Edmonton woman pays thousands for a date and ends up with toothless homeless man

[calgaryblood]

Seems like the average guy in Edmonton, don't know what she's complaining about.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/e...aint-1.4086464

Val Taylor, 54, paid $7,344 for a membership with Edmonton Matchmakers at their office in Old Strathcona. A company salesperson promised to find her a match, but Taylor says her single suitor was hardly the man of her dreams.

'Very surreal experience'

The date was shorter than her five-foot-10 frame, not in her age group, unemployed and homeless, she said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

On a more serious note, do people think what the company doing is wrong? I mean, it's not like she's a total prize either. I think they're definitely being deceptive but if she's honest with herself the same way she is judging the toothless homeless guy, ain't many guys going to be interested in her either.

[getbak]

As he's otherwise known, Edmonton's sexiest man.

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Seems like the average guy in Edmonton, don't know what she's complaining about.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/e...aint-1.4086464




On a more serious note, do people think what the company doing is wrong? I mean, it's not like she's a total prize either. I think they're definitely being deceptive but if she's honest with herself the same way she is judging the toothless homeless guy, ain't many guys going to be interested in her either.

Ok first things first, overtly judging her value on her physical appearance is not ok.

Secondly this company charged her a small fortune to not deliver a product that was promised, ie. a date with someone within very reasonable expectations. So yes, I believe that there should be consequences for these actions.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

Seems like the average guy in Edmonton, don't know what she's complaining about.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/e...aint-1.4086464




On a more serious note, do people think what the company doing is wrong? I mean, it's not like she's a total prize either. I think they're definitely being deceptive but if she's honest with herself the same way she is judging the toothless homeless guy, ain't many guys going to be interested in her either.

Not a total prize??? Are you really a jackass in real life or just on this mesaage board??? Her supposed looks are not in question here.

When she filled out her application she specifically asked for a gainfully employed man who was around her age. Nothing wrong with that. The person the agency set her up with didn't match what she was asking for. Yet somehow you think she's judging the man.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Cole436

Ok first things first, overtly judging her value on her physical appearance is not ok.

Secondly this company charged her a small fortune to not deliver a product that was promised, ie. a date with someone within very reasonable expectations. So yes, I believe that there should be consequences for these actions.

Agreed. That said, and maybe it's just me... I find something sad about paying over $7k (and the other lady who paid $10k) just to find a date. Even if these people were actually competent at their jobs I feel like your chances of long-term success are only marginally higher than they would be through conventional methods of dating? Certainly not high enough to command $7k?

[pylon]

The guy lived in a camper, so he's not homeless. And he didn't have all his teeth? Also the article height shames him. Maybe he's a super nice guy, and just an eccentric outdoorsman.

Ok. Let's do this, and turn it around. If a man approached CBC about this service, and complained even remotely about the appearance or social status of a woman he was set up with? Oh lord. He'd be publicly shamed into the Stone Age. Go Fund ME's and makeovers would be pouring in. Oprah would have the slow piano music darkened studio intro for her.

The double standard on display with this report is kinda sickening. I'm not saying the matchmaking service is in the clear. But what do you expect when your basically treating dating like yanking on a slot machine handle in a seedy casino.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by pylon

But what do you expect when your basically treating dating like yanking on a slot machine handle in a seedy casino.

You pay somebody thousands to yank the handle for you and get mad when they come up empty, as you would have.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by Dion

Not a total prize??? Are you really a jackass in real life or just on this mesaage board??? Her supposed looks are not in question here.

When she filled out her application she specifically asked for a gainfully employed man who was around her age. Nothing wrong with that. The person the agency set her up with didn't match what she was asking for. Yet somehow you think she's judging the man.

So what, she didn't get what she wanted. She didn't have to make fun of the guys appearance especially considering she's an overweight middle aged woman.

Who cares if he's toothless? And he did live in a camper but the article called him homeless (and so did I for the Edmonton lulz) but I don't see how she can make fun of someone and then show a picture of her self which isn't very attractive at all. Does that make me a jackass? Well as pylon says they height shame him, and make fun of his appearance so she's fair game to criticism IMO.

Maybe the guy also paid for a date with someone he thought would be much skinnier and prettier, would it be ok for him to go to a news station and make it a story?

Imagine the guy reading or watching the news report and having them call him homeless, toothless, and height shaming him. Pretty sure he wouldn't feel great about that.

[ToewsFan]

Judging by some of the reviews online, she is not alone:

https://www.bbb.org/edmonton/busines...nton-ab-181914

It also has the lowest possible rating on Google reviews.

[calgaryblood]

Originally Posted by Cole436

Ok first things first, overtly judging her value on her physical appearance is not ok.

Irony alert.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by calgaryblood

So what, she didn't get what she wanted. She didn't have to make fun of the guys appearance especially considering she's an overweight middle aged woman.

Who cares if he's toothless? And he did live in a camper but the article called him homeless (and so did I for the Edmonton lulz) but I don't see how she can make fun of someone and then show a picture of her self which isn't very attractive at all. Does that make me a jackass? Well as pylon says they height shame him, and make fun of his appearance so she's fair game to criticism IMO.

Maybe the guy also paid for a date with someone he thought would be much skinnier and prettier, would it be ok for him to go to a news station and make it a story?

Imagine the guy reading or watching the news report and having them call him homeless, toothless, and height shaming him. Pretty sure he wouldn't feel great about that.

She may have gone too far with her description but at the same time I believe she did it to make a point about the agency and how they match people. To be fair she could have and didn't mention the name of the guy she had that date with.

Now if she was making fun as you say, she pretty much let readers know in the story that she has no confidence when it comes to dating and this incident has made herself esteem even worse. Opening herself up to being ridiculed and mocked by readers.

If the gentlemen feels wronged by the agency maybe he should go the media to make his point. That women was doing the same thing when she read about another woman being scamed.

[Manhattanboy]

How is this newsworthy? That's it, please continue to devote more and more of my income to funding CBC News. Pulitzer worthy journalism at its finest.

[Matata]

obviously the company is run by asshats, but judging her on her appearence is perfectly reasonable. Beauty counts in the dating game, men can substitute good looks with charm, money, status, etc. but much less so for women.


Sorry ladies, but if your youthful beauty comes and goes without you snagging a worthwhile man, then ya ####ed up and finding a decent fella is going to be an uphill battle. No one is owed love and satisfaction, you got to make hay while the sun is shining.

[Northendzone]

seems surprising that with so many more options out there (Plenty of fish, match.com etc) that someone would pay thousands to a matchmaking service. I can understand $1,000 tor $2,000 but $7,300

[Erick Estrada]

I have an issue with this part;

asking for a match with an attractive and gainfully employed man close to her own age, she said.

She's paying for fantasy here as would be most using the service as you have 90% of the customer base all looking for 10% or less that would likely be available. It certainly sounds like the company didn't do a very good job matching her up but it seems far too many people on these dating sites have unrealistic expectations. Also when there's so many online dating services that are available at a monthly charge I have to question the intelligence of someone that would spend thousands of dollars to find a match. Sounds to me more like she was trying to buy her perfect companion all wrapped up with a ribbon.

She can blame the company on their high pressure sales tactics all she wants but that doesn't change the fact that she was pretty foolish in expecting to purchase a companion. Join one of the reputable online sites and meet a bunch of people. May never find that attractive, gainfully employed man her own age but she may find a very nice man that shares a lot of common interests, has all his teeth, and doesn't live in a camper.

[Jason14h]

How did the "homeless" guy afford. 7000$ site! Or do they hook people up with non members

I actually completely understand the legitimate high end dating sites that are expensive. Background checks, vetting candidates, real matchmaking.

If I am in my middle years and have limited time to date and excess income, the idea of being set up with a proper match make total sense in a time vs money manner

[Ducay]

Love justice warriors crying foul over mentioning her looks all while the story is effectively about his looks - his height, age, and teeth.

Jebus, people have different appearances, colors, shapes, smells, you name it. Can we really not talk about these attributes without it instantly being "shaming".

We can all agree we wouldn't want to be matched with a total uggo with no teeth. We can also mention she isn't a solid 10 (Edmonton 6 maybe) without it being a hate crime.

[OMG!WTF!]

I live in an RV. Not a camper. RV! I'm unemployed. Totally unemployable. I shouldn't have to start my own website to get a date.

I've been on a few dating site dates and it's a nightmare for women. I'm a catch just cause I don't live with my parents and I have a car (and a van) and don't hate women because of my last three divorces. And I let em sit in the captain's chair when I bring em "home".

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I have an issue with this part;

She's paying for fantasy here as would be most using the service as you have 90% of the customer base all looking for 10% or less that would likely be available. It certainly sounds like the company didn't do a very good job matching her up but it seems far too many people on these dating sites have unrealistic expectations. Also when there's so many online dating services that are available at a monthly charge I have to question the intelligence of someone that would spend thousands of dollars to find a match. Sounds to me more like she was trying to buy her perfect companion all wrapped up with a ribbon.

She can blame the company on their high pressure sales tactics all she wants but that doesn't change the fact that she was pretty foolish in expecting to purchase a companion. Join one of the reputable online sites and meet a bunch of people. May never find that attractive, gainfully employed man her own age but she may find a very nice man that shares a lot of common interests, has all his teeth, and doesn't live in a camper.

The otherside is that she did not get her 12 dates that she paid for. Even if all 12 were of the quality reported here you could have an argument that her standards were too high but this is simply breach of contract.

[PsYcNeT]

To paraphrase a comedian I saw once regarding women of a certain age dating, "there are only two things I'm looking for in a man: he has to have a penis, and a job"

Sounds like this guy is only half way there.