It's Just Lunch!

Also part of the allure of this service was supposed to be the screening process. This guy lived in a basement apartment in Astoria. Not a bad conversationalist but still not the caliber that they promised. The fourth date was again in NJ for drinks. Nice guy that is well over the age I specified, is a blue collar worker that can never afford to retire and has just bought his first house at 65. He is currently working with at least 4 dating sites and spends all his cash on that. Again, not the caliber promised. I am a professional, have a Master's Degree and am financially secured. That's what I am looking for. This whole process started 12/10 and should have ended 8/11. I am 2 scheduled dates short of the contract specifications, really 4 dates since 2 never showed. I have repeatedly left messages to call and discuss refund and have not gotten any response even though the message says they will get back to me in 24 hours. Contract has not been fulfilled and I want a refund of the $1700.

Until yesterday, I was not rescheduled for my first date. That also does not meet my expectation. I expected this to be a fun, laid back, "lunch type" way to meet people with similar background and/or interest. My last contact with Ryan was one in which he attempted to schedule my first lunch. I responded to the email stating that I'd like to confirm after I'd had an opportunity to speak to a supervisor about some concerns. Instead, he disregarded that request, called me directly and then refused to allow me to speak to anyone else, after having a very long, rude and completely inappropriate attempt to "get what your issue is, otherwise, you can't speak to anyone else." It was only after that exchange that finally, after two days, someone returned my call. I do not wish to move forward with the service. It doesn't seem to match my needs. I'm requesting a refund. Thanks.

Dates were set up and then cancelled. I think they were bogus from the start. Then dates I did eventually go on went from bad to worse. The experience was horrific. One date was ogling me and told me how his wife hadn't touched him in a year. Another had never been married (one of my requirements was that they were widowed or divorced) and goes to church every day, I'm a non-practicing Jew.

The last 'dating directors' finally was blunt enough to tell me that she didn't want to lose her job, but that I should go with my gut and 'pursue the situation with the management', implying that I was not unreasonable in my horror at the level of dates that I was being set up on. Really, I felt like a call girl. The whole thing is preposterous. The person who signed me up, Sandra **, refused to take my calls when I was dissatisfied.

I want to sue them, it is only right to prevent others from being ripped off.

I spoke with a rep from the company and was assured that there would be plenty of men available in the Pittsburgh area that would match my sister's liking. I was assured that the local rep would hand pick men with suitable characteristics. The first date my sister went out on was decent, but the remainder were very unsuitable dates. There was no matchmaking involved. The rep, Susan **, only provided a male body. Susan frequently pressured my sister into dating men of other races when my sister made it clear that she was not comfortable with that. My sister was very disappointed and literally placed $1,800 into unscrupulous pockets.

I feel really bad that I pressured her into this. In September of 2011, I called Susan ** at It's Just Lunch! on my sister's behalf and told her that I felt responsible for pushing her into a dating service that turned out to be disreputable. Two minutes into the conversation, Susan disconnected the call. I wrote a letter to Susan at the Hallandale, FL, corporate office requesting a refund for my sister but did not hear back from them.

I did not attempt to ambush them. I stated the problem and said that I was requesting a partial refund. They are now rudely denying that they even know who I am. I would never recommend this so called service to another human being on this planet. I cannot believe that a business could be so actively, blatantly dishonest.

They require that you phone them to "give feedback" within 24 hours of your date. They told me that this was, so they could get a better idea of what you did or did not like about the guy, and they could apply this to find you a more compatible date the next time. It all sounded fantastic. The truth was, they did not have nearly as many people in their system as they had told me. They claimed they had 800 active members in Colorado. As I type this, it has been exactly 7 weeks since the last date they sent me on. And the contract is only 24 weeks! They have not even come close to delivering what they promised.

Exactly 5 times, Jocelyn called and set me up for a date with my next match, only to have the gentleman suddenly leave town and have to cancel the date at the last minute. Three of the men left, went to the mountains, and were out of cell phone range. One left the country and was out of cell phone range. The other one left town at the last minute and didn't know when he would be returning. They always gave me some strange excuse as to why the guys had to cancel. I expressed my concerns to them numerous times on the phone. I even went in for a face-to-face appointment with Jen again to ask her what in the world was going on. I told her I would like to quit the service and be refunded back for the remaining time. It was because they were unable deliver what they had promised me, and I was tired of arranging my schedule and having almost everyone cancel at the last minute (if those guys even existed). Of course, they always refer to the contract, which states no refunds.

I am a business owner and also state that there are no refunds on my merchandise that people purchase from me. That is what I advertise. But any customers who come to me and are unhappy with the product they have purchased from me are refunded immediately, without question. This is the foundation of good customer service, and moral character as well.

This company is not qualified to be in the matchmaking business. The promises they make to the prospective members are for the purpose of putting money into their own pockets. The sad part is that Jen, Jocelyn, Erica, and Hope all know exactly how to tell people what they want to hear and are making lots of money lying to people day after day after day. Now I know why their office doesn't have normal glass doors. It is the only office in the entire building that has a wood door with a little peephole for them to look through and a doorbell! They are probably scared for their lives and they're hiding behind that door! Because I gave them a chance to make things right with me and they chose not to do so, I am also sending this report to Consumer Reports, the Better Business Bureau, and every other place online, and in all the professional networking groups I attend to get the word out. If I can keep one other busy professional, or possibly a single parent from wasting their time and money with this company, then I feel it will have done some good.

I was initially contacted by my dating director, MJ, on July 5. We discussed potential matches. MJ gave me very minimal information on each man. I had to play 20 questions to determine if each man was someone I'd be interested in meeting. One man whom MJ wanted me to go on a date with did not have certain attributes I look for in a male. When I expressed my disinterest in the man, MJ pretty much told me that I was close-minded and that I should give him a shot. MJ kept pushing me to agree to meet this man, even though I was uncomfortable with it. It made me uncomfortable that MJ kept hounding me about this man. I felt that MJ was out of line. I feel it is not the director's job to tell me who I should and should not be interested in, and definitely not his/her job to persuade me to go on dates with certain people. I held my ground and told MJ I was still uninterested.

The second match MJ wanted to make was with a gentleman who sounded nice. I will refer to him as "Tim". Again, I played 20 questions with MJ to make sure I would be interested in Tim--that he didn't have any of my "deal breakers".

After our phone conversation, I got an email from MJ listing my scheduled dates. In the email, I noticed that MJ arranged a date for me with the man I told her I was uninterested in meeting.

I found this upsetting and it made me lose confidence on my dating director. In my opinion, clients should not be matched with someone who does not meet their desires or be matched with people they have expressed disinterest in.

I wrote MJ a reply requesting that the date be cancelled. I added in my email a list of "deal breakers" to help MJ with the matching process.

The next day, MJ called me in response to my email. MJ told me that her friend said she should call and apologize to me and that she should not make me go out on a date with the guy I told her I was uninterested in. That's pretty much all she said. Didn't really come out and apologize genuinely.

I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that MJ was talking to her friend about my dating situation. My confidence and trust in MJ decreased significantly at this point. I decided to call IJL to request a different dating director. A man answered and placed me on hold. After being on hold for a few minutes, the line was picked up and it was MJ. I had no idea I was going to be transferred to her. The very first words she muttered to me were, "Do we have another problem?"

The attitude in her voice shocked me. I explained that I want a different director because I do not think our personalities mesh well and that I have lost confidence and trust in her matching abilities. MJ was rude to me during the whole conversation and was less than apologetic. MJ informed me that there are no other dating directors--she's the only one--and that there is pretty much no one else I can speak to about my disappointment. She said that there was no customer service department and that if I had any problems, anyone I speak with would just direct me to her.

A few days later, I went on a date with Tim. This was my first IJL date. I came to find out that not only did Tim live over one hour away from me (deal breaker), but he also had two children (deal breaker). Tim's occupation was also a deal breaker for me. MJ specifically told me on the phone that Tim was divorced with "no children." I was astonished that MJ had set me up with man, knowing full and well from our phone conversation and my email that I was absolutely opposed to meeting someone who has children and opposed to dating individuals in Tim's occupational field. There were many other lies that MJ told me regarding Tim, but I will not get into that.

After the date, I emailed MJ and also called MJ and left a voicemail expressing my disappointment. Three days later, she sent me an email telling me to call her. I could not get a hold of her by phone until three days after that.

During our phone conversation, she was rude and uncaring. I expressed my disappointment in the date she arranged. Tim and I never should have been matched.

MJ was less than sympathetic. I told her I did not trust her and did not want to be a client of IJL any longer if I cannot get another director. I told her that she was not arranging dates based on my desires, goals, motivations--the way how IJL claims they make their matches.

I asked for the owner's contact information--the website had my local IJL listed as a franchise. MJ informed me that it was not a franchise and that there was no owner. I then asked for contact information of someone I could speak with about getting a refund. MJ said they don't give refunds.

They charge a large sum of money for their services, which they promised but do not deliver. It appears as though the It's Just Lunch in my area is a scam.

The second date was did not meet my dating profile requirementst at all. The third date said immediately when he met me "Oh no, they screwed up again."

Fourth date did not meet my profile specifics which included interestes in physical activity. His basic interest was watching TV and strolling in booksstores. Each time I asked for my money back. Each time I was switched to a new dating specialist. All my requests to speak to a supervisor were ignored. I told them their customer service was horrible and that it I would have much more success paying $24 on Match. They are a horrible organization and can't justify the $1,000 they charge.

My last date was a no-show and no one at It's Just Lunch responded to my phone calls or email until this month.

This month I am working with Kendra who made me retell the whole story and promised she would help only to be told that what she could do is not count the previous dates and start me over. This is after I told her I was recently mugged and injured and could use the money to off-set medical costs. How they are able to continue to operatee as a legitimate dating service is beyond me. Kendra also refused to let me speak with a supervisor.

I was told I had to meet with Dan before any more dates could be scheduled, so they could verify I was who I said I was and take a picture of me. I was to meet Dan on March 25 at 1:00 p.m. in Greenville. I went to the restaurant to meet with Dan, who never showed up. I called Monique -- all calls went to her voicemail. About 3 hours later, she called me back and told me there was a mix-up and wanted me to go back to the restaurant. I told her I had already missed over 1 1/2 hours of work and could not go back to meet Dan. Obviously, no date was scheduled for March. I questioned her as to when my next date would be. She informed me she had a man in mind that lived in Columbia, South Carolina. This is over 150 miles away from my home. When I told her I could not travel that far to meet someone for lunch, she informed me this would have to count as a date because this man would be able to meet me half way in Union, South Carolina which is within their 70 mile radius from Greenville.

I told her I did not live in Greenville and I did not consider this fair. She kept referring to my contract. I was at work and could not continue this conversation with her. She set up another appointment with my dating coordinator. I finally met with Dan, the dating coordinator at the end of March. During the later part of April, I received a call from Andrea who was quite rude, asking me why I didn't show up or call and cancel my date with a man named John. I had no idea I had a date with anyone. This too was going to count as a date. I tried to call my original contact person, Monique, for days, with no return calls. On May 23rd, I sent an e-mail to Monique asking why they were not fulfilling their contract. I received a response from Nathaniel N stating he was out of the office to contact Matt **.

At that time, I forwarded my e-mail to Matt. I never heard from him. Several days later, I received a call from Andrea (who is very argumentative). She stated that she had taken over my account and would be working with me from now on. It was June now when we were talking and still, only one date. I expressed how unhappy I was with IJL and how they had taken $1200 out of my account so far. I asked her when they would start fulfilling their commitment to me. She said she had a prospect but he was out-of-town. She called me back on June 15th to set up a date with 'Lonni' on 7/8/11 at 7:00 p.m. in Greenville, and sent a follow-up e-mail with location.

On July 1st, I received a call from my bank concerning fraudulent activity on my account. The bank recommended that I close the account. They would send me a new card within 5 to 7 business days. This account is the same account IJL is taking payments from. On July 6th, I received an e-mail from IJL stating they tried to process a payment and it had been declined. I responded that as soon as I explained my situation with my card and told them as soon as I received my new card, I would call and give them my new account number. On July 7th, Andrea called me about payment. At that time, she told me she should cancel my date on the 8th and reschedule after she receives my payment.

This made me really upset. I asked her about the previous 4 months with no dates and she said those dates would be added to the end of my contract. I told her that it did not sound fair to me. They had not fulfilled their commitment with me. She kept talking over me -- repeating their contract terms -- and would not let me talk. I finally asked her to stop talking and let me talk then she could explain to me why I had to keep paying them when they had not provided the service I signed up for. Once again she said they would add those dates at the end of my contract. This young lady has no customer service skills whatsoever. She started telling me how many times she had talked to me, etc.

She said she didn't want to just set me up on a date with just anyone -- she was looking for the right person. I asked her why all my dates were in South Carolina when I lived in North Carolina. She then told me the closest area in North Carolina was Charlotte, NC. This is 2 hours away. I asked her why they didn't tell me this when I originally discussed signing up with them. I would not have if I had known the travel involved. Once again, I told her I did not intentionally not pay them. There was an issue with my bank account; and I would call her as soon as I received my new information. She told me she would not cancel my date for 7/8 and would do her best to find more prospects. I drove for an hour to Greenville tonight and waited for 'Lonni'. He never showed. I tried calling her and sent her a text. This is a lot of money. I thought this would be safer than online dating.

They left me a message saying that although they didn't have an "official" record of my terminating the service. When June came, the end of my 6 month contract, they would not charge me their monthly continuation fee. I just received a letter from them saying they were cancelling my service, but were charging me an additional $104 come this June. One last charge? Insane and offensive.

I just wrote them another email saying, "no" I am not interested in your service, and "no" I will not pay anything else! In addition, I don't think they performed their service. I was told I would have a "personal head hunter" for my personal life. They set me up with men who were far from being appropriate, including someone who wanted children, and I am unable to have children. That was when I ultimately quit the service. In addition, I don't drink and they kept setting me up with people for happy hour.

Unbelievable and nonprofessional. It was very sad and hard to get to know someone, and then have a very uncomfortable conversation about not being able to have children. I paid a lot of money for them to sift through potential dates, and they just set me up with whoever that was available. I would call them after the dates and re-iterate my criteria. The entire service is a scam, and I feel taken advantage of. I actually feel like they should refund my money, and not charge me anymore. I paid $1500 for 6 months for a personal head hunter for my dating. This did not happen or came close to happening.

As far as the date I went on, it as if I was set up by someone who plugged in a couple of prerequisites I had and told me "he would be great". I had nothing in common with this person. I believe they literally "plugged" me into their computer network and found a match, exactly what I can do on an internet dating site! I tried repeatedly to talk to Richard after the date but got the back and forth: send me an email, call me, send me an email - like I am an idiot and don't know what is going on? I told Richard I wanted to place my account on hold due to an unsteady job situation.

After I had dealt with my work, I reached out to Richard a month later through email for a refund due to my dissatisfaction. I was then contacted by a woman (don't know her name) who explained Richard was no longer with the company but she already has "many matches waiting for me to go on an immediate date!" This is exactly what upset me about the company! I have never even spoke to this woman. All she knew about me is what is in a computer profile, and she was finding me matches - again, this is everything I can do on an internet dating site which is exactly what I spoke to Sandra about and she insisted is not what their services were at all. I demanded a refund from the woman.

She insisted there were no refunds. I explained to her basic contract law and adhesion contracts as well as that basic principles apply - if someone is misrepresenting services, this nullifies a contract. She told me she will have an attorney contact me. I then received a call a few days later from another woman who asked if this was a good time. I asked she call me back on Monday and that would have been approximately 3 weeks ago today. I have not heard from anyone from IJL since. I work as an attorney and if a company provides no services or misrepresents the services they offer, then a refund should be due for a pro-ration of the services rendered. IJL maintains the position that no refunds, no exceptions. I believe this is unconscionable and I should be afforded a refund based on their misrepresentations.

I was soon contacted by them as a follow up and I took the opportunity to explain that I didn't feel comfortable with the contract and asked if I could provide additional terms and conditions and, if they found these agreeable, I could sign up then. Since they are geared only to make money, this of course was unacceptable. As some months went by, I was contacted a couple more times to be persuaded to join. I again mentioned the contract and the conversation concluded soon thereafter. I was "bumped" up to a higher level manager who contacted me at the 6 month point after my initial interview. I was told that, if I expected to "go forward" with IJL in the future that I would have to interview again and that, if I did, the interview would cost me $100! Amazing! I again pointed out the issues with contract and I was told that she wasn't going to waste her time arguing about it. (I was discussing, not arguing) I pointed out a couple flaws with their contract and she said, 'It doesn't say that. I have the contract it right here in front of me."

I had the contract right in front of me too! She was lying. She stated that over 51% of the membership is attorneys who all agreed to sign the contract without reservation, etc. etc. I told her that this contract was the main reason I hadn't signed up and that I'd be willing to join if we could agree to terms of services performed and cause for reimbursement. She was unwilling to discuss it further. Bottom line was, if I wasn't going to sign over their membership fee here and now exclusively on their terms, she didn't want to be bothered with me. She recommended that I pursue "other venues". Even though I made a considerable trip to their office and discussed their company for a couple hours with them, she made no apologies and didn't offer to thank me for my time.

Conclusion: This is a company that is purely out for one thing, your money. Don't fall for it! If you don't believe me, take the contract to your attorney and see for yourself. That's good advice anyway, any time you enter into a contractual agreement which is what this is.

On one evening, two women showed up! Several women told me that they had been waiting for dates. I then realized I was being used to fill IJL's needs. The real kicker came when IJL called and told me that a lady asked to meet on Saturday for lunch. Well, we covered a lot of topics. When we finally talked about religion, the lady indicated that she was a non-practicing Jewish lady and she specifically asked for a non-churchgoing man. It really became obvious that they were simply matching me with whomever. Needless to say, when my eight weeks free was up, IJL asked me to join and I said, "No thanks."

There was a long delay in scheduling the next date and when it finally happened, the guy was a no show. I suspect that it was a sham. When I last talked to Victoria, she said she had the next date set up; but I have not heard from her for 3-4 weeks after several emails and phone messages. I think this is a huge scam and they get away with it because people are afraid of looking stupid for having been taken advantage of. I am out a substantial sum of money for this service ($1900) with nothing to show for it.

The staff fight with you when you tell them your specifics and talk you into broadening your details of what you want, so that they can just send you off with any shlub. They cater to professionals and yet they can only schedule their required "interview" with you between 9am and 6pm and are inconveniently located at only 2 locations in the city (40s and wall st).

In the "interview" they basically just meet you and take a picture and send you on your way. To further its incompetence, one of my awful dates didn't even have a reservation made for it! We had to sit at the bar. What exactly did I pay $1000 for? At least on a dating site, you can see that the person is nothing like what you want before you decide whether or not to go out with them. IJL doesn't stick to any criteria when setting you up other than they are male. It seems they have a small batch of males to set you up with and the more detailed you make the criteria, the more they fight with you to broaden it, and the worse your date gets. I have not been refunded any of my $1,000. And I intend to bring a lawsuit against them, so also the cost of filing fees.

I feel like I paid money for a service I did not get. I was lied to about being able to provide feedback and date people that are of interest to me.

I even sent the registered letter to their Chicago office which got returned back to me because no one picked up the mail. They are clearly a scam. When asked to refund the money, they said that as per the contract, it is only applicable during the first three days. I am seriously considering writing a letter to a local senator so that a scam like this be stopped. I think that they should refund the money if their member is not happy to show their legitimate business intentions. All they want to do is get your dollars and then do not care whether a date matches your criteria. Once you reach your number, they are done, and on to their next prey.

Within today's conversation with Ms. Staci, I expressed how unsatisfied I am with IJL's service. I advised her that the sales presentation/membership that was sold to me was in fact not what the membership has been like. I told her that the first date that was scheduled with James on Sat June 19, 2010 at 6:00pm at Original Mikes in Santa Ana CA, I waited for James for about 45 minutes and he never showed up.

I contacted Ms. Staci immediately and she returned to her office to call James. She was very apologetic and advised that she indeed had verbal contact with James soon after I called and that he had forgot to set a reminder for himself and that he was truly sorry for missing the date. I was then told by Ms. Staci that this date would be re-scheduled and that it would not count against me on the number of dates or the start date of the membership. This date with James was never rescheduled.

I was contacted by Dmitry, where he briefed me on "Dan". After he briefed me, I received a follow-up email confirming the date with Dan at the Daily Grill in Irvine, CA at 5:00pm on Sat June 26. Soon after I arrived, Dan and I made formal introductions. He inquired if Dmitry had advised me that he would have to leave promptly at 6:00pm, he had another engagement to attend. His other engagement was to meet with his ex-girlfriend (aka his son's mother) and son so that they could attend a family event on his ex-girlfriend's side of the family. Since Dan is from New York, he mentioned he doesn't have any relatives here in Southern California.

I attempted to make small-talk with Dan, I inquired what he did on his free-time to which he responded that he doesn't have much free time, but when he does he likes to spend it with his son. I immediately got the picture he was giving me the cold shoulder and that is okay. I attempted to make light of the event and I picked up the tab for the two beers we had over our conversation. It was apparent that I did not meet Dan's criterion of what he was looking for in a date.

I advised Ms. Staci that I was contacted by Dmitry on Tues July 20 at 10:33 am. He left me a voice-mail about a potential date with a gentleman named "Ted". Dmitry then followed up with an email on Wed. July 21 at 1:55 pm, the date was set for Monday July 26 at 7:00pm at the Manhattan Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Orange CA. By now, Dmitry was aware that my work schedule is Monday-Friday 3:30pm to 12:30am - so this date would conflict with my work schedule. I called Dmitry back on July 21 at 4:05pm and advised him I would not make the date due to my work schedule. He had agreed he would cancel the date and apologized for any inconvenience.

To my surprise, I received a follow-up call from Cassie from IJL whom was covering for Dmitry on Mon 7/26 at 4:32pm leaving me a voice-mail that "Ted" would not be able to make "tonight's date" which I had previously canceled on Tues July 20, 2010 at 4:05pm. Makes me wonder does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?

On July 22 at 12:50pm, I received a call from Dmitry. He then briefed me on another date with a different gentleman "James" (not the original James that didn't show for the IJL date #1). I was to meet James at Porter's Prime Steakhouse at the Doubletree Ontario at 5:30pm. I drove out to Ontario to meet with James who was a very nice man but we didn't share anything in common nor was there any compatibility. It turns out James drove to meet me from his home in Moreno Valley, now by looking at a map, the location of the date could have been set at a more convenient place to either one of us. It turns out James has actually driven to Stanton, CA to meet with a date set by IJL. I am only a few minutes from the Seafood Palace in Stanton. Makes me wonder why we were both scheduled to meet in Ontario, CA.

Now, I shared conversations with my first date "Dan" and "James" and we had shared common experiences with IJL. Either no-shows by other members and then not having the date re-scheduled with initial no-show person, or lack of compatibility. "Dan" expressed that he had been set up on a few dates with foreign women with whom he had trouble communicating with due to the language barriers and that since IJL-Orange County- had disbanded the services where not what they used to be. He mentioned that the Operations Department was scheduling dates out of Florida. Therefore, the dates set were mostly in inconvenient locations to us local Southern Californians.

Dmitry did contact me on Wed July 28 at 3:00pm. I missed his call because soon after my date with James, I left the country (Thurs July 29) on a vacation and was unable to give Dmitry any feedback on the date with James, which turned out to be a great opportunity to inquire how IJL operates and his point of view. While out of town, I was contacted by Ms. Staci. I advised her that I was out of the country and wouldn't be able to touch bases with her until my return. She inquired when I would be back in town. I responded that she could reach me after Sunday Aug 8.

I contacted Ms. Staci on Monday Aug 9 at 3:02pm and she let me know that she was unable to chat because she had an appointment coming in at this time. I followed up with Ms. Staci on Tues Aug 10 at 11:02am, I advised her that I wanted to cancel the membership and I want a full-refund. She informed me at this time that the only way that I would be eligible for a cancellation is if IJL didn't have any matches for me, well based on my prior meetings with other IJL members they are not any type of match. We didn't have anything remotely in common nor common interests. I mentioned that I may have a better opportunity meeting a compatible date on my own, or by joining a dating service like "eHarmony.com", to which she responded that she was apologetic about my experience and that she would discuss my membership and experiences with Dmitry. I told her something to the effect that meeting with her in person gave me the inclination that the dates would be hand-selected based on compatibility not just drawing names out of hat.

In conclusion, I am dissatisfied with the selection of candidates there has been to date. I feel that there has been no match to the criteria I specified when I joined IJL. The amount money ($2,200 for 14 dates). I have invested in finding a quality potential match is plenty, to add insult over injury, plus the amount of time I have invested, initial meeting with Ms. Staci, and telephone calls with Dmitry, emails I've had to read and respond to and the commute time to said dates. I honestly don't feel that I am getting the results I was made to believe I would have. Therefore, I would like to officially request a reimbursement of my fees.

When I called to inquire, the representative I was dealing with no longer worked there, and no one else would speak to me about my account or who my new representative would be. I finally got in touch with the owner, who refused to provide me a refund, and said he would personally see to it that I would get the remaining lunches. However, that never occurred. They also lied about the type of clients they had, and how/who they would set up the lunches. My preferences were not considered. I have several other friends with similar experiences. This company should be sued for fraud or forced out of business. The economic damage was about $750.00 worth of fees and related charges. It also resulted in a negative effect on my credit score.

2. The in-person interview would be done at a time and place convenient for me.

My first date was with a gentleman from Rhode Island, which is another state, not the Boston area. The in-person interview hasn't happened because now the procedure is that I have to travel to Dedham, MA or Brookline in order to meet with a woman named Beverly at her convenience. The meeting hasn't happened because she is never available at times that work for me. I was willing to travel to Brookline, one-hour round trip for me, as a compromise, but again it's taking weeks to schedule.

The company has misrepresented itself and I can't get them to make up for that. I don't trust them.

They called me about 2 men, and the first man had never been married, aged 54, and fudged his background to me and I was leery of it. The second man was divorced and described to me as working as a manager of legal documents in Downtown DC. I live in Alexandria, VA. He lives in Germantown. They wanted me to meet him in Tysons corner at 7 pm at some restaurant. That made me leery as well. I asked why they would make an odd arrangement like that. He lives in Germantown, I live in Alexandria, and it is after work. It makes no sense. The company is called; it's just lunch.

The director talked over me and I said that she was not listening to my wants and desires. She argued back and said that I must take a man whose age is up to 58 and that was that. She was pushy and said that I was required to pay the 3 month fee. I said I was willing to pay for 1 month but felt this was not a service for me and that I did not like her or her manner. She said that she was going to charge my credit card and that I am bound by this contract which was never signed and I never went on a date. I was only introduced to two people and did not go on any dates. She said that I was unable to get out of my contract. I have the contract and I will call my bank to block them from using my credit card. Basically, I told her that I did not like her and then I hung up the phone.

Since that time, the dating counselors have phoned with only 2 other matches and proposed tentative dates to meet. However, they never called back to confirm the dates and set a meeting place. Busy people do not enjoy reserving time for dates that do not happen. My experience is very similar to that of Leslie from NY who has also posted a complaint. Perhaps we should join together and form a class action suit.

I have been in contact with the last gentleman that I had dated from IJL service about this situation and he has not heard from anyone either, however, he did speak with someone a few months ago who led him to believe that he would be taken care of by dating directors in Florida (the company who bought out the OC location). Again, he never heard a word and this is not the service either of us had signed up for. It was sold to me as a personal service where one on one interviews are taking place with all candidates and the setups are being done by a person who knows both parties. It sounds to me like this is still the service IJL would like to say that you are providing, however, it cannot be. There is not an OC office, and by the time IJL gets this whole OC offices mess organized and systematic, my membership will be up. Either way, I've been burnt and have lost trust. I would like my money back! There is a "relocation" clause in my contract that mentions what would be accountable if the client moves away or relocates. I would like to think that a company that has been in business for 18 years and has over "10,000" clients could take some responsibility when one of their franchises "relocates" or goes under.

After each date I would call in and try to talk with someone about my experience. I tried 7 dates with nothing but lies and poor customer service from IJL. The women were nice but they were not anything like what I had requested during my interview. I became so frustrated with their poor customer service that I just quit using their service before I even finished the dates I had purchased. I wasted over $500 of unused dates. I told them I no longer was going to waste my time with them because they were delivering nothing that they promised. I asked them to never call me again unless it was to apologize and offer to make up for the poor customer service.

They started to call me again about a year later. They wanted to sell me more of their services. I told them no and asked them not to call me again. They called me 3 more times in the next two years, again to sell me more of their services. Each time I explained my past experiences and asked for an apology. None was offered. They would just say, "We have these great women for you. All you need to do is sign up again." I was amazed and appalled.

I have now demanded for the fifth time that they not call me but they have continued to call. They called again today and said that they have new people for me to meet and I should once again sign up. I have asked to speak with the owner on a number of occasions and have never received a call. Beware. They want your money and they do not deliver on any of their promises. Oh, by the way. I am fit. I teach martial arts. I own multiple companies and am not a psycho. I am just amazed that this business can continue to mislead and operate with such poor customer service. Unfortunately, they will probably continue to survive because they prey on lonely hearts.

Nobody in their right mind would go out with this guy. He was not only rude and obese but crippled and could hardly walk with a brace on his leg. The third one told me he had been on tons of dates, which is why it took two months for me to get my turn. Also, everything they told me about him was incorrect. I actually think they had him confused with someone else. I started to realize at this point that this dating service is all for the men and the women just get robbed. I thought this was a service for professionals, however, all of these men were retired and I was the only one with a busy career.

We ladies should all band together and get our money back. I think they scrape up the worst men they can find. I'm a single mom struggling to pay my property taxes. I couldn't afford to throw away $800, not to mention what the dinners cost and the gas and wear and tear on the car. Please ladies, don't give your hard-earned money to this awful organization. Economic damage? They stole $800 from me.

I had made it very clear that I was interested in someone who is active, likes spending time outdoors, enjoys good food and wine, and is my height or taller. One date, guy lived 4 hours away, was lying to IJL. IJL (according to them), another guy, when I asked him about hiking, he indicated he could probably follow a paved trail but prefers to read and play video games.

The experiences continued. In June 2009, I had a date; again it was no match. I did not hear from them again until September when I received an email that they had been repeatedly trying to reach me and if I didn't respond in 24 hours, they would drop my contract. Hmm, my numbers nor email hadn't changed so why couldn't they reach me? I responded accordingly in my email. Hmm, a new dating coordinator. I had a match. It took 3 weeks, and my complaining to get the date set up; I sent my follow-up. I never heard from IJL again.

Oh. And this time they sent us on a date on the other side of town, a 45 minute drive when my date and I live 10 minutes apart. So I called and emailed repeatedly when the communication again was dropped. Finally, I got a message that I had reached my date limit and I was welcome to rejoin. They seem to have some issues counting. I'm sure I didn't reach the contracted number. But I have no desire to continue to deal with such ineptitude. When I see their ads now, I just laugh. Live, learn and lose too much money. My membership itself cost $1300.

After additional research, I decided to cancel my membership. I have found numerous complaints online from other members across the country and in Canada. Membership fees vary from region to region ($1100, $1400, or $1600). I suppose that variance could be attributed to how large a city/pool of candidates is, but the one consistent issue is that everyone has been very unhappy with the service, either they're poorly matched, the members are not thoroughly or even marginally screened, etc. I read one story of a woman who had been set up with a married man!

Ultimately, I am a traditionalist and I just don't feel comfortable meeting men this way. I also found complaints from former employees who have stated that It's Just Lunch institutes discriminatory and deceptive practices, i.e. they do not accept ** or overweight members. Their directors are encouraged to sign up as many members as possible regardless of whether or not they think they have suitable matches and they do not set up members on their first date until after three business days, which is the grace period to cancel the agreement without penalty.

On 1/21, I wrote a letter, which I faxed and mailed on 1/22 notifying Ms. R of my decision to cancel the membership. I further explained that with the demands of my job and heavy travel schedule, I would not be able to maximize the potential benefits, and if I couldn't do so there was no point in continuing the service. To be fair, I deducted the $200 administrative fee and since I was unsuccessfully matched on one lunch date (1/20), I prorated the incurred expense of $142.86. These figures combined amount to $342.86. I asked to be reimbursed for $757.14.

Late in the day on 1/25, I received a call from their coordinator Lindsay to schedule a conference call with Ms. R for the next day. I gave Lindsay two available time slots: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Lindsay never called to confirm an exact time. The following morning (1/26) when 11 a.m. came and went without a call, I assumed that Ms. R would call me at 2 p.m., but by 2:05 p.m. when I had still not heard from Ms. R, I called her. Ms. R explained that they have a no refund policy and offered to put my membership on hold. I explained that I was resolute and that if I felt uncomfortable today, I would feel the same two weeks or two months from now.

I also confided that I had recently rekindled a former (serious) relationship, but she insisted on placing my membership on hold. I could not understand her inflexibility. What if I were to marry my ex-boyfriend? Would my membership remain on hold indefinitely? Unfortunately, I signed this contract during an especially vulnerable time and if they are never compelled to reimburse me, that will be one very expensive date and lesson learned. Nevertheless, I wanted to bring this issue to your attention because at the very least, I think their agreement needs to be modified. I am hoping that an attorney of interest will read this letter as I would be willing to join a class action lawsuit. I have found their behavior deplorable, unconscionable and question the legality (at least) of their actions and most certainly the ethical and moral implications of being forced to go on dates against my will!

Ms. R then offered to speak with her management team and call me back the next day. Late afternoon on 1/27, I received a voicemail from her that she discussed this issue with her manager, but that she was about to go into a meeting. I called her on 1/28, but she was at lunch, so I left a voicemail. She never called me back. I called her on 1/29; she had already left for the day, so I left another message. I received a voicemail from her on 2/1. I called her back straightaway, but she was unavailable again! Oddly enough, each time Ms. R has left me messages, my mobile never rang. I suspect that Ms. R was surreptitiously calling me from a mobile instead of her landline to avoid speaking with me directly.

I joined this service and attempted to quit one week later but I feel as though the employees at It's Just Lunch are trying to drag out the process until I give up or too much time passes. It's a matter of principle. I should not have to pay for a service I never have any intention of using. I have also filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau (Oakland, CA) and the State Attorney General and will move forward with arbitration, if necessary, but I have no desire to continue this service and they shouldn't be allowed to hold onto my money. I would appreciate any assistance or intervention you, any fellow members or attorneys interested or in the process of litigation can provide on my behalf.

Unfortunately, after volleying emails back and forth with Its Just Lunch San Francisco franchise owner, Amy B, the BBB case has been closed and I am awaiting a response from California AG. On 2/24, I followed up my complaints with an email to Irene ***, which was interestingly enough intercepted by Ms. B, wherein she actually had the audacity to threaten me with a collections agency if I do not pay the balance of $1,100 by March 13th. Do they really expect me to throw good money after bad? Do they actually believe that I would want to remain a client?

Quite frankly, I have a very demanding job and have been traveling heavily over the last month. I resent the fact that I am forced to write letter after letter and file complaint after complaint; I have much more important issues/priorities to be addressing just now, mainly an ailing mother and teenage brother to look after, but I will continue to write letters and file complaints because ultimately I question and challenge the immoral and unethical practices of this organization. I will never go on another date arranged by this organization.

I want nothing more to do with them. I regret ever setting foot into their offices and wish that I had listened to that little voice in my head telling me to rip up that contract and run away as fast as I can! And whether or not anyone can assist, I hope that for the other members my letter will provide a sense of empathetic frustration and for those considering a membership, this should serve as a cautionary tale and if you have the slightest doubts at all, please heed those subconscious warnings

On the following, Brittany emailed me about a match to meet this person in Vancouver, WA at 6:00PM. Vancouver is a city across the river from Portland, a bedrock city with unbelievably bad traffic at rush hour. I told her it was totally unreasonable for her to expect me, a Portlander, to drive to Vancouver at afternoon rush hour where I could be sitting for one to one and a half hours on the road. I asked why she had to send me to Vancouver if she had 10,000 members in Portland area. She didn't answer except that this person was my best match. I told her I would not go at rush hour but will be fine if she can set it later in the evening when rush hour is over.

A month went by and she never called me back. By then, I learned that IJL doesn't have physical office in Portland and she was operating from Florida from lack of business. And possibly, their saying 10,000 membership was a lie to get to pay. I called back and left a message that I wanted a refund and was cancelling membership. I sent an email to that effect, but there was no response or call.

I disputed the $500 charge to my credit card, but the credit card company restored the charge for the reason of 'lack of information.' I managed to reach Rochelle on Feb. 26th and raised the complaint. She said that she would address it and have someone call me back about refunding. I have not heard back from them. I believe IJL's intention is to ignore me and take my money without providing the service they promised.

I signed a contract with them and paid $1,395 for 14 "dates". On the first arranged date, I was told to meet the date at a location an hour from where I live. The gentleman was pleasant enough, but did mention he lived 10 minutes away, and after an hour he said he had something to do with his kids and left. There was enough interest on both parts, that we did go on 2 more dates. I had difficulty getting IJL to listen to my concerns, and they consistently gave me grief about finding a halfway point that was convenient.

I went on 3 more dates, but kept them informed of my concerns about distant meetings, and continued to request better service. At the beginning of 2009, I learned the IJL office in Charlotte had been closed, and I would now be dealing with someone in FL. I found this to be ridiculous, and let them know the contract stated that they would "refund to the buyer at least ninety percent of the prorated cost of any unused services, within 30 days of request thereof, if: a. is irrelevant, b. also irrelevant, or c. the seller relocates his facility more than eight miles from its present location, or the services provided by the seller are materially impaired.

Given how unsatisfied I was with the services received, and that they closed the Charlotte office, I requested a refund based on this portion of the contract. I was told (after much difficulty) that I would have to go after Gray Sky, Inc., and that IJL Corporate was not responsible. I have a letter from Maritza, coordinating supervisor, dated 2/16/09 stating that "per your request, we are sending you the franchisee information. You must contact the Department of Corporations: Jessica, Gray Sky, Inc."

Needless to say this was an impossible task. I tracked down Ms. ** to a residence in Charlotte NC 28277, almost in SC, but was never able to get any response. I placed my membership with IJL on hold on 1/13/09, hoping they would either come to their senses and refund my money or improve their service. I made several calls over the next year to find out if they had opened another office in Charlotte, but they did not. I ended up moving to the Charlotte area on 10/30/09. I made contact with IJL when I moved here, and was told they had a rep in the area, but no office. They had her call me. She left a message. I returned her call, and left her a message and then never heard anything else. On 1/11/10, I took my membership off hold, because on 1/13, it would have been a year, and I would have just lost the money I paid them. I thought I would give them a chance, and see if things had improved.

My new contact, Lindsey, completed a phone interview to update my information. At the end of the interview, I was asking about their process, and she told me that "everyone goes through the same process". I corrected her, because when I signed on, I had to complete an in-person interview, before going on my first date, and now they do a phone interview, first date, then in-person interview. My point was they could be setting me up with someone they had not even met face to face. She promised she would do her best to not set me up with someone who was on their first date. When I received the information for the date, I was alarmed to see it was in the SW corner of Charlotte (at least 30 min away), while the location they kept wanting to send me to before, was now only 10 min. from my home.

I sent Ms. ** a polite email saying I wanted to "confirm" this location was a halfway point between us. She called me and said she had not checked that before, but now realized we could find a place to meet that was closer. Turns out, the gentleman and I only live10 minutes from each other. Once on the date, things went fairly well. Although he did tell me it was his first date with IJL. There was a decent connection and we decided to walk around the corner for coffee. We had been talking for almost 2 hours, when I asked him how long he has been divorced. Well, he's not divorced! He's separated, and the divorce won't be final for 6 months! So, now I've been out in the community on a date with a married man.

I sent Ms. Willis an email after the date letting her know that I was upset. The response was a call from yet another rep who was replacing Ms. W. She stated her name was Zahara. She looked at the gentleman's file and confirmed they knew his marital status, "his file says he's married, but separated". When I found the consumer affairs website, along with reading the complaints, I also read the response from the company. In the response Ms. Irene ** states, "if clients have spoken with the owner of their local offices, and remain unhappy with the service they are receiving, they should call us directly at the It's Just Lunch Support Office at **.

We can't fix the problem if we don't know about it!" I called the number on 2/22/10 (Monday). Ms. ** left me a voicemail message that afternoon, in which she apologized and stated she was passing the information to Julie **, and they would "get your issues resolved right away". Later in the message, she said she would "get everyone working on this right away". I received a call from Mariel within an hour. She listened to my summary of concerns, and informed me I was not eligible for a refund, because "we have matches for you". My complaint had nothing to do with whether or not they have matches for me.

She said she needed to look into the matter, and wanted to arrange a time to speak the next day (Tuesday). We coordinated this, and I offered to forward her an email my attorney had reviewed, which I planned to send to a local news station consumer investigations. I forwarded her this email the next morning, but never heard from her. Finally, on Thursday, 2/25/10, I called Ms. ** and left her a simple message letting her know I had not heard back from Mariel. I received an email from Mariel that afternoon stating "hi Catherine, you and I had spoken on Monday, and I have not yet received the documentation you had planned on sending me. I was out of the office Tuesday and Wednesday. Please give me a call, at your convenience, to further discuss your membership. I am in the office between the hours of 9AM and 6PM, Monday - Friday.

I look forward to speaking with you". I did not delete her last name from this email. It is only signed with her first name. I compared the email address and found it to be the same as where I had sent the message 2 days before. I resent it, and requested confirmation she had received it. I also stated I would call her the next morning. I called her at 9:30 AM on Friday, 2/26. There was no answer, so I left a message, and sent another email. Incidentally, the recording on the voicemail for the number on her email says that the "call will be responded to within 24 business hours".

I heard nothing by phone or email and on Monday at 11:30, I tried the number for Mariel again, when she did not answer, I called and left yet another message for Ms. **, letting her know the above, and that if I was not contacted by the end of the day, I would move forward with seeking resolution through other means. Ms. ** called me back a few minutes before 5 PM that day, again apologetic and stating "this is not how it is supposed to be". That evening, I received another email from Mariel saying, "hi Catherine, I'm sorry I couldn't reach you today.

I was tied up in meetings. Please give me a call to further discuss your membership, or, provide me with a time when it's most convenient to reach you. Also, I still have not received the information you were referring to. It would help me greatly to have as much information regarding your account. Please send it to the email address below. I am in the office between the hours of 9AM-6PM EST Monday - Friday. I look forward to speaking with you",

I responded that she could literally call me at any time, and if I was not able to pick up I should be able to get back with her in 20 minutes or less. She finally called me on 3/4/10, more than a week after the day she was originally supposed to call me. She stated she had not received any of the 4 or 5 emails I had sent. I suggested there may be someone else in her office, whom I could send the email to, to see if that would produce a better result. She asked if she could call me the next day at 10 AM.

I said that was fine, and we could see if the email went through, and if not, I would try sending it by fax. Well, it is the next day at 3 PM, and again no call nor email from Mariel. So I am posting this here for multiple reasons, so other consumers can be warned, so Mariel can see it, and get the details needed to respond to my complaint and so that Ms. Irene ** can recognize that her suggestion to contact this other phone number is not resulting in better, or even good customer service. I am so frustrated in dealing with this company. All I am asking them to do is live up to their contract, and refund my money (only the portion I am due $768.22).

I always got voicemail and it could be a day or two before I got a return call. There was a lapse in time before I had a second date. He was a nice guy, but he was at least 6 years younger than me and was separated. I reported back and waited to hear from Denise for my 3rd date. We spoke a couple of times and I waited and waited and waited and heard nothing and then the 6 months was up. This company was supposed to do the work for me, dating for the busy professional, and nothing happened. I was very busy and I let it go and kicked myself for wasting so much money and chalked it up to experience.

Every now and then I would be reminded of this bad episode and just wanted an explanation, so one day a couple of years later, I called IJL in Fort Lee and, of course, Denise was no longer there. I told my story to the girl who answered the phone (her name escapes me) and she said she would have to search for my file and would call me back. She didn't call back so I called her again. Needless to say she didn't search for my file so I had to explain again. She suggested that I rejoin as my membership had expired and that maybe they could do something.

I said absolutely not, my contract was not honored the first time, I was owed 4 dates. I knew a considerable amount of time has passed, I told her, and I wasn't looking for a refund. I just wanted to know why Denise didn't do her job as promised. I had 2 dates at $550 a piece! She said she would have the branch manager call me. I am still waiting for that call. Every time I think about it, I feel like such a fool to be taken in like that!

The representatives continue to ignore phone calls and emails. I have not heard from them for four months despite my phone calls and emails. I am in the process of filing a dispute with my credit card company for reimbursement. At the rate I'm going, it will take at least 28 months to complete all eight dates. This service is fraudulent. Do not waste your money. Once they have your money, they do not follow up, nor do they take into consideration what you are looking for in your dates. It is a complete waste of time and money. It is supposedly a service for professionals, yet they are most unprofessional in the way this business is run.

I gave her may credit card information and she agreed to send over the paperwork. When the paperwork came, it did not match up to what she had offered on the phone. When I called her about it, she stated that I should just signed the paperwork as it is and she would see that I would get the additional dates promised. After about five minutes on the phone back and forth, I stated that unless she could put in the agreement what she was stating on the phone, I was not interested.

Today, I received my credit card statement and she had gone ahead and charged my account the fee. I contacted her again today and she told me that she would "see if she could get the paperwork and start to issue me a credit." She was rude and refused to let me speak to her manager. I have called my credit card company and I am disputing the charge. Besides getting my account credited, my primary concern would be to warn others of the unprofessional aspects of working with this company. They will say anything they can in order to get you to sign up. Once signed up, it only goes down hill from there.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, no one showed. The hostess contacted IJL office but they were closed. I attempted to call both the Calgary office and 1-800 numbers and both were full. I then emailed my Calgary consultant and the US consultant and received no response for a number of days. It was not until I had threatened to go to the Better Business Bureau and demand my money back that they got back to me. After some emails, I finally talked to a new consultant who admitted that I had fallen through the cracks and that the process would begin again. I responded with an email with expectations that I wanted things sorted out by the end of the week. I have not heard from anyone since November 18 and therefore I have made a complaint to the BBB and attempted to get Visa involved. I have also contacted local media with the hope that they will expose the company as money grab and scam artists.

For the last four months, I have been leaving messages at the South FL office at 305-405-8900 with no call backs. I have left numerous messages for the South FL Team Leader, ** at ** with no call back. According to the president of IJL, Irene **, "maintaining an open dialog with clients is crucial." There is no communication with South FL IJL. Finally, I called the main number, 800-335-8624, where the sales reps there sent ** multiple emails to contact me and she never did. One sales rep was actually able to connect me to **, dating manager in South FL, who told me that my account had been closed since I completed my 14 dates. I told him that I only had 11 dates.

We reviewed the names of my dates and found that one date never happened because I was stood up and told that date would not count. IJL seemed to fabricate the other two dates because I never went out with those people. ** could not even verify if those two dates even happened. I always give feedback on my dates which it what is supposed to be done. Had I not been diligent and keeping track of my dates, IJL would have cheated me and not full filled its contract to me.

Also, the two dates I was linked to probably are having the same issue and not even know it. No one even called me to tell me the account had been closed. ** is now trying to back track and states that they are willing to "grant me three more dates" like he is doing me a favor even though I am entitled to those three dates because I paid $1,900. Of course, I declined his ridiculous offer and asked for a partial refund which he told me cannot be done even though IJL breached their contract with me. I asked ** what happens when someone finishes their 14 dates. He said that they call the client, get feedback and see if they would like to sign up again. No one ever called me when my account closed which is suspicious since they made up two extra dates that never happened and closed my account.

I have called their world headquarters at 760-779-0101 and left several messages. Still, there was no call back from them. IJL is a scam and I am determined to get my partial refund even if that requires legal action. IJL is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

The NY/NJ dating directors arranged a date about 2 weeks later. It got cancelled due to bad weather and rescheduled. I was sick on the day of the date and called the restaurant as directed to cancel. I also left several messages for Sheri, Penny etc. I didn't hear anything from them despite my leaving messages that I never went on that first date. I finally connected with one of them who gave me all sorts of excuses about not getting any messages (I later found out they don't accept incoming calls at any of the numbers and do not call back). I told her of the situation and she said she would contact me to set up another first date.

About a week later, I get an email that stated that now that I had my first date, I need to set up a face to face interview with them as is their protocol. Again, I called and emailed to tell them that I never went on that first date. I hit the same dead end. By this time, it was into Sept and after they told me "We are sorry" you did tell us you never went and all the emails asking for a face to face done after the first date. They finally scheduled another date with a different person. That date got rescheduled again because he couldn't make the first one. During my conversation, I mentioned the Jewish Holidays and we wouldn't want to do it on a holiday. They knew and were told several times I wanted someone Jewish and I reiterated that I didn't want children.

Finally, I went on that 1st date in October. Needless to say, the man was Catholic and told me he wanted children and never told them otherwise. He was as annoyed as I was. He also said that the NY/NJ office didn't answer phone calls and there were other problems. I had asked for a refund deciding to forget the whole thing before the date because I could see the writing on the wall. I was very upset over this and again asked for money back. I spoke to a telephone operator who kept telling me it was up to the NY/NJ directors, who I couldn't reach at all and they would never call back. After about two weeks of trying, I spoke to Penny and told her the whole thing. They claimed they never knew I wanted to date someone Jewish and that the man they set me up with never said he wanted children.

They were lying they had screwed up. They still wouldn't return the money. Because of the first missed date, they said they would start my 6 months in Sept and give me an extra date because of the screw up with my first date. We then set up the face to face meet with Jennifer, their rep in NYC, at the end of Oct. I met her as planned and told her everything that went on. I met her on a Sat and she said they would be in contact with me by the next week. 2 weeks have now passed and once again, it is now the middle of Nov. I have tried call headquarters as well as sending emails to both Penny and Jennifer.

At every phone number this company has, there is an answering machine and nobody returns calls. At this point, I just want my $800.00 back. I can't take the anxiety and these games anymore. I know the contract is not finished but they are not doing anything not fulfilling them. I have an electronic copy. This company should be shut down.

We were also in a very small restaurant and this guy had no "inside voice," so all the other patrons could hear our entire conversation. I could tell they felt sorry for me, just as sorry and embarrassed as I was that they had to witness this horrible date. We parted, traded numbers, and he promised to call, but I just couldn't shoot him down in front of the 15 other people listening to our date. The venue is totally inappropriate for first dates.

I gather from reading everyone else's comments that it is worthless to fight to get my money back. The only way to fight IJL is to make sure they don't get additional customers. So I will continue to describe my dates and experiences here. If we can all keep one more person from joining this sham of a service, maybe they will go out of business once and for all!

This company should be shut down! The company does not care and does not even look at our profiles. I wanted honesty from Hayli and apparently she lied right to my face!

Prior to my meeting with the then top manager of It’s Just Lunch Stacy, who I am now told no longer works there, and I had several phone conversations explaining their matchmaking services and how it was not just a simple selection of people from a general data base to be placed together. This was a true matchmaking service where people, after being interviewed are then matched based on compatibility factors, and the degree of success for their company of making matches through this process is incredibly high. It was stated that they had a success rate of over 50% in the first year. She even stated in the last two months she personally matched two couples on a first meeting and their discontinued the service, saying how it was worth the $1,800.00 paid even for a one time meeting because they found the person they were looking for! And they owe it all to It’s Just Lunch and her skills as a professional matchmaker. From our conversations, I went to the office on January 16, 2009 to meet with Stacy and discuss in depth what their service would provide.

On that day I met Stacy for the first time. I filled out a basic form and gave a copy of my driver’s license to verify my information. We then discussed in detail what made their company so different from the typical dating web sites and other services of similar nature and why the reasons why their fees were so much higher. Your typical dating web site is approximately $24.00 a month their fee was $1,800.00 for services rendered by a trained team of professionals with an incredible success rate. This is what you are paying for. And it was stated they had thousands of people in their data bases to choose from. The typical male client was very successful, almost all with degrees and most she interviewed very handsome. I then asked for a scale based on a format everyone understands, a 1 to 10. She said she had at that very moment at least 8 off the top of her head if not up to 11 men who would fall into the 8 to 10 range in looks alone. They came to the service because they were very busy professionals and lack the time involved for dating in the usual fashion. So along with being successful and the fact that they too were looking for that very special someone the service sounded amazing.

I can provide recent pictures of myself to allow you to see what my appearance is and so you can see that based on appearance I do not have any trouble meeting men, this was not what brought me to their service. I have been a bikini model for over five years. In my lengthy and in depth meeting with Stacy we discussed exactly what it was I was looking for. I joined because she said she had several men for me to meet based on my general description: I was interested in meeting that “one” man that had it all, great looks, successful business man, strong personality, intellectually stimulating, good values, family oriented and an open heart hoping to meet someone the same. We then talked about more specific personality traits required, such as honesty, integrity, monogamy, positive attitude, confidence, old fashion or more to traditional values, an intellectual conversation level needed for compatibility and someone either with or interested in someone who has children.

She and I spoke in great depths as to who I am and what it was that I needed in a mate. This I was told was how they then “matched” people to you and your very specific needs, this was a complicated process she explained and she was very skilled and very successful at the matchmaking process. This was why people paid the large fee of $1,800.00 to join and that they as a company were also very selective as to whom they allowed as clients. After my description of what it was that I was looking for in a mate, she became very excited because as she said she had just interviewed someone she really thought would be an incredible “match,” He was an 8 on her scale, but she was incredibly picky, he stated to her almost exactly the same things as far as values and was so warm and caring, she said as far as conversation goes she couldn’t believe how easy he was to talk to and he was a 90% on the positive scale really looking forward to what life had in store for him.

Stacy said this was just one of many men she had in mind for me and when she really sat down with her staff and went over all the files and interviews and pictures she knew she would get it right. She explained how she could see the value of person I was and knew exactly what I was looking for. I had certainly come to the right place! Because they are a matchmaking service with such a high level of success based on matching people from looks, values, life paths, common interests, emotional needs, intellectual needs and more that is how they achieve the success rate they have and why people join their service. As she said you get what you pay for, a leap of faith in putting myself in her hands for only $1,800.00 she will do her magic, a small price in the end for what they had to offer me.

I am demanding a full refund from It’s Just Lunch. They have completely failed to provide even 10% of what was described to me by their then number one matchmaker through numerous phone calls and meetings. They have completely misrepresented their services and available clientele. After signing onto their service, I went on a total of seven matched meetings. I allowed them the opportunity to “work their magic” but was completely disappointed on every occasion. I called after every meeting and explained why the person chosen was nothing like what they said they had available to me and what my specific needs were and promised by them to deliver, were not even close. I was incredibly unhappy and gave detailed information as to what was wrong and missing only to be told each time they understood and would guarantee I would be very happy with the next person they had for me. I ended up going through three separate matchmakers who were all highly trained and skilled in their profession, to finally tell them they do not and have not even come close to the contract we agreed on as to what they had to offer and provide.

I refuse to continue with a service that has completely misrepresented what they are and what they promise to deliver. I gave them many opportunities and all of their chosen matches were nothing like the description of available men described. They did not and do not have the people promised and they did not provide this extensive matchmaking service that only professionally trained matchmakers can provide. Their described service is a scam, I don’t believe they went any further than taking files from a file cabinet not even looking at the names and put them together. Maybe they used a dart board where the same two colored darts hit and were then said to be a match. I am well beyond disappointed with their promises and performance, as you can see and demand a full refund based on their complete misrepresentation. I feel I do not have a binding contract with their company because of the lies and deceit presented by their representatives.

I have tried on numerous attempts personally with It’s Just Lunch to get a full refund of $1,800.00 but have been unsuccessful. I hope this letter better describes the reasons for my insisting a full refund and that by now putting it out there in the public, and now also taking them to small claims court, I hope to receive the refund due myself and help others against this fraudulent corporation. I thank you for your time and if you are in need of any further information please feel free to email me, I will be very happy to assist you in your efforts on my behalf. Thank you again.

Date number 2 was on 5-13-09. It was with Brian at Il Tiramisu. This was the only person that came close to meeting my criteria, but we had nothing in common. His only interests were computer games and Star Trek, neither of which I have any interest in. Date number 3 was on 6-27-09 (with Ashley at Spazio). This date was incredibly miserable. Ashley dismissed the server by saying that both wanted water and would order later, only to tell her that we were not interested in anything else. How embarrassing at a place that should easily be a $30 per person dinner. Additionally, Ashley spent the entire time telling me how wonderful he was, how he had never held a job more than a year prior to his current job and how when he reached two years at his current job he was going to quit and go back to school for his master’s degree in Michigan. He also stated that he was only interested in meeting people and not in a relationship or marriage (both of which I am looking for!).

Date number 4 was on 8-9-09 (with Jeff at Max Restaurant). This date took a turn for the worse when I walked in the door and Jeff complained about the length of the drive to meet me. He lives over an hour and a half away from me and almost 2 hours away from the restaurant! He seemed nice enough, but told me he was not interested in a relationship that far away. And to be honest, neither was I! Since then my IJL contact, Ashley, has been very snotty to me and told me that if I refused a date with someone based on distance, it would count towards my 14 dates. When I challenged this on the 13th of August, I was told that I would have to speak with Penny. Ashley made an appointment for me to speak with Penny the next day at 8 am PDT. Although Ashley sent me a confirmation email, Penny did not call at 8. Instead, she called closer to 10 am when I was out of the office. I left several more messages for Penny to which I got an email asking for a meeting. Penny finally emailed me on the 19th of August asking me what a good time was to speak with her. I stated the next day (20th) at 8 am PDT. Unfortunately, when I got to work I was sent out of town, so I sent Penny a message asking her to reschedule. To date, she has never called me back.

I left messages again on the 24th on Penny's voicemail. I left messages with various personnel on the 888-565-8624 line on the 26th and 28th. Yesterday, I spoke with Lee who promised me a phone call today (September 1st). And today I have spoken with Shan who told me that Penny would get back to me as soon as she could and that she was really busy with new clients. I asked if there was someone else I could talk to about cancelling my account and receiving a refund (based on the allowances in the contract I signed), but was told by Shan that Penny was the only person I could speak with and she would call me when she had time.

Additionally, the 888 number routinely hangs up on me instead of transferring me and when I call back, they routinely pick up the call and immediately hang up before I can say a word. I am very upset with the level of service I have received. I am appalled at the way IJL’s business is conducted (completely opposite to the advertising).

After, I put my membership on hold because it was going so poorly. After a year, I wanted to take it off hold and use it up (since I paid for it). I called IJL and they informed me that my membership had expired. I asked why I never received notice or a phone call to that effect and they said they don't do that. I requested that they reinstate my membership and they hung up on me. If you're reading this, you might assume I'm an ugly, uninteresting person and you'll be different. Not true. I thought that too when I read reviews, before signing up (about other people/bad reviews). On the contrary, I am a 25-year old, pretty, slim, attorney - I'm just saying. If you think the bad reviews are only from undateable people, think again.

In the past, the receptionist and the consultants were very helpful and provided decent matches. I said this would not be personal service and I could no longer recommend IJL. My request for a reactivation of an expired membership I had never used (met someone days later on my own and we were together for a few years) was denied via an email from Julie **. to Monica, and neither contacted me. They did not care that I had referred three men who purchased memberships (The men who used IJL told me they had more dates than they wanted. They were clearly short on men and sent them on too many dates and the matches were not always good).

Why would a person pay $1,500 for a service that is operated out of Florida? Why does the website still list the Omaha office address? Why did this organization drop its Omaha Chamber of Commerce membership? Why does IJL coach its representatives to lie about their location? I will never recommend IJL again. I know what my contract said and it was fulfilled. But I do not believe good faith was in effect and I never would have purchased a membership for a company that would end up closing a local office and operate out of a corporate office.

Liz reassured me there was no need to worry and that Lester was a professional. When he showed up to his interview in khakis and a nice shirt, he was not at all like the stereotype I was fearing. She explained that after our initial interview, she had a good grasp on my personality and the qualities I was looking for in a man. I took her for her word--what else could I do? I had tried online dating, friend's introductions, church, bible studies, co-worker introductions, etc. so I gave her the benefit of my doubts.

My intuition was right. Lester was exactly what I was expecting him to be and was very disappointed. He showed up to our date in jeans, tennis shoes, and striped shirt. He told me that he was not a manager and didn't know why they (IJL) always told people that. He worked on a factory line at the cardboard box-making factory in St. Paul. He told me about his cabin (mobile home) on 120 acres up toward ** with no running water, sewer, or lake. We had nothing in common, there was no attraction, and he was not who they represented him to be. He said he was not impressed or pleased with his experience with IJL either and that some of the women had been outright rude to him.

Now, after going on six dates myself with terrible results, I can see why their disappointment of being set up with men who have none of the qualifications they are looking for and being lied to about dates could make them react in anger toward someone. Instead of taking it out on my dates, I would like to express my disappointment of the company myself. After each date, I did contact IJL and tell them how I was not happy with the date, how their description of each date was inaccurate. I even offered to come in, talk to Liz again and be re-interviewed so we could go over my list of requirements and preferences again.

I was told that it was all a process and that each date would come closer and closer to the type of person I was interested in meeting. I told them that they could not be any further away from what I was looking for and that they should look for someone exactly opposite from whom they previously selected for me. I also asked for additional dates and asked why it took so long for them to set me up with another person.

Why could I not be set up with two dates in the same week? They said they wanted feedback before they set me up with additional people. At every corner, I was met with resistance when trying to communicate my frustration with the lack of expertise on what they advertised and bragged about in the market of match making. Liz told me that she was number 8 in their company nationally for sales and success stories. She was not shy in expressing her high opinion of herself.

I did try to research the company before signing up. I asked several friends and friends of friends. Some were ambivalent, others had success stories. It is only now, three months later, that I found your website with stories of disappointment and complaints. I wish I would have seen it sooner. I was also intrigued by the state limit for what they were allowed to charge for their services in New York and other states.

I would be interested in finding out if there is a way for me to recoup some of my fees or to make a more public announcement of the scam I believe this company to be, so others will not waste their money or time. Dating is not easy or necessarily fun and can be discouraging. No one needs to pay to have those disappointments exaggerated. I appreciate your time and the work you do to help consumers. Feel free to contact me. I would love to get to the bottom of this. I have had several dates (and names) who feel the same and would like to see something done.

The next amazing response was when I took a pass on their recommendation, "You are not allowed to say no because we've worked so hard to make these matches." As so many have pointed out here, a dart is about as accurate. After I pointed out that Bachelor #4 was on my list of will-not-considers, she relented ungraciously and cooked up a new alternative. I was clear that the dates have been very uncomfortable and even threatening in that one instance and requested a refund, to no avail. The only option offered was to put my activity on hold, which only prolongs the misery so I'm still going.

After #5, which lasted 20 minutes, I requested that this not count since it was so clearly outside either party's comfort zone but that was rejected as well. My assumption has been that they have a women to men ratio of about 400:1, that means sending the women out with whatever warm body is available since the dates have all told me that they go out weekly instead of monthly like I do. Finally, I'd asked to refine my profile and was told no that "I was accepted as a client on the basis of that and no changes were permitted". So I can't say no, I can't ask for better and I can't get my money back. My goal now is to spread the word as widely as possible about this scam.

So the guidebook should ask: How much background investigation is done on the candidates? They should at least make sure the parties are not married! What is the ratio of men to women? How is the feedback used to improve the outcomes of future matches? What recourse is available if the results are clearly unsatisfactory for a specific match and for the service overall?

I did meet a few more, just a few of the 16 ladies that I met were slender, about 4 maybe. She set me up with this woman, named Denise that claimed to be 49. She was much older than that, maybe 56 or 57 and she was very much overweight as well. We did have a second date. The second one, well she was very boring, nothing in common. I called IJL and told them, please watch the weight. Denise was date 13 or 14, lost count. I was very upset with IJL at this point, very much so, so they fixed me up with this Jill. When we met that one Sunday night, well I had to take a breath or I was going to faint onto floor, in walks this red head, 5’5” tall, very much over weight. I was shocked that IJL would even take her on as a client. ** told me that IJL does not take on clients like that, just the fact that it would be hard to fix someone up with a weight problem.

By this time, I was so upset with IJL that I wrote and called again, how you just don’t listen to me! I paid $1,600.00 to be fixed up, with slender women. I was on the phone with one of the girls for about one hour, explaining “don’t you understand” I do not want to be fixed up with overweight women! They finally listened. They set me up with 3 more ladies, that were slender, but I was not interested in dating. Finally, they set me up with this post office lady, she was 31, a bit young for me; I am 45 years old, but I met with her anyhow. She was very slender and nice. We had a great time for the hour we were together. She gave me her number and email address and agreed to a second date. Well, that’s what I thought. We were to see each other later that week, for a second date, well? She write me a day later, saying she just joined IJL and wanted to date a few more guys and not ready to get close to anyone right now, and she went on to say that she needed to talk to ** about going out with me on a second date. She is 31 years old.

From that point on, I knew this service was a joke and I was not going to get anywhere with this service at all. I wrote ** telling her again what kind of service are you running here, that someone needs to get an okay from you to go on a second date. I can go on and on about IJL but I won’t. I took every date that I went on seriously. That’s why I joined IJL to meet someone special, not to be friends. I always showed up early with flowers for my dates; every one of them received to show them I am interested in meeting someone nice and special. I always had a positive attitude when I meet with my dates at all times. I even paid for their dinners just to be nice and hoping to meet someone. I was always dressed to impress, clean shirt and pants, well groomed and nice cologne on. $1,600.00 is a lot of money.

Finally, I spoke to Charisse at the corporate office, who constantly talked over me, interrupted, and also did not listen to what I was saying at all. I had to repeat the same story for her several times and argued in circles with her. She was completely unwilling to listen to me and when I insisted on speaking to her supervisor or manager, she refused and kept saying she was the only one in charge of making this decision (about whether or not to let me end my membership and receive a refund). I lost $500 on a membership to this lousy company that did nothing for me except refuse to listen and make me feel angry, frustrated, and ignored. I believe they are scamming people on the matches as well, but I never even got that far because of their horrendous customer service.

I asked to meet professional men, between 5'9” and 6'2”, dark or gray haired, no shaved heads, no beards, slim built but not puny, no children living with them (later changed to no children under age 15 or 16), well-traveled and not just business related, live in Portland (not the suburbs or surrounding small towns), liberal, young at heart, active, and well maintained.

Out of the 8 painful dates I have had so far, none of them have met my physical requirements (2 looked about 6'5, one very overweight, 2 not much bigger than I am (and I am very slim), blondes, 2 with shaved heads, and one bearded. Two had young children. Only two had traveled outside of the US and one of those had only traveled for business. Five lived in the suburbs or even further out of the city. Two were virtual stalkers. One I got the impression was married or in a committed relationship.

The whole experience has been very unpleasant. The dates were always set up by someone I'd never met or spoken with before who would never really have much information to impart other than he's attractive which is subjective and for the record, I haven't found one of my dates physically attractive. When I called to speak with Windy, the representative who sold the service to me, and complained that I had not heard from her since that first day and she said she'd been busy and that she would do better about following up with me. I complained that so far the dates had been way off and she promised me that they would ensure a closer match. The 5 dates subsequent to that conversation were not any closer and I haven't heard from her again. I finally gave up without going on the remaining 8 dates. I just couldn't stand the thought of it.

I have enjoyed some interesting conversations with 2 or 3 of these men but that was it. In fact, several of the men told me that there were many more women than men signed up and that they are regularly getting calls to go on dates, sometimes even after their service was expired. Before I signed up, I asked Windy about the numbers and she lied to me and told me it was almost 50/50. After hearing from some of my dates that this was not the case, I asked her again and again she insisted that there were equal numbers signed up.

I am extremely disappointed and wanted to ask for a refund of $700 since I only took half my dates but I have heard from other women and from reading this site that they won't give refunds. The whole thing is basically a scam, even from a customer service aspect they delivered absolutely nothing they promised. Consequences: $1,400 plus lots of wasted time.

I didn't even get the number of men we agreed upon for the year. I would get a call all the way from Florida about every couple of months from someone who I've never met who would read off a resume of some random guy (he likes sports, movies, he's 5/11, um, let's see, he cooks, too!). They tried to set us up and some of the time we lived far away, like an hour or more. Obviously, in Florida they wouldn't realize the locations in California.

When you sign up, they make believe that it's personal and that they match you up according to your interview. It's not that way at all. I've had much more success online with Match. It's cheaper and you can weed out on your own. Save your money!

I have been extremely pleased with the IJL staff in every aspect. I was hesitant calling them as my previous experiences with other companies were not positive ones. I phoned them and was greeted by the IJL staff with a warm welcome. I spoke with a Director who was professional, compassionate, friendly and knowledgeable. She explained the interview process and we scheduled to meet in order for her to see if they had available matches of the type of person I was looking for.

When I met with the Director, we discussed all areas of my personal life in addition to her asking questions regarding my previous dating experiences, what I enjoyed doing in my spare time, and what type of person I was looking for. I enrolled that day and was phoned the following day with information regarding my first date. While he was not what I would consider my soul mate, he was very much a gentleman & we had a great time. My fifth date was with the perfect match. We have been dating since and have requested the staff to hold our membership to see where it goes.

It has been such a positive experience from the staff - to the dates - to my current relationship. If you are tired of being referred to as a number and not a name, broken promises, and feeling as if no one listens, I recommend for you to call IJL; you won't be disappointed!!

My first date was over 10 years my senior!!! Not only that, the turnover within the 1 year I was with them was ridiculous. I constantly talked to new coordinators who had no idea what I was looking for. After the first few dates, the calls became less and less frequent because they didn't have men for me. This is the largest scam I have ever seen. If they don't find you someone you could seriously date, they should refund part of your money especially if most of your dates didn't fit your criteria. The staff was fake and the price was way too high. For people who are considering using them, STOP now. Your money would come to better use on dating websites. Plus, you'll save hundreds more. DO NOT USE IJL - worst idea I have ever had!

I don't think that anyone will be surprised to learn that since then, I have gotten no response from them. I will attempt to contact their corporate offices this week, but I can't say that I expect much. Their behavior up to now doesn't provide much reason for optimism. If they either improve their service to the point where it offers some value or give me a refund, I'll post to that effect here. But don't be surprised if my next posting indicates further dissatisfaction.

Rather than go on painful date number 9, I insisted on having my file reviewed with one of the coordinators. Maybe there was a mistake with the notes. Once that was done, I figured the dates would improve and better reflect who I was looking for. Four dates later, little improvement. I have two dates left, and I am going to put my account on hold. As a busy professional, I do not have time, nor do I want to waste my time on another painful date. I am writing this to warn other men and women so they can fully understand that they are paying money to be set up on 14 blind dates. Understand, you do not get to talk or see pictures of your date before you meet. You are better off using the money you would have paid and take a nice vacation. Instead, ask your family and friends to set you up on a blind date - it's much cheaper, and the chances of meeting someone who is a good match is higher.

They arranged matches with mostly African women which is fine except that none were at all attractive to me, and it wasn't hard to see that most of them weren't interested. One I am friends with, and all of them had low opinions of the service and quality of the matches. After being introduced to another Indian, I reminded them that I don't like Indians, and they asked me what I do like. I told them that I like European women. So they proceeded to match me with an overweight African, not even close. She was clearly not interested, and our conversation mostly revolved around how poor the service was.

I'm a software engineer, so I have a pretty stable career. I'm also in good shape; in addition to doing a lot of hiking, I also teach martial arts in my spare time. Of the women that I've dated over the years, most of them made the first move (all of those were attractive women), so clearly I'm not the one at fault here. I don't have any problems meeting women; the problem for me has been single women. But the It’s Just Lunch folks are clearly not interested in helping me find women that I'm interested in, though it’s hard to determine whether it's due to incompetence or a simple lack of clientele. The last woman I met believes that they have the clientele but are terrible at matching. It's been over two weeks now since I gave them my feedback, and I haven't received any further calls, which given the price of their service and the poor matching is simply unacceptable.

I have been on a total of 7 dates since August, and have been very unsatisfied with whom they consider a match for me. After each date, I called to give my feedback, per their request, so they can fine tune the matching. We are not getting closer to finding someone who fits the description I gave them. There are major personality flaws in all of the dates I have gone on. Some ask inappropriate questions regarding my divorce and previous sex life and if I still get my period, make bad jokes or racist comments, ask to split an appetizer or salad when no main course is being ordered, have a strange sense of humor and seem hurt when I don't laugh and think they are amusing or entertaining, perspired profusely, played with the silverware in a crudely and sexually suggestive manner. I have not been asked for a second date by any of my dates, nor would I accept.

If I don't call IJL, I don't get a match. I have repeatedly told them I wanted a minimum 2 dates a month. They say they are looking for a match. The trouble is, they don't really have anyone who fits the description I gave them the day I signed up. I was lied to. They are not honest. It is a scam. I do not want to go on any more dates. I would like a refund. The men I have met are men I would never have chosen for a date. Most of them are unattractive, and if they are not shy, they are strange.

Here it is: If there is one thing I can't tolerate, it's poor customer service and I am writing you today to say that I am absolutely speechless at the customer service I have encountered at Its Just Lunch (IJL) in Nashville, mostly with Rachel, but also with other people there who I have encountered. Let me start by saying that I was set up on a date with an individual that seems to have crawled out from under a rock, someone who could not have had a college education, which was a requirement on my profile. I was humiliated and embarrassed beyond belief and terrified of running into anyone I knew while on the date. Out of the kindness of my heart I sat there for 30 minutes and then RAN to my car in tears.

One example of our conversation was this so called professional? saying to me, "Does that there beer make ya wanna burp cause it sho does me. I swear I thought you wanted to burp too"? This should be example enough to show you that was the longest 30 minutes of my life. The guy talked about how he likes to blow things up. He was dressed like a Nazi skinhead and quite frankly I was afraid not to let him pay. He said, "Now you gonna make me mad? if you don't let me pay." Every time I bring this incident up, Rachel says, "You keep bringing that up"? The reason is because I don't feel I was adequately heard about how horrible this was. Giving people second chances and the benefit of the doubt is something I tend to do but wish I hadn't done in this case. IJL did nothing to console me when this happened or to make the situation right.

They had me scheduled for another date and it felt like when that date canceled, they just threw me in with the first person available. Why would an organization claiming to be a professional? dating service even accept this guy they made me go out with as a client? After this incident and them doing NOTHING to reconcile the horrific most embarrassing date of my life, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went on another date. The second date I was sitting in the restaurant. When I walked in and I knew that was him sitting in the waiting area and I walked outside and called a friend and said, "I don't want to have lunch with this guy. He is like the size of a Jockey." My friend said, "Just be nice and do it for 30 minutes," so I did. I explained to IJL the guy was around 100 pounds it seemed. If I sat in his lap I would crush him.

IJL seems to have no common sense at all when it comes to matching dates. I am 100% certain with my dating experience that I could do a much better job matching people up. Three guys of the 5 or 6 I met were seemingly normal and I was pleased with those matches as best could be expected, but this was certainly not the kind of professional I felt was equal to what I was looking for or anything like what I put in my profile. After all of this frustration in October I just decided to take a break and put my membership on hold. I emailed and called and left a message to put my membership on hold. No one called me back. I then received a voicemail from someone about my new matches. I called back saying I had asked to be put on hold and was assured this would be taken care of and someone would call me back to confirm.

However, AGAIN someone called me back with new matches. I was furious, I said, I called two or three times asking to be put on hold already and you have called me twice with a new match.? Obviously there is EXTREME miscommunication and disorganization in that office. Being so frustrated with the disorganization and me having to constantly call and follow up for fear they would not put me on hold I just decided to go ahead and stop dealing with the hassle and lame or non existent customer service and cancel. I realize this was 2 weeks before November 1st and that I was not giving 30 days, but AGAIN, I was so angered and frustrated by the lack of communication, lack of customer service, and the inability for anyone at the Nashville IJL to have any common sense that I would be taken care of accordingly.

I was charged anyway for November. Two weeks or so before November 1 until today, November 26 I have called repeatedly. This week alone I have called 4 times FINALLY getting someone to answer the phone (note: no one called me back). I expressed my frustration with not being refunded the $100 for November and Rachel said, "I told you that you weren't going to get a refund." I said Rachel, "You didn't, and obviously IF I HAD KNOWN that I would have gone ahead and used November as my notice and gone on a date in that month. BUT because no one called me back or cared to clear that up with me I've kept calling and calling and calling." Rachel had the NERVE to suggest that I use the service for December as my 30 days at no charge since I was unaware of this. Does she not see how idiotic it is to suggest that NOW after all of this time and frustration? The nerve of her makes me sick to my stomach.

She should have called me the first week of November and we could have cleared everything up then. She was not nice on the phone and DID NOT treat me like a customer. She talked over me, would not really listen to my concerns and obviously has never worked in a service industry before OR just plain doesn't give a damn about people. She couldn't see how unprofessional IJL had been in how they have treated me. She couldn't understand my fears based on the Hillbilly date I had been on and no one doing anything to remedy that. And she didn't have the professionalism to do what is right and just give me my $100 refund. Due to the lack of organization, I fear being charged again for December.

If this is not handled accordingly today further action can and will be taken. I will contact the Better Business Bureau for every single location of IJL to file a formal complaint. This can all be remedied with a simple refund and then I will not have to speak negatively of your company. I hope his can be taken care of today professionally and expeditiously and look forward to hearing from you today. Thank you.

(AFTER ALL OF THIS THEY CALLED ME WITH ANOTHER MATCH - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

The company fought the credit card agency and won, claiming that my contract didn't allow me to cancel after 3 days! I was finally notified in late October that they would like to work with me again. I laughed and asked how I could possibly trust them again. I demanded a refund. I posted a complaint on the BBB website. The next day someone from corporate HQ called me and tried to convince me to try again.

I demanded a refund and told them I had hired an attorney. They gave me ANOTHER corporate number (Claire) in charge of refunds but she has not returned my phone call in 3 days! They really never provided me with any level of service and still won't return my money. I don't even know if they still have an Atlanta database in this economy! They don't return phone calls, always give excuses.

I think the company is dishonest and should be investigated. As of today 11/19, I am awaiting contact by Daniel Dolan the CEO. I sent him a certified return receipt letter explaining all of this and my intentions to take this to Magistrate Court in Georgia. I have an attorney but would rather not have to pay her the refund money I get from IJL!

They sent me out on 2 and 3 dates per week, but they were all incompatible. I have a grown son already, was adamant about not having anymore children in life, and they set me up with men ready to settle down wanting children. The men were angry, I was angry, plus it was a complete waste of drycleaning money, the cost of cab fare in Seattle to go meet for drinks or lunch, the list goes on an on.

I was also specific in that I didn't want any right wing christian coalition types, then I was sent on a date with a youth pastor looking to settle down and have kids. In the end, they just send you out on dates for the sake of sending you out on dates, and they dont care if you are compatible or not.

There is no matching, it's more like a call service, you pay them money, they call you up and send you on a blind date. It was a nightmare and a total rip off. Did I mention that aside from not being a match character wise, looks wise it was also a disaster? Fat, bald, overweight, or short men who lied about their height was what I got - and I asked for professional men in their late 40's with salt and pepper gray hair who are about 5'9 and above. I never once got what I asked for.

In the end, I put my membership on hold, made up some lie to get them off my back so they would quit calling me and I just wrote off the 1500 - they were so shady I didn't even bother trying to get my money. I was too exhausted dealing with them about dates, god knows what it would have taken to get my money back.

I signed up for match.com because I was pretty sure I could do a better job of finding a mate for myself - and low and behold! I put in the computer what I was looking for, went on about 20 - 30 dates, found Mr. Right in about 6-8 months, got married 2 years later. Here I am happily married. Nobody knows me better than me, and nobody knows better what I am looking for then I do. I should have skipped IJL and just paid $39.00 a month with Match.com and saved myself about $1300.00. Not to mention, I went on dates with people who closely resembled my ideal criteria. Save yourself the money ladies, just join Match.com - you can do a better job yourself!

This has been a total waste of money and when I inquired to the company of how they were describing me they were totally off. I further confirmed this when I would go on the occasional date. This is a scam. Apparently there are many more women than men and my experience is that they will just set you up to get you out and get you out of their system. It is a very expensive joke.

Economically, it dipped into my pocket to the tune of $1300 + the dates because the men they have set me up with are not gentlemen. There was no physical damage.

$1,500 non-refundable

Again for me personally I have nothing but positive feelings about It's Just Lunch and look forward to hear from my good friend (Jen) and discuss not only my next meeting but a pleasant voice on the other end to say hi too!!

I lost a lot sleep and often wake up in the middle of night feeling angry and berated (which is unusual as I never lost a night of sleep even during my PhD qualification.) I am an Asian and English is not my native language. I feel that they are taking advantage of me on this aspect and had no respect of my wishes- though I am a paying client. Even as a free resource for another dating service, when I say no, people know not to set me up with a man I don't desire to meet. I have since become very depressed and currently am seeking help from psychologists which is a first for me. I have always been respected, and this experience has really damaged me.

I put my membership on hold since they couldn't find me anyone(after several months I think)and then again after a month,and then again-so maybe something good happens there.But then that I wanted to restart again they tell me that I waited too long and that I went on some dates already!?So no refund and no renewing!!And I must pay to restart!!But I wouldn't pay a dime now that they wasted my time and money.Thankyou

Now they called me the other day, talking up some guy, but in the end when I asked what the down side was-- she said he's not exactly in my age profile. I got out of her that he's 68!! No one under 5'11 from me meant they lined up some as short as 5'3; the joke goes on and on. They won't refund, transfer or do anything with my membership, and I'm sure they are ripping people off day in and day out with empty promises everywhere they have an office.

It cost me $1,300 to sign up for IJL, money I had to scrape up and save. I'm not a rich person, and that $1,300 would have been much better utilized paying bills and buying food than wasting it on IJL's empty promises and lies!

I paid them $1500 and have completely been scammed. They have no idea of who they are matching other than males to females, and they basically steal your hard earned money and exploit people's hearts and vulnerabilities.

I'm a 31 year-old single guy that tried IJL-Portland for 1 year starting about May 2006. I'm the type of person that tries about anything once. I paid $1400 and I probably had roughly about 12-14 dates. I felt that each 'match' was very sub-par. Do not get me wrong, they matched me up with very successful (professionally at least) women- lawyers, doctors, financial analysts, engineers, and teachers. I did have good conversations in restaurants I had never visited, which can be nice.

What they were getting wrong was what I was looking for in a partner- an active person that makes exercise and physical fitness a part of her everyday life because it is a big part of my life. They continued to match me up with women that in no way they exercised regularly. I tried very hard to be polite and communicate this problem to IJL after each date. However, I felt like they pretty much ignored what I said because it kept happening and it was starting to p*** me off.

It was not until about the end of my membership where I snapped and I put to them bluntly, I don't date women that look like they weigh as much as me, and I weigh 160lbs. I don't know how else to get this through to you guys! before it finally came through to them that I may be interested in a fit gal. Thus I tried IJL, membership over, I know some neat restaurants in Portland, end of story, right? Nope.

They did not take no for an answer. They played with my emotions, get me to think about the fact I'm 31 and in a few years I am going to be in trouble with the dating scene and there will be no hope for me. So I said let me think about it for a day. I thought about it for day. I called back the next day. I gave them 3 reasons why I do not want to renew (expensive, going back to college, don't know where I'm going to be in 6 months) and I'm about ready to say 'good-bye'.

I buckled enough to allow them to charge my credit card, but big key here is I DID NOT SIGN ANYTHING. I asked them to email me the contract so I could read it (I did also gave them my tenitive availabilty dates for my new 'match'). There's two contracts I received- the IJL contract, and authorization contract to charge my credit card.

I emailed them back and said I read the contract, I did not like what I see, they won't work for me, I'm not going to effectively use my renewal, uncharge my credit card, this is my final decision. Next day they called. Still trying to talk me out of it. They even said they would waive the $200 fee (if I would have agreed to this I would have asked for it in writing).

Now I'm done being nice and professional.... I started out saying what part of 'no' do you not understand? They did finally yield, finally, but mentioned they had already told their match they were working on times to meet.

I said I would go out with any race. I budged on my age range as they could not produce anyone within my parameters. I went nuts when they insisted I go out with someone my own height. Perhaps that is not an issue with some women, but it is with me. I was told that I was too picky and would never find someone if I weren't willing to move on the height issue.

They obviously did not have men that met my criteria. There tactics were to beat me down and force me to compromise on what I wanted. I could have done much better elsewhere.

I just wish I would have read complaints online first.

I was pressured into going on dates with men I stated clearly I would rather pass on and was told that I should give them a chance or they are really great....the first date I went on was so horrible that he could not even understand what I do for a living.

The service is supposed to be professional - that is why you pay the big bucks afterall - but, in actuality, it is totally ad-hoc. The checks are supposed to be split by the restarant to avoid unease...this did not happen on any of my dates and it made for an uncomfortable situation at the end. One of the dates there was not even a reservation made.

I have put my membership on hold because of the frustration. I do not feel that the service has listened to even one of my complaints or tried to rectify the situation.

On the whole, It's Just Lunch has been an incredible waste of time and money and a huge source of frustration.

I would recommend to anyone that they try their luck with Match.com or one of the other online sites that charge much less money and allow you a lot more flexiibility in your search.

Also my friend did this service and asked that they do not set her up with any Indian guys due to religious beliefs. The first three guys were Indian. We both have our memberships on hold.

Please stop telling black women you can help them.

When I applied for your program back in 2000 or 2001 I was very lonely and having a hard time as a professional black woman meeting men. In the past, I had dated good-looking, well-educated guys but things had not worked out for a variety of reasons. Then I had moved to Atlanta a place known to have many more black women than black men (or men of other races open to dating black women).

So, when I called you I specifically made it clear that I wasn't sure you had a nice pool of men who would be good matches for me.

You said you did and, to add injury to insult, you said you had a light skinned man with green eyes who was available right now. As if that is what black women are dreaming of or something! (Oh, please, we like good-looking men of all hues; not just those who favor white people!)

Then you told me to come down right away? and bring your checkbook? and that we would get me started.?

Well, I know without question that you paid a tall, light-skinned guy to go on a pretend date with me (he was actually the ex-boyfriend of a girl I knew) and then you told me sorry, he wasn't interested but we have other nice guys and you paired me with two very unattractive, insecure men (one black and one white) who were nothing like the type of men I've always dated and attracted.

You took $1,000 from me and did this. I begged for my $800 back for the 8 dates that I didnt go on and for my dignity. You refused to give me back this money (you still owe me; you know you do!) Do you know how it feels to be used like that? It's as if I was a joke to you.

White America can't stand to hear this but this IS a racist country and we still have a long way to go in how we value color and race (in dating and in the overall world). We try to say that all the time and you shout us down with anger over even mentioning the word but we are the ones who have to deal with it day in and day out.

Please understand that many black women find wonderful men black and white who love them and value them (and, yes, frankly, many, black men prefer black women and some white men do, too, despite what you may think from the minority of black men who, deep down, have serious issues with women of their own race). But, it is still harder for us than any other group and you should respect that and not take advantage of that as a company and make money from it!!

Ill never forget how you used me. You should be ashamed of yourselves!

I joined thinking this service sounds fantastic, six months and four horrible dates later I am completely disillusioned and very angry. They basically have provided me with breathing males that do not possess any of the qualities I told them I was looking for. The first date was to be with a Veterinarian, which would be fine however he was into collecting and trading baseball cards not something that appeals to be I declined the date the Director called me and said she hand selected this man just for me? would I please just go on the date. I agreed, I mean she did hand select him just for me.

Disaster #1, he was a vet who worked as a meat inspector, he was completely blind in one eye and partially blind in the other, he lived with his mother in the house he grew up in, his first words to me were how many dates have you been on? I said this is my first, he said this is my 3rd, how does this check thing work, we split the bill? Yes I said (thinking to myself you are already worried about the bill, we havent even ordered anything) the date went downhill from there. $40.00 and 1 later Im running for the door. Hand picked what a farce.

Disaster #2 Description given to me: Very nice guy, loves his dog, sends his dog to a spa- just think how he will treat you?. Ok I am an animal lover so I can understand taking really good care of your dog and I love going to spas. Ok Ill meet him. Older guy, think he may have been gay, liked to hunt water fowl. One of my requirements for a potential match is that he does not HUNT or posses a gun, need I say more. $100.00 and 2 hours.

This services has wasted my time and my money. $1,300.00 to join, $240.00 for dinners and a lot of time preparing and talking with men I have nothing in common with.

I've met 9 women through It's Just Lunch, and 2 of them met the criteria of what I was looking for. 2 out of 9 is not a good success rate for a business that charges $1,500 and claims to differentiate itself on the personal touch. I've expressed my dissatisfaction several times, and received a call from the coordinator who originally interviewed me (her name was Lindsay) apologizing and asking to give them one more chance, and that she would personally select my next match.

I met my next match, and she turned out to be Jewish. At the end of our date, my match told me that she enjoyed meeting me but it was obvious that I was not Jewish and she had requested that It's Just Lunch only match her with Jewish men because she was not interested in inter-faith relationships. Ironically, my initial interview stated that I was only interested in meeting protestant women because of my active involvement in my church. That's a basic concept that a personal touch dating service should be able to get right.

I have been duped as well, with their advertising stating the professional people that they have as clients. Very few of my matches were professional!

I joined because I thought this would be a way to meet women. Instead of the bar scene. But I was taken, along with the rest. They have no idea on how to match people. I had quite a few matches, but nothing that I was interested in, and these women had nothing in common with the profile I had interview for.

It was very disturbing because in order for me to meet these matches with my job responsibilities, I had to leave work one to two hours before the meeting to clean up to meet these women. Yes, I work construction and it was difficult to work my schedule to be on time. So I was very unhappy, when these women either smoked, owned cats or lived beyond the metro area. These three items were specifically addressed at my meeting with the Director. Yet, no credence was given to these three items.

There reasons for matches were indescribable. They have even set me up with married women, no not legally separated, still married. Don't know why these married women were in the program, don't want to know. And yet my feedback was completely ignored. They continued to set me up with married women, or they smoked, or they owned cats of which I am allergic to.

I will try to get a refund. I have read that some have been successful, and some haven't tried. I am asking for a partial refund of my year membership. This amount is $900.

I joined in September 2006 and paid $1,500. Shortly thereafter, without notice to me, the person with whom I met left the company. As a result, the personal service that is advertised no longer existed. This was a gross misrepresentation upon which I relied to my detriment. Thereafter, I was routinely sent on dates that were nowhere close to the type of man I was interested in or to whom I was attracted.

I took time out of my day to go back and meet with Leslie in early 2007. The matches were marginally better, but still not the caliber of men I am interested in dating. I asked that they refrain from sending me on dates that were not suitable, as I would rather wait for the right person --each time I was told that this was a good match. I think I was just sent as a front person so these guys had their quota of dates.

This service wasted my time with over 16 dates in 6-7 months. Each poor match resulted in the obvious emotional distress of forced conversation, not to mention that I work on commission so I lost money due to the blatant misrepresentations made by representatives of It's Just Lunch. I want a refund of my $1,500.

I contacted It's Just Lunch because I had heard good things. Unfortunately, I didn't speak with anybody that actually used the service themselves.

I've been on 6 dates so far and one is worse than the next. I'm not even a little bit compatible with my set-ups. They continually set me up with weird, awkward introverts. One guy was describe as blonde with blue eyes who has a variety of interests. I showed up and he was balding with gray hair. And outside of his lacking in looks, his personality was lacking and the conversation was painful.

I was promised that I would meet some really great people. So far I haven't met anybody I would ever want to date again. I don't even want to use the rest of my dates. I wasted $1,500 and 6 evenings with the lead cast of Revenge of the Nerds.

I filed with the BBB and sent a certified letter with my complaint and demand for a refund. The date the certified mail was signed for, I received phone calls from someone who wanted to make a date as well as Diane who said she was sorry she hadn't gotten back to me about my complaint. Needless to say, I have neither received a letter or a refund. My next step is to take them to small claims court.

This was a very expensive proposition, $1500 and one in which IJL cannot come through on their end of the contract. Going to ITJ after my husband died was a difficult decision; one in which I didn't have a ton of money to throw around. I have asked repeatedly for a refund. I am not interested in their pool of potentials. I just want my money back since they have failed to keep their end of the contract.

They require that you phone them to report in within 24 hours of your date. They told me that this was so they could get a better idea of what you did or did not like about the guy, and they could apply this to find you a more compatible date the next time. It all sounded like a great idea.

The truth was, they did not have nearly as many people in their system as they had told me.

Even after numerous complains during the next months, the matches they aligned me with became more and more incompatible and the dates kept getting worse and worse. They have not even come close to delivering what they promised.

Several times they sent me to one restaurant and my date to another. One of the dates never showed up at all. They gave me some lame excuse as to why he didn't show.

I expressed my concerns to them numerous times when giving my date feedback. They even offered to extend my membership to give me more dates. What good would that do? They couldn't deliver what they had already promised me.

Out of total frustration I put my membership on hold in October 2006.

In the middle of January I wrote them a letter outlining all their lies and demanded my money back in spite of a no refunds clause in their contract. I pointed out to them that I would contact an attorney and sue them for breach of contract if they did not refund my money, since they lied to me to get me to sign the agreement in the first place.

They send me back a letter telling me that they would refund my money in return for signing a non-disclosure that I would not go public with my story. I signed it, and waited for my refund. Now, almost four months later, still no refund. Additionally, they continue to promise to return my phone calls and never do.

This company is not qualified to be in the matchmaking business. The promises they make to the prospective members are for the purpose of putting money into their own pockets.

I am currently filing a claim in Orange County Small Claims Court asking for all my money back. I am also sending this report to the Better Business Bureau and any other place where I can get the word out. If I can keep one other busy professional from wasting their time and money with this company, then I feel it will have done some good.

I have had very bad experiences with this company - not following through and setting me up on dates with the SPECIFICS I have asked not to be set up with. I have given them feedback each time and they have not listened. These examples are the basics - like where they live, if they have kids, etc. Horrible experience. The woman I originally met with is no longer with them, but they will not admit this to anyone and lie to all of us. I will be happy to provide examples.

Wasted money, wasted time. Most of the men I have gone out with through them have had the same complaints.

After hearing radio advertisements for It's Just Lunch, I decided to contact the company for additional information. Despite repeated phone calls and e-mails, no one has contacted me. They do not answer their phones or respond to messages left on their answering machine. They also will not respond to e-mail inquires. I have tried to reach this business for over two weeks. This company continues to have radio advertisements and send advertisements via e-mail -- for services that apparently do not exist!

I believe that this is a totally numbers-driven company. They send you out on as many dates as possible to use up your membership. They show no concern about if you would have anything in common with the person. I am not sure they even read your profile, since they have tried to send me on dates with married men and men with small children, both of which I stated I was not interested in. Now I seem to be sent on dates with "my father"!

This company has no interest in you or your profile - all they want is your money.

I would like a full refund in the amount of $1500 which is what I paid for when I joined in February 2005. I have been in a Hold mode since September of 2005.

My story is exactly the same as the other complaints that I have read by
other customers. After going into painstaking detail about what I was
looking for I asked the director, "Are you SURE you have clients that meet
these requirements?" She assured me she did. I realize now this was just a

way to get my money.

My first two dates were nothing like what I had told IJL I was looking for.
I called to voice my concern and was treated rather rudely and told to
"relax and have fun". Two more dates that were worse than the first and I
called again to complain and request a refund. This time I talked with the
franchise owner who rudely told me "No refunds, you signed a contract" and

"Relax".

I decided to give it one more try. This time I sat in a restaurant for 1
hour and 15 minutes and my date never showed up. I called the next day to
cancel my account and request a refund. The next week I received a letter

that stated: "As per your request, we have placed your account on hold."

This
is NOT what I requested. After reading the testimonials of others it is
clear to me this a pattern. I believe this company preys on the hopes of the lonely to get their money

and then ignores their wishes.

Damages: $1300 and untold hours of my time trying to get a response

to my complaints.

After having tried the ?It?s Just Lunch? matchmaking service in Denver for the past year, I have to say that I?m very disappointed. At the introductory interview, I was told by the director that IJL would set me up on a minimum of 12 dates with ?quality? people. After the first several IJL match dates, it became obvious that a lot of IJL's clientele are extremely busy professionals who put in 60-70 hours a week. I made very clear to IJL that I am not interested in dating workaholics, as they don?t appear to have much time for dating or anything else outside of work.

IJL is supposed to take the feedback that you provide after each date and fine tune the process so that the next date is a closer match. In reality, the people that IJL consistently matched me up with were not my type and had little in common with my interests and goals. IJL even sent me out on a dinner date with someone from Telluride, who lives over 300 miles away from where I live in Denver. IJL should have told me upfront that they were matching me up with someone who lived 300 miles away. Imagine my surprise when I found out that my dinner date lived 300 miles away?in addition to us having very little in common.

Although I asked repeatedly for a pro-rated refund, I was told that IJL doesn?t give refunds. One of the directors said that she would give me a one-month extension on my 1-year contract. However, she did not write this down in my folder so there was no record of the conversation. This director is no longer with IJL. When my one-year membership was up, I asked about the one-month extension. This new director didn?t know what I was talking about, as there was no written record of the conversation. She said she would honor the one-month extension anyway. However, IJL never sent me out on any additional dates under the one-month extension.

Damage Resulting: I'm out $1500 for the one-year membership.

Well they did not interview me or had any idea what I am looking for. The dates were completely incompatible. Each time I tried to talk to the matchmaker, I was hustled off the phone as quickly as possible. I wanted to leave and was happy to receive just 50% of my money back; however I was told I couldn't get a refund, and they kept reminding me I had signed a contract. Their contract however states that if they can't provide me with 16 dates based on my criteria, I should get a refund. But there is no time limit - it is one and a half years later and they could only just come up with 6 dates. They absolutely do not have men for me . I have met a lot more and very nice men on E Harmony. Much cheaper and well worth the money!

After 3 days elapsed since my "interview", 1 date -- and 13 more "promised" dates, I politely ask for pro-rata refund of the $1400 (check, no credit card, thank you) that I had just shelled out. "It's our policy not to give refunds", says Stephanie (a high-pressure salesperson under beaucoup de makeup). Amazing, from unbelievable promises of more than 800 GREAT singles to choose from to "what did you expect?"

I just got off the phone with H. in the Chicago office who tried to set me up with someone I wasn't interested in. I turned him down and she kept saying that the "advisors" matched us for a reason. I told her that I know myself better than someone who only spoke to me for one hour and I won't go out with this guy. She then told me that because I missed giving feedback on my last date that it was my fault that the "advisors" weren't matching me correctly. I told her then why haven't they used the feedback I gave them from the previous 6 dates?

I asked for a re-evaluation meeting and she gave me "we'll get back to you". I was told that after 5 dates you are brought back in so that you can see if you're on the same page. I don't think they'll see that as something they can do. They really need some training on customer service. They forget that I paid them so I get a lot of say in who I will or will not be matched to. I believe once they have your $1500 they don't give a **** about you.

Their matching capabilities are really bad because I've been out with men that don't match what I told them at all. They don't give the full disclosure on a person either. I'm not interested in someone with kids and told them that. So what happens...they set me up with a man who works constantly and whatever time he has left he spends with his kids out in the suburbs. This same man told me that he could go out with someone every week but for women they just set them up with whatever man walks through the door because there are more women than men. So true.

I bet if you talked to the women that belong the number of unhappy people would be much higher than happy. They really run a shoddy organization. I'm in sales and if my team ever talked to the customers like they do I'd fire them.

I paid $1500 for what I thought were going to be quality dates and haven't been set up with anyone yet who's worth it. What makes me mad is their customer service or lack thereof. They don't listen to what the customer wants or needs and then argues with them when the customer pushes back.

I am an academic who has held teaching positions in Houston and DC. I joined IJL in Houston and reactivated the membership in DC, having been assured in Houston that reciprocity would be honored. In DC Ms. Reid encouraged me to come in for a new "intake interview" which would make it easier to match me more accurately. For this service she charged an extra $200.

The matches I received in DC were unsuitable in several ways, and crucial information about the women's lifestyle were witheld from me. Also I have similar complaints to others on the DC IJL about appointments set up in parts of the DC area that were very far from where I lived or worked. Since I was new to DC area, I had no idea about distance and difficulty of travel. There was also delay after delay in setting up meetings.

I put my membership on hold until I returned to Atlanta, my permanent home, and I am finding that in Atlanta IJL has the same problem of being very slow to set up meetings (one in a month of membership here). Houston IJL was able to set up about 10 dates for me over four months. Many of the women I met there, however, were considerably older than me or held incompatible values (e.g. extremely conservative whereas I am very liberal--something I made clear to the Houston office).

Furthermore, I am 56 and a triathlete in exceptionably good shape. I requested matches that were in as good shape as I am, whatever their age, and although the Houston IJL director assured me that she could meet my needs, she actually could not.

My feeling is that the client base is too narrow to fulfill the promises they make. None of the offices reveal how many subscribers they have--I have asked and been told the numbers are "proprietary information." The delays and long waits are probably due to the unwillingness to use computers or email to do the matching and set up the appointments. Often there are several rounds of phone calls which the staff has to handle (since they must assure anonymity) before a convenient time and place can be established.

I think these older, non-internet services are suffering from the competition of match.com and other online matching services. Why pay $1000-$1500 for a service that offers far less choice than one for under $100 per year? So the client base of the expensive "handmade" matching services is probably shrinking and that is a source of much of their difficulty and the cause of much of the client frustration.

Unfortunately for IJL and even more expensive services such as Great Expectations, the downward sprial seems inescapable. The sharp tactics ... may be desperate efforts to halt the erosion of a business with a shrinking market which has become technologically obsolete. As for Atlanta IJL, I'm reserving judgment, but my initial impression is that they have the same underlying problem as elsewhere in the franchise.

I spent $1500 and feel the claims IJL franchise directors made were deceptive. At the very least they played on my naivete. If they were required to reveal the size of their client base, broken down by age and other categories, the consumer/ client would be able to make a more objective assessment of his/her chances. But I imagine the figures would be so disconcerting that few would pay the fee. In Houston, the director admitted to a 60-40 ratio of women to men, but I have the feeling the disproportion is great than that. Even with the ratio in my favor, the results were disappointing so I can imagine the frustration of women clients.