Online Dating: What Can I Expect From My Dating Site

By Suzy Allen

In recent years, the online dating industry has exploded and
nowadays there are literally thousands of dating sites to choose
from. These sites differ greatly from each other in their
offerings and it’s not hard to see how one could get confused
when coming to choose between them.

One point of contention when using sites is what exactly can
the user expect the site to provide in terms of service, support
etc.

While there are no clearly defined guidelines for what is
expected of a dating site, there are some general industry
standards which are adhered to by reputable sites. Here are a
few things you can expect from a good dating site, as well as a
few things that would not be included in the service.

Things to be expected:

1.Reliability

When using a site, it’s not unreasonable to expect it to run
smoothly and efficiently and allow you to make use of the
features it advertises. This is especially true if you have paid
for the services, but is also a reasonable expectation even if
you are using a free site.

2.Privacy policy/terms and conditions

Never trust a site that does not advertise its terms and
conditions and privacy policy openly. These are usually
available as links from the main page or the about page of the
site, sometimes at the bottom of the page. Although often
lengthy and boring, these documents are an important read if you
want to know exactly what it is you are agreeing to when you
sign up to the site.

3.Problem resolution

Dating sites are designed to be a safe and secure environment
for people to meet. While sometimes it’s impossible for the site
to weed out every dodgy person immediately, it’s perfectly
reasonable to expect the moderators of the site to respond
quickly to complaints voiced by users and for offensive users to
be removed from the site.

4.Support for issues to do with the site

If you have problems using any of the features on a site, you
can expect help and support from the site staff. This includes
explanations of anything from the chat system to how to contact
people or how to upload a photo. Moat sites offer email support
and

5.Free search before payment

Allowing you to “try before you buy” is pretty much industry
standard. Most sites won’t expect you to put your credit card
details in before running a quick search on the site.
It’s always best to have a look around a site to see whether it
has any members and whether any of those look like the kind of
people you want to talk to. If a site requires you to pay first,
be suspicious: it may well be a scam.

What can’t I expect from a site:

1. 100% fault free

Dating sites are not as easy to maintain as any of us would
like. As a result, occasional downtime or bugs are inevitable.
While it’s fair to accept a decent level of service (see above),
do take into account that sometimes mistakes do happen. The fact
that a site is big and successful doesn’t necessarily mean it
will run properly 100% of the time. As a rule, a few bugs here
and there and the occasional few hours downtime are to be
expected but if a site is down for days, you’re probably better
off going elsewhere unless the situation improves drastically.

2. Instant results

Even online dating takes time and even the best sites may not
deliver the results you want straight away. Even if a site looks
disappointing at first glance, it may still turn out to be a
winner if you give it a bit of time. Spending a few weeks on a
site should be enough to tell you whether it’s the right site
for you. If, after that, you are still not convinced, at least
you’

3. Support for issues not to do with the site

Any good dating site will have a customer service team who will
readily help you with any issues relating to the site itself.
They are less likely to help you with issues relating to your
own computer or Internet service and your ability to use them.
Some may still do, but in general, the support teams who work
for dating site companies, expect the users to have a basic
level of Internet/computer knowledge.

4. Being able to deal with offensive things that happened off
the site

The people who moderate dating site only have jurisdiction over
what happens on their site. They cannot, for example, act on the
basis of emails sent off site, phone calls etc. The only thing
they can do is cooperate with the police in cases where there is
a need for further information when investigating a case.
It is common practice for Internet scammers to try and lure
people away from a dating site and into private conversations
offsite as soon as possible, exactly for that reason.

5. Getting involved in personal relationships (telling you if a
person has read your messages or not)

It is impossible for site teams to get involved in what happens
between users on the site unless the issue is someone is being
offensive. They couldn’t, for example, tell you whether someone
has read your messages if that feature is not a standard feature
on the site. They will also not be able to speak to another user
on your behalf.

About the Author: Suzy Allen works for GirlsDateforFree -
http://www.girlsdateforfree.com - Online Dating

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