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October 1999

Matching Services - Shooting Arrows on Cupid's Behalf

By Alex Chow

Another article from this beat:
Economy Update - NGOs Bear Brunt of Economic Downturn

When Miss Betty Lau set up her business of providing matching services 15 years ago, she had a special case.

"A woman came to us and asked us to find a husband for her," Miss Lau said. "But she was very demanding.

"For example, she required that her husband-to-be should be a professional with a very high salary. Also she requested that her husband should not have been married before and should not have any children."

"The most important thing is that the client demanded a perfect match, meaning that the ideal partner we chose must meet all her demands,"  Miss Lau added.

Said she: "The client was in her 30s when she first came, and no one completely fit her preferences. She is now in her 50s, and has been waiting for 15 years. She is still waiting."

The business which Miss Lau is engaging in is matching services, or marriage aid services.  Her company aims to help people to find their future spouse by introducing partners through the work of matchmakers like Miss Lau.

Matching companies collect information on their clients.  When the clients approach, they provide information about themselves.

The companies look in their files to see if anyone suits the requests that the client has made.  The matchers will notify their client and arrange a meeting between the two.

After providing the general information, the client is also requested to identify the characteristics, such as age and occupation, of their ideal partner.

"Clients will also have to provide photos when they approach us to make us easier to find the partner," said Mrs. Chan Siu Man, managing director of a matching services company.

"We give the photos of the potential partners to our clients to see if they are impressed."

They also asked the clients to provide identification to ensure that their information is genuine.

Most of the clients are between 27 to 35 and have professional careers.

Both Mrs. Chan and Miss Lau observed that the numbers of males and females are about the same.

"Hong Kong is a financial center, and the people work hard to build up their careers.

"Others will work hard to save money to buy flats.  These factors contribute to the problem of them having little or not time to find their partners," Miss Lau said.

"As a result, when other things becomes stable, they will find they are in need of building a family.  But they are worried as they are somewhat old, and so they come to us seeking help," she said.

Miss Ann Chow, who runs Diamond Single Club in Tsim Sha Tsui, has another view on this issue.

"Government statistics show that there are more females that males in the age group of 20-30, which is the age group of getting married," Miss Chow said.

"As a result, not all the females are able to find a partner and they seek our services," she continued.

According to Mrs. Chan, the preferences between male and female clients are different.

"For our male clients, they prefer women who are pretty and have a good figure. Also a good occupation and high education level are essential, but the last two preferences come after the first two.

"As for our female clients, they prefer males who have a high educational level and earn a lot of money.  Also a man who is tall would be welcome by the female clients," Mrs. Chan added.

"However, nowadays our clients would like their mates to share the economic burden with them, as the cost of living is higher in Hong Kong."

Matching companies' services are not limite to providing matching services, but they also organise activities for their clients to find their mates.

According to Miss Ann Chow of Diamond Single Club, activities are organised every week for the members of the club.

"We organize events to provide an opportunity for our members to meet each other. Whether the relationship blossoms or withers depends on them," Miss Chow said.

"We hold film shows, dinners, buffets, balls, sports events and even trips for our members.  Generally speaking, the attendance of each event is around 45 people," she added.

"We organize events such as Christmas parties, karaoke parties and boat trips and let our clients get to know each other," said Miss Lau.

But events organized by Miss Lau's company are not as regular as Miss Chow's. "The events are usually held during holidays and festivals," Miss Lau added.

Said Miss Lau: "In the past, people were reluctant to try this new form of matching services.

"But now they accept it as a kind of social activity and as an alternative if they can't find their ideal partner."

However, Mrs. Chan has some reservations about this kind of activity.

"As there are so many participants, chances of finding a mate is relatively small. The traditional way ensures that there will be more choices and the chances are much higher," Mrs. Chan said.

Matching companies charge a range of fees for their services.

Usually the client has to pay a fee of $400 as a registration fee when they first come to a matching company. Sometimes a "photo-reading fee", usually around $100, will be charged on the client if they want to look at the photos of the "targets".

A "match-maker fee", around $3,000, will be charged if the client is going to get married.

Mrs. Chan admits that luck is sometimes important for the client.

"I once had a female client who is a widow," Mrs. Chan said.  "She is very rich and she is looking for a mate.  However she is in her sixties and it was difficult to find a mate for her."

Said she: "You know, her wealth is her greatest advantage but her age keeps people away.

"But at the same time, a man in his seventies came to me an asked me to find a woman for him, and he is wealthy too.

"So you can guess what happened in the end: They got married and they lived happily."

"Therefore I think looking for your mate depends on luck to a certain externt," Mrs. Chan concluded.

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