Dating was always hard work.
Throw in an entire economy built on apps that allow users to meet — and subsequently second guess — a near-bottomless pool of singles, and it begins to border on more trouble than it’s worth.
Want to liberate yourself from the romantic rat race? Consider Project Fixup, the newly relaunched matchmaking concierge that takes care of all the logistics of dating so you don’t have to.
Newly relaunched and refreshed, Project Fixup’s promise is simple: No profiles. No swiping. Just punch in a few particulars (dealbreakers, weaknesses) and your dates of availability and they’ll find you a match. From there, you just have show up handsome-like at the appointed time and place.
Easy as that.
Each fixup will cost you $20, a measly sum when taking into account the convenience of it all.
It does, however, beg the question: Can, and should, a man outsource his love life?
So, we went on a few dates. Our project: to weigh out the benefits and detriments of finding love via a personal (albeit virtual) dating assistant.
PRO: Based on themes like “craft beer” and “coffee,” they pick the locale for your rendezvous. So think casual. No pressure for either side. Also: no time wasted for either side.
CON: Planning a date is your calling card. Your first chance to make an impression. It speaks to your sense of initiative and (hopefully) good taste. We ended up changing the venue of one “taco” date because while it was an adventurous hole-in-the-wall, it wasn’t a particularly good adventurous hole-in-the-wall. Sure, Project Fixup does all the heavy lifting, but make sure you know what they’re holding.
PRO: Privacy is of utmost importance. Your Fixup dashboard delivers just a brief summary of the person you’re to meet and an internal phone number that routes calls and text messages while keeping your phone numbers private. There is no way anyone can dig up your entire Google-able personal history.
CON: You can’t creep. (You creep.)
PRO: No profile pictures. Photos are used for the internal matchmaking process, but that’s it. Beyond the obvious: deems catfishing impossible, plus the fact that no one goes on blind dates anymore and that makes blind dates extra charming and feel free to totally use that as a conversation topic.
CON: Your date doesn’t really look like that photo of him/her from five years ago atop Machu Picchu.
PRO: No back-and-forth messaging means no pussyfooting. No mind games. Your maudlin tableau becomes more than just a collection of pickup lines.
CON: As far as pre-screening goes, you have nothing but a semi-auto generated summary of your date from your fixer. Determining chemistry is obviously easier in person, even easier if they’re a friend’s friend whose text game besets all.
PRO: Your live, human fixer leverages your “weaknesses” and “deal breakers” to find a match. A deal breaker that reads “Native American Halloween costumes” helps cut through the clutter.
CON: You’re not only confined to a database, but also your own biases, which may unnecessarily narrow your pitch.
PRO: Either way, you’re broadening your horizons.
Isn’t that the point here, anyway? Should a man outsource his love life? Like all things personally outsourced — laundry, grocery shopping et al. — the real question is:
How much is your time worth?
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