It's Just Lunch :: Press Center

Valentine’s Day just like any other night for Vancouverites: survey

If the thought of finding the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your uppity other half leaves you fearful of declaring bankruptcy instead of love, you’re not alone.

It’s Just Lunch, a business that plays matchmaker for single professionals and bills itself as Vancouver’s most popular non-Internet dating service, has just announced the results of its Valentine’s survey—and money was voted as a major issue when it came to planning a romantic evening.

While almost half of the 2,500 respondents sided with dinner at a nice restaurant as the perfect Valentine’s Day date, 63 percent plan on spending February 14 just like any other night. Is the flaccid economy to blame for the romantics missing out on a three-course spread at Le Crocodile?

“Overall we are seeing a shift in spending habits as well as the way people will spend the day with a significant other, yet the importance of the day has by no means lost its significance,” said Jacqui Brownridge, managing director of the Vancouver branch of It’s Just Lunch, in a press release.

Compared with past poll results, the number of men willing to blow $100 on a date has dropped four percent, and the largest percentage of men polled this year said they weren’t going to buy anyone a gift. But Brownridge doesn’t think the survey statistics necessarily herald the death of romance.

“People have a very real desire to connect with others, especially in turbulent times,” she said. “We anticipate this Valentine’s Day that men and women will say how much they care for their significant other in creative ways.”

    ~ Straight.com

No stigma to dating services today

The advent of the Internet made meeting people from around the world just a few clicks away on a mouse. The problem is, it’s also easy to meet people who aren’t honest about themselves.

Enter dating services.

Unlike 10 or 20 years ago, such services no longer come with a stigma attached. People have become so busy that it’s nice to have someone else narrow the playing field.

“These days people outsource every area of their lives,” said Jacquie Brownridge, owner of It’s Just Lunch Vancouver. People have personal trainers and chefs and lifestyle coaches. “Dating is no different.”

Her clients tend to be professionals who work 50 to 60 hours a week. Many travel and are active in sports and volunteer work.

“When do they have time to meet somebody?”

It’s Just Lunch makes matches and sets up lunch dates. They’ll also take copies of clients’ driver’s licences and make sure they work where they say they do.

Dinnerworks.ca has a similar policy. In their case, the matchmaking strategy is more casual and less targeted.

They organize events, such as dinners, where an equal number of single men and women in the same age group can meet and socialize.

And for those who want the face-to-face interaction with the volume of matches offered by the Internet, there’s speed dating.

At such events, organized by companies such as the Rendezvous Club, each “date” lasts five minutes. Each person marks a card with those they’d be interested in seeing again. If—and only if—the feeling is mutual the company hooks them up.

    ~Burnaby Newsleader