a pro-rated refund of my payment ($59.97) and/or a way to recover the information that had been lost. Promptly the next morning I received an e-mail from the Match.com "Fraud" department saying my account had been canceled and that I would receive a refund (amount unspecified) to my credit card. In something of a cover-up, the e-mail indicated that I had "resigned" from Match.com. I wrote back immediately saying I did not/have not resigned. I have received nothing further from the company. (The e-mail from Match.com did include a link to sign-up again but it provided no assurance that problem I had experienced had been corrected).
In my many years as a customer satisfaction practitioner I have never seen or experienced such behavior on the part of a product or service provider. I made a significant commitment to them which included payment. When they failed to provide the promised services, rather than accepting responsibility, they cut me off. I know it is terrible customer service management, but is it illegal? How many other thousands or millions of customers have experienced features or services that are not what they are purported to be? It could be fraud.
From Match.com's perspective, how can employees be expected to provide outstanding or even satisfactory service when there is no accountability or incentive to improve?
(Sent to Thomas Enraght-Mooney, CEO Match.com, (Thomas.Enraght-Mooney@match.com) 10/1/07. Match.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of USA Interactive (USAI)).
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