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Customer Testimonials

Want to try speed-dating? Consider these statistics...

When speed-dating events were first held (in Japan, and in NYC by Jewish organizations), singles would typically have around seven dates for 10 minutes. The atmosphere and conversation would be polite, quiet, and perhaps a little constrained. Customers would hand in their forms at the end of the evening and wait a couple of days to receive their match information. Perhaps success, perhaps not, but either way, there would likely be a substantial pause before taking on another speed dating evening.

Now over-stimulated busy single New Yorkers need more, and they need it to happen faster. They might attend two events in a weekend, or as many as five in a two week period. They want their goals to be achieved faster, and with less effort - this is a Generation Y lifestyle change that we're used to seeing in the workforce, education, and recreation, and now we're seeing it in dating arena as well.

As a result, "marathon" speed-dating events have emerged as the most popular form of speed-dating. At a marathon event, customers have up to 50 dates of two minutes each, in two exhilirating 25-date rounds of flirtation. Food is provided to keep the energy level up, and the event co-ordinators often hand out bottles of water. When it's over, customers go home and can immediately make selections, receive matches and contact them all by 11pm.

Essentially, it's line-em-up and make your picks, and it appeals equally to men and women. For women, who have a tough time dating in NYC due to the ratio of single men to single women (census figures estimate 2 million single women to 1.1 million single men), these events are a chance to be spoiled for choice for perhaps the first time in their dating lives. For guys, it's heaven, as where else do you have 50 women welcoming you into their space (the men rotate to the women's tables) for two minutes. You do have the challenge of trying to remember who you like, but you just have to have faith that your first impressions on the night were accurate!

Daniel Bonallack, one of the owners of New York EasyDates, describes the marathon speed-dating phenomenom as simply inevitable. "It's just the way speed-dating had to go. People always want more and more, that's why speed-dating emerged in the first place. The product had to change, or at least, customers needed to be able to choose the format where they felt most comfortable." New York EasyDates had started in 2003 offering 10-12 dates of six minutes each. That format is still available, but now customers can choose 20 dates of three minutes, or the marathon formats of 35 dates (three minutes) or "Fifty First Dates" (two minutes).

"We just kept expanding the format, and customers just kept saying more. When we ran the first 20-date event, it was sold out quickly, and customers loved it. So a couple of years back, we ran a 40-date party to celebrate our 400th event. Sold out within days. Now we regularly run a 'Fifty First Dates' event, and again it's super popular. I am seriously considering running a 100-date event".

However, it's not for everyone, and some customers still prefer to sit across from someone for a little longer. Including the owner.

"Actually, I sat in on an event with just 10 pairs the other day. I have to say, it was the most pleasant evening I've had for some time. I enjoyed talking to everyone. I enjoyed that it was quiet and relaxed. And I enjoyed only having to retain 10 faces in my mind when it came to make my selections."