Cancel the Cancellation

“Do not just look at your boyfriend as just a boyfriend. Look at him as a friend, too.”~ Vanessa Hudgens

I do not honestly recall how long ago this news story was, but there was a man who had secretly recorded his telephone conversation with big time internet provider AOL, and he recorded the miserable conversation that he had to endure when AOL had realized that the purpose of his call was to CANCEL his services with them.

I don’t remember just how long he was connected with them but it was at least twenty minutes to a half an hour.

The longer it took, the angrier he became. Eventually, he was screaming and shouting and everything else in between before AOL finally bid him adieu and he was able to hang up satisfied.

Just as this man had suffered because he wanted to cancel, so did I recently with another business.

My experiences are finding that most if not all online dating websites are in reality, all the same.

They operate in the same manner and they attract the same clientele day in and day out. Just because you’ve decided to leave one dating site for another doesn’t mean that the quality of those people are going to honestly change.

This morning, I was alerted to the fact that someone had sent me a personal message through one of these online dating services. I haven’t been to it in such a long time. So long of a time, that it took nearly an hour to remember what the heck my password was to sign in to be able to read whatever message was waiting on me.

As I opened up the website, I didn’t even bother to really look to see who had contacted me. I went straight to the message.

“I keep seeing your name on other dating sites. Man, you must be lonely and desperate!”

That was it. That was the all-important message. And it was very rude, in my opinion. 

I decided to go and check out this woman’s profile while the fires in my mind steadily began to burn.

The “About Me” section was very aptly named and filled out. Whomever this 24 year old woman was… the entire profile, including the “About Me” section, was about HER, HER, HER… and HER.

But then she provided links in her “General Info” section. Links to about a dozen and a half OTHER online dating websites and was apparently her personal profile.

And “I” am the desperate and lonely one??

So I came to the decision to cancel. Not because of the 24 year old woman but because I simply never really use the website for what it is there for. Seriously though: an hour trying to remember what the password was. That is speaking in volumes.

And that’s where the insanity started. I attempted to simply cancel the account online. But then “A survey” came in the form of a pop-up and would not go away until I had filled it out. And this took several minutes to go through, as they were questioning what was wrong and why I was making the decision to leave their site. 

Just about the time that I thought that I was done, I was put through the process of chatting with one of their representatives in a quick chat log box that popped up in the corner of the screen. And it was a very persistent bugger. I clicked OUT of it. And then I would receive an error message and a new one would come up.

I probably should have went for the power cord at the back of my computer at this point, but it didn’t come to mind until much later. Instead my mind went through questioning whether or not I contracted a computer virus through all of this garbage.

More time wasted chatting with that person, that which I assume was really a bot.

And then I just clicked off the browser entirely. Within moments, the telephone rang and it was someone representing the dating site claiming that “we had a lost connection and so we looked up your personal information to be able to speak with you.”

Wow… privacy violations, anyone?!?!?!!?????

I felt like that guy who had to deal with AOL all of a sudden. But I didn’t lose my cool like he had, I stuck to my guns and only honestly answered about six questions and anything else that was asked, I told them to refer to my previous remarks.

For future reference to anyone wanting to cancel their online dating accounts and have to go to through with this: THEY DON’T LIKE THAT!!!! I am guessing their attention spans are not that great. I am only speculating though.

So a grand total of 3+ hours to get this thing cancelled. Starting the clock from the time I read that rude message by that 24 year old to the time where I felt that the job was done. 4 hours if you count the hour wasted trying to remember what in the world the password was to get into the website to begin with.

Ahh, life. You are something else!!!

Vexing Advertisements

“Life is as tedious as twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.”~ William Shakespeare

As of lately, I have been noticing this bombardment of television advertisements for online dating sites. More specifically, match.com.

It is one of the more popular and well known websites for singles who are looking for dating and relationships.

But this commercial has annoyed me since the first time I noticed one of the actresses giving a “testimonial” to the website.

She says something similar to the following:

“I’m not looking to date a bunch of guys. Just the right ones.” 

Simply annoying. After all, the whole construct of dating is to FIND the right one. Whether or not a person does when they date is clearly a personal choice.

I am not a member of match.com and I probably never will be. I’ve only signed up for ONE dating website that was supposed to be FREE, but really wasn’t. And truthfully, I didn’t find anyone that caught my eye.

But I am going to safely assume that match.com takes you through a journey of your likes/dislikes and then “matches” you up with someone that has given the same answers as you, believing you are a good fit.

It is a business and they do what they do. But still, if you are “dating all the right ones” then what in the world is the point to continue to use an online dating service? If you found the right one based on your matches, isn’t that enough? Why would you continue to date if you have “found the right one”?

Stupid.

I’m not saying that people who use these websites are lame, but what I am saying is that this commercial that I see over and over and over again… IS lame. Or am I wrong?

Yes, match.com is a business. And they do what they do and offer the possibility of dating and relationships. And I know that sometimes things work out in the end and two people who have found each other have fallen in love and get married and have their happily ever after. Most certainly, match.com has its own ways of measuring their business with success. And that’s fine. I believe that they say 1 in 5 find matches that they are happy with. Sounds like pretty good odds, right?? I just think that the marketing tool on television is a little FUBAR. Just the one commercial.

Naturally, match.com will want to continue in gaining business by having people join the website. I have no idea just how many have joined, neither do I know how many couples have successfully found one another and it lead to a happy life of marriage. I am sure that it has happened. I won’t dare say that it hasn’t because that is not something that I know.

It is my personal opinion that the woman that they’ve probably hired to give that kind of statement, honestly isn’t all that attractive physically. I know that they try to make things full of glamour and what not. That’s the point. Attract as many potential members as possible.

But its a little nuts to have someone say, “I don’t wanna date guys, just the right ones.”

Dating has come a long way. Most certainly things have changed from what I believed worked in the world.

I was sharing a story with someone just yesterday about how a few years ago,  I would go to the club and when I found some woman that I thought was attractive, I would buy them a drink. I would tell the waitress that I wanted to buy them a drink, and I would watch from beginning to end. From the pick up at the bar all the way to the delivery of the drink to the woman. Anticipating that the woman would at least sit next to me and have a conversation. THAT NEVER HAPPENED. 

But that’s how I thought it worked. Geez, how wrong was I? To me, that was money well wasted. And after a few times of that happening, I quit doing it and saved my money in the long run.

Whether or not online dating works, is not the subject for this blog post. It’s the fact that I’ve lost count at how many times I’ve rolled my eyes into the back of my head hearing this stupid commercial. And for those who are successful at it? Congratulations.