FastLife (www.fastlife.com) gets between an 80 and 90 percent match rate on their events, which means that the majority of attendees will get at least one match during their event. To increase the likelihood that you will match with someone, members are invited to events that match their demographics and preferences, so that all of the participants are compatible. While on one of FastLife’s speed dating events, you’ll notice they are more intimate, with a smaller crowd to allow for more time on each of your dates.
Pros in the City (www.prosinthecity.com) has a great record of matches: over 90 percent of people who attend their speed dating events “match” with at least one person. What’s more intriguing is that over 75 percent of people who attended report going on a “real” date with someone they met at their event. (If that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is!) Pros in the City hosts more than 200 speed dating events a year in DC alone, drawing a solid turnout to each one. If you want your options narrowed down a bit, Pros in the City also offers events based on age, religion, interests and race.
Lastly, HurryDate (www.hurrydate.com) returns at least one or two matches per party. They also boast several engagements and long term relationships, but the real joy to them is seeing people getting out there and meeting new people. And let’s face it, maybe everyone needs a little practice! What’s unique about HurryDate is they allow you to meet someone online, then have the opportunity to invite them to a HurryDate party for a five-minute test date to see if you are truly compatible or interested in the real thing.
Each company offers fairly inexpensive rates that range from $26 to $35 at HurryDate to $30 at Pros in the City to $49.95 at FastLife. An evening out in the DMV area with cab fare, cover and drinks will easily exceed this, so any of these groups offers more bang for your buck.
Here’s what our singles had to say about their night out.
Kathy, 38
Pros in the City
Dating in DC; it’s never easy. I’ve been living here for five years and have found that this town is a bit more challenging than other towns. Why? Because of two simple obstacles, Traffic/commuting and high-pressure, long-hour jobs. So what should you do in this fast-paced lifestyle to meet someone? You could join a club, fitness center, go out to a bar, rely on your friends to introduce you to someone new, try online dating, shell out tons of money to those “together” match making sites or you can do what my co-worker and I did, the four-minute speed dating sponsored by Pros in the City.
Both of us are in our late 30s, and on the way to the coffee shop where the event was taking place we found ourselves wondering just what we had gotten ourselves into. I must admit, I had a ton of emotions and thoughts that ran through my head leading up to the event. First I was thinking, “this will be fun,” and telling myself, “you never know, maybe I’ll find a good catch.” Then panic came over me; “what am I doing? What kind of people go to these things? Are we all this desperate? Am I desperate?”
With these thoughts going through my head as I walked in the door, I took a deep breath, walked in and was given a name tag with a number and a sheet of paper to take notes. I quickly grabbed a table and my co-worker joined me. We looked around in the small but charming coffee shop and saw lots of numbers matching ours. “Good lord,” I thought, “there’s going to be over 40 people here and there isn’t much room.”
Once the event started, I said to myself, “I’m here, so let’s have some fun” —and to my surprise, I did! With the men rotating tables every four minutes, I got to meet 20 very interesting guys in a short amount of time. There’s no pressure to say, “Oh I’m sorry, I just don’t feel a connection.” An email will be sent out the next day with a link and password so you can check off the people you were interested in and the computer will forward your information to those you selected.
By the end of the night everyone was standing around talking and wouldn’t you know it, there were old friends who ran into each other, fellow alumni from a college in Texas who reconnected…a small world indeed.
Overall, I would say it’s worth the money. Go with a friend, have some fun, meet some new friends and maybe even get a date out of it. Just try and keep an open mind; don’t be looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right, just go into it thinking you can meet some cool people and you’ll have a blast.
Derrick, 39
Pros in the City
Going out to meet other singles can be a sketchy deal. Getting the opportunity to meet a group of singles in a low pressure and fun environment is a rare thing in such a fast-paced city, but that’s exactly what the event I participated in through Pros in The City promised via a series of four-minute encounters.
The set-up is perfect; a lot can happen in four minutes. It’s a chance to meet a group of singles and learn enough to decide whether you want to take the next step to spend more time together. The coffeehouse where the event was held had many advantages over most locations in which I normally meet people: through work or friends, at a restaurant or a bar, or even at the grocery store. In most of those situations I’m not sure who is single and who is not, and in some instances it would be inappropriate to inquire.
Pros in The City holds their events in settings which are quiet enough for people to talk comfortably. Most importantly, each person involved is there to meet other singles. In our hectic world, I found that speed-dating, with its time-efficient and well-structured interaction, basically eliminates the need to be nervous concerning how or with whom to start a conversation. The ‘matching’ does not take place at the event, therefore people are not pressed to select or reject each other in person, while the four-minute time limit guarantees that you are not sitting across from a person with whom you are not interested in for a long period of time. Having only four minutes to decide whether we are well-suited with someone demanded that there was no time to waste on empty talk, so we all spoke about our careers, hobbies, and lifestyles.
During the course of the event, I came to two conclusions: First, almost anyone can be interesting if you simply take the time to listen and speak with him/her; and second, you can only scratch the very surface in such a short period of time. Overall, I had a really nice time at my first speed-dating event and highly suggest checking it out for yourself. You may not meet your perfect match…or you could receive an e-mail from your future partner for life the next morning!
Nick, 28
FastLife
Let’s face it, for me dating hasn’t been a cake walk, so recently I tried speed dating with some friends.
For the most part, the night looked promising. I found half of the girls attractive and I’ll have to say unabashedly that I was in the top ten percentile of eligible bachelors there — the ladies had a slightly less good looking group to choose from than us guys. For a moment I remember thinking, “This is like a weird version of the movie ‘Wedding Crashers,’ only different.” It was actually kind of fun once we got started.
In speed dating you’ll experience all of the women you’d meet in the real world — just in seven-minute intervals. Though you don’t really get to choose who you talk to, I met a couple of wonderful, talented young professional women who had some serious potential. I also met some not-so-interesting ladies — one of whom I actually found offensive! However, one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel so I took the overall experience with a grain of salt. The next day my matches came back and the ladies I had rated highest had also selected me, so it was a successful mission of sorts — kind of like when the Memphis Belle crash landed after its final mission in WWII. I survived with only minor damage to my ego.
Charles Bukowski once wrote “It all began as a terrible mistake…” Well, if speed dating is a microcosm of real world dating then yes, my experience was a terrible mistake. Despite my good intentions, speed dating mirrored my true life dating history — some good, some bad…but mostly bad.
So was it worth it? Why not? I got the first girls information the next day via email — the speed dating worked. But at the same time I’d have to say I got the same feeling I got in Junior High when the kids would throw you in the closet with some random girl you were afraid of making out with because she smelled funny and had braces. They called it seven minutes in heaven then — these days they call it speed dating; who knew? But as with any rite of passage, you won’t know what you’re missing until you’ve tried it.
Ashley, 24
FastLife
In all areas of my life I embrace new things with an open mind and speed dating was certainly no exception. After spending the better part of a year dusting off my proverbial answering machine, I decided to give speed dating a shot and see what all the fuss was about. Being a workaholic in a city filled with other eager beavers climbing the corporate ladder, meeting people — or even finding the time to meet people — is no picnic. After hearing countless lame pickup lines, or trying to talk to yet another wasted guy at a bar, I decided to participate in FastLife’s speed dating event this past January.
The evening started when I entered a sleek room at Bar Rogue in Dupont Circle with about 20 singles desperately seeking someone. There were about 10 guys who would be chatting me up for seven minutes and I was curious and eager to meet them and find out about this whole speed dating thing. Once everyone arrived, we got beverages, spent a few minutes in a middle-school dance formation with the guys on one side of the room and the girls on the other, and then began. The ladies picked booths where they remained for the night, while the gentlemen rotated. Each person had a “scorecard” of sorts, and marked yes or no next to each prospect’s name. Wherever both parties expressed interest, their contact information would be forwarded via email the next day.
Although I wouldn’t have sought out most of the guys I met, I had a wonderful evening just the same. I didn’t make a “love connection,” but I genuinely had a great time and nice conversation with them all. No awkward moments, no spitting, no loud bar music drowning out our conversation. I entered speed dating with the expectation I’d have fun and if I met someone, it would just be a bonus. Although I wasn’t nervous or anxious about attending, some other men and women may be, so let me offer a couple of suggestions. First, I’d attend with a friend. It will help you relax a bit, calm you down and improve your confidence knowing you have someone there with you going through the same thing. And second, go with a positive, easy-going attitude. Everyone is there to meet someone, so go happy and leave with no hard feelings no matter what the evening brings. Who knows, you may meet the man or woman of your dreams and, if nothing else, maybe a new friend or two.
