It’s Just Lunch

May God help you if they get your phone number! They are relentless. Not only that but they have no interest in making things right. They consistently talk over me and disregard any feedback. I told them what it would take. You can probably figure out how that went. Your number is blocked… no soup for you!

These people must be desperate. I went and met with one of their matchmakers over 5 years ago and they still call me relentlessly. I could tell they weren’t going to listen to me when they were already trying to talk me in to dating outside of my preferred age range and ethnicities other than what I had listed, so I never signed up. That didn’t stop them from calling me over and over and over again even after telling them to remove me from their list. I have told them that I’m married just so that they would stop calling, but even that didn’t work. They clearly have no respect for their «clients». Hopefully I’ve blocked all of their numbers by now. DON’T DO IT.

Today I got a call from IJL my matchmaker read off the list of who my next match is. He is 6’3, blond, blue, has two teenage daughters, likes blah blah blah, is not yet divorced. I tried to stop her from talking, finally I said, «hold on». I don’t date married men and even if he was divorced he is not ready for a new relationship. This place is a rip off. Please don’t waste your money.

Zero stars. Don’t waste your time or money.
I met with one of their directors and was impressed with the level of detail she sought out about me, my lifestyle, interests, etc. and what I was seeking in a match. Unfortunately, the dates I’ve been on have not been at all appropriate. I give them repeated feedback and ask them not to set me up with anyone who doesn’t meet my criteria, but I might as well be talking to a tree. They either lack the ability to screen potential matches or they simply don’t care. I’ve concluded that they really just want to sell memberships and meet quotas.

For your sake, I hope you are reading this prior to signing up for it’s just lunch. Under no circumstances should you use this company. Repeat: Under no circumstances should you use this company. I had tried them once before, years ago. Tiffany cold called me repeatedly this spring. She is a good salesperson. Even though I am happy as a single person; it’s pretty natural to not want to be alone. Tiffany and IJL are trained to prey upon that aspect of a person; and that’s how they obtain members. I got roped on April 9^th and like an idiot, I gave Tiffany my credit card number over the phone. Later that night, I saw this Unilocal page and realized the magnitude of my mistake. I tried to obtain a refund from IJL before the the charge cleared on my bank account. IJL issues no refunds. They had my $ and had achieved their goal. I tried to dispute the charge with my bank. My bank could not get a refund even though I had gone on zero dates. I tried to be optimistic and chose to let them set me up on one date. The person they set me up with was so far from anyone I would ever date, it was blatant disregard to anything I ever told them regarding my type of person I would date. That was over 2 months ago and I thankfully haven’t heard from them. They truly are a scam. I am sad that I threw $ 2200 out the window-don’t make this mistake yourself. I hope to learn more about the class action lawsuit being filed against the company. link:
I am also considering calling a local new station that does a public defender series. It’s just sad that people are being ripped off, and in a big way. It needs to stop

Horrible experience! I wish I had read some of the reviews before spending 2K on their «service». In fact, I wish I could rate them less than 1 star, however that is not an option. EVERYTHING that was listed by other people as negative is true.
They will set you up with people you would never choose on your own. They LIE to get you to go on dates with their choices. One example, they wanted to set me up with a guy who was older than my age range. I said No, but they tried anyway to convince me otherwise. They finally gave up, but a few weeks later, they called back with another «great guy» who sounded a lot like the one before, only this time he was 3 years younger. I agreed to see him and although he was a nice guy, he told me during the date how old he was. He was 3 years older, matching exactly the previous guy they were trying to set me up with! They lied about his age to get me to date him! How professional!
I was very upset about this and because I refused to take their phone calls, they froze my account. That was 6 months ago and I have not heard from them at all. They are not interested in women, since they have so many of them. Guys, on the other hand, are a different story. There is a scarcity of men in this service. A guy friend of mine who signed up with them before I did, is getting calls from them all the time. If he freezes his acct for even a few weeks, he immediately gets the usual super-​friendly-​nauseating messages, informing him that they have found the love of his life and he has to call them asap! After years of being with them, he has finally blocked their number.
Believe me,
and eharmony are a lot cheaper and at least you get to choose your match, to see what the other person will look like before you meet them and for a lot less money! But, if you would rather go into it blindly and let a complete novice make that choice for you for thousands of dollars, then it’s just lunch is for you. (Please note the lower case. I don’t think they even deserve capitals!)

If I could give them zero stars then I would. I tried the service twice before and the third time they Cold called me via a high number of high-​pressure phone calls late at night and early in the morning. Unfortunately I gave in after their many, many reassurances that they have changed their prior ways which I explained I was not happy with them. They promised this third time would be the charm. I can tell you that it was evident from the get-​go on the third time that nothing had changed. Despite promises from the director I was immediately transferred to one or more Coordinator and she knew nothing of my conversation with the director, which entailed specific items that they agreed to manage my selection process by. I was set up on several dates where the women did not know what my profession was, and I was incorrectly told what their profession was, same for the interest — the staff got everything confused. All they want is your money and their commission. They say they do not make a commission but the director is a straight sales person and not a matchmaker whatsoever. I can honestly say that I do not usually take time out of my busy day to post reviews on Unilocal,but this one is worth doing because you really should not waste your money on this service. The other offices in other cities may be different, but this Austin office is ridiculously unprofessional and they absolutely do not have the caliber of men or women that they say they do. It is my opinion and experience being on over 40 dates that they are short on good-​looking, sane men and will do anything and say anything to attract more of those to the pool. Everything that the women told me while on the dates reflected the same problem I was having on my end. Except that the women kept saying every date they went on was with a bunch of losers or freaks. If you’re a woman I say you should run. If you’re a man, don’t waste your time. Unfortunately the local office has really botched their operations to the point of no return. Give your money to charity or take yourself to st. Bart’s before you give it to them!

Now, I got a phone call I didn’t recognize the number. Granted this is two years after I got as far away from them as I could. I go do a reverse phone search on my app and who do you think it is? Them. Thank God for AT&T smart limits where I can block the number. I think I’m going to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau because it should not even be legal for these people to advertise. Not just zero stars. Negative to infinity stars. May this outfit disappear into a black hole — stars. I swear they would still be calling me if I didn’t block all the damn numbers.

Off the charts bad.
Let me give some specifics that support 100% what the other 1-​star reviewers have published here as well, and equip you with the knowledge to make the decision that’s right for you.
First, let me say that I’ve been MARRIED for four months now to the girl of my dreams whom I found on my own. I also moved across the country from Austin several months ago. I repeatedly told their sales monkeys this, but that apparently didn’t resonate (or they promote cheating), because I got get another over-​enthusiastic call from an overly-​bubbly rep in Austin yesterday who wanted to talk about my «membership.» If they had just shut up, I probably wouldn’t post a review, so I’m pleased to share my experience with you on the basis of them also being idiots. Should you be so desperate and forlorn to still give this a shot following this review, it’s your own fault.
1. It’s VERY expensive and they do not deliver. For a couple of grand, you’re guaranteed 12 matches. I went on three, and none of my «matches» even came remotely close to anyone I would ever be seen with. As far as I’m concerned– that was three hours lost I will never get back.
2. Their matchmaking monkeys are more interested in checking a box off that you went on your twelve dates than actually LISTENING to your feedback so that they don’t match you with non-​compatibles.
3. This business is unethical in that they do not stand behind their claims. I repeatedly suggested they refund my money, and they repeatedly just glossed over that suggestion.
4. The level of interest in you — as a person — is feigned in each contact you have with this business. The matchmakers are over-​the-​top enthusiastic and sickeningly sugary-​sweet on the phone… and that’s irritating when the quality of matches they give you just degrades from date one.
There’s really not a lot more negative I can say about IJL as they fail mightily in their core business and never acknowledge this fact even when confronted with it on the phone yesterday. I sincerely hope their sales calls stop now that I’m married…

Agreed. Paid a ton and so frustrated after a few months and fewer dates I stopped responding to them. I’d rather lose the money than have to deal with IJL any longer. It started with my first set-​up not even showing up and went downhill from there. The matches never aligned with the way IJL sold them to me. Once they had my money their job was done. Would never recommend.

TOTAL SCAM. If you have any doubts ask them to communicate with you via email… impossible as they don’t want to document their lies, communication is just by phone. They just omit relevant information or flat out lie about the dates. They even lie about the age and height of the dates you are supposedly a match for. In fact as soon as I asked them to leave messages on my voicemail about the matches (so I can document) all of a sudden they cannot match me with anyone… what a surprise!
There is no matching. They try to convince you to go on dates just to give you 12 dates, period. And can’t care less about either party and easily lie about everything. The women working there just get a commission to send you an a date and they have no conscience and do whatever it takes to get their few bucks.
Not to mention after a couple months they call (as they know how disappointed you already are) and try to sell you another service, that if you are not happy with your dates we can provide high quality ones but that service is 10K!
So don’t waste your money and more importantly your time.

0 stars. I have been on
on and off for years and have had a few relationships but nothing stuck so I was looking to try something new. After meeting one of the coordinators at an event in my apartment complex she convinced me that this company would be a perfect fit. I was the «ideal» client. Popular age range, successful job and bubbly personality. I was skeptical about signing up but after my interview with Jordan (one of the match makers) she sold me on the company and service. She made it seem like she had an over flowing amount of matches for me and I would be able to go a few dates a month. My first date was a DISASTER !!! I am talking about opening scene to a James Bond movie crash and burn and total destruction. The drinks only lasted for an hour and that was 59 mins too long. The guy never looked at me once, he would stare off into the restaurant the entire time and never made eye contact. I ordered a beer and he made a comment about drinking during the week and having to go to work the next day. 1 beer is not going to kill my career and it sure helped me get through the rest of the date. At the end of then evening he blind sided me and asked for my number. I thought he got the vibe that this did not go well at all. I was caught off guard and didn’t know how to say now so I gave him my number. On my drive home, not even 5 min down the road from the restaurant I get a text «I had a wonderful time and I want to see you again. Also you have the most amazing green eyes» Is he serious? How does he know my eye color when he never even looked at me. I had to let him know that I wasn’t interested in going out again and when I did I received the nastiest text in return saying I was a b! tch for wasting his time by giving him my number. I explained this all to IJL and said if this was the clientele they had they falsely advertised their service. They immediately apologized and set me up on another date and they were sure this one would be better. Well the 2^nd date wasnt any better. Instead of 6’1 with brown hair I got barely 5’8 and bald. Their description of the men was completely off as well as what I was looking for they could not provide. Every followup call I mentioned I need an outgoing and charismatic person. Someone who can easily have a conversation and that has confidence and not once out of my 10 dates did I ever meet such a person. I have one last story to tell as well. In all of my years of online dating or being set up by friends, I have never once been stood up for a date and I was stood up twice by two difference matches from IJL. IJL sure knows how to pick their clients. Men who can’t even show up for a date let alone call the restaurant to let me know they were running late or not coming. Nothing better than sitting at a table all alone for 45 mins (twice) while you wait for a blind date that never shows up. Those last few dates were the last straw. I called and put my membership on hold, but really I just want to be done with this company. What they say they have as a database of matches is slim pickings and I would not recommend this company to anyone. Please don’t waste your time or money. I learned the hard way so please avoid this company. I would rather sit at a bar and have a drink by myself then be set up on another date by this service.

I’d like to start off by saying that I’ve tried many other services like
and
before trying IJL. I had a little more luck with the eHarmony site than I did with Match. One turned into a short relationship. I found that many of the men on these sites were men in the military or in the reserves. I’ve tried having a few relationships with these men, on and off these sites, but unfortunately I found that many of them were struggling with PTSD. I made it a point to tell IJL not to send me on any dates with these men as it was very difficult for me emotionally. After being heartbroken from my last relationship, I still did not want to give up on love.
I remembered hearing about IJL on Oprah years back and I thought that maybe I’d just look into it one night. I just wanted to find out how much this service would cost. I was immediately called and set up with an appointment to meet my matchmaker. I was hesitant to keep the appointment because I thought the cost was too steep. However, I got dressed and showed up and went into my initial meeting with the attitude of going to find out information. I was pleased when I arrived that it was discrete, in a suite of a professional building, and was done by appointment. They greet you with your choice of coffee and fixings as well as water. They make you feel like you are truly cared about. Yes, I knew this was most likely smoke and mirrors, but I also knew that I had just moved to a town where I had no friends or any real connections. So, I could either stay at home and sulk about the last relationship I was in or I could go in with an open mind and treat this as practice or just something to do, and possibly meet some nice guys.
I was looking for something real, but I tried to go in with realistic expectations that they may likely not find what I’m looking for. It sucks that we live in an age where dating is so difficult. Work takes up a good chunk of our time, and as we get older we’re less likely to meet people at work or in school (if you’re still in school) which most people on here aren’t. A good reason we join services like this is because most of our friends or acquaintances are either married, have kids, or both. So, this review may not be so much for IJL as it is for those looking to find someone special… I read several of the low scoring reviews on here and found many of them to be true in that I did feel like the matchmakers weren’t really listening to what I was or wasn’t looking for and some were flat out lies. An example of one date was with a guy that was totally into Crossfit and live music/​bands and concerts. I mean he lived, breathed, and ate this lifestyle. I wasn’t into either of these things. They often stretch the truth about professions, interests, lifestyles, etc. and it was a little frustrating at times, but what I did find was that the people on the other end of the table were looking for the same thing… love.
There were some dates that were awkward and ended early. There were others that we closed the place down because we had a good time, but it didn’t really go too far after that. I met the jerk, the disinterested, the painfully shy, the painfully desperate, the just plain awkward, etc. However, having said all of this I will be marrying that date that started off as just slightly awkward. I never would have thought that I would have ended up with a guy like this, but somehow it has worked and I have found my best friend and love.
You see, I always kept an open mind and said, it’s just drinks or it’s just dinner/​lunch. Yes, this service is expensive, but the other person is spending the money too. I found that most of the guys were polite and almost always picked up the check (dutch rule on first date). We almost always exchanged numbers whether it was just the polite thing to do or not. You can always tell when someone’s not feeling it or just trying too hard to make it work. I found that after you exchanged information the person would usually try to let you down easy if they weren’t really feeling it, but didn’t want to be rude and I appreciated that. You don’t want to waste either of your time. So… IJL in many ways is flawed, but I would recommend it as a tool as long as you have realistic expectations and go in with an open mind. I had no real expectations. I knew that I couldn’t settle or force anything. At times it felt like it had become a little bit of a chore with as many dates as I started going on. Truth be told, it made me a little less nervous and it made it easier for me to actually listen to the other person and our conversation. I wasn’t really looking… And that’s where I think the saying comes in, «when you’re not looking, it’ll happen».

IJL is definitely a scam and not worth the cost. The «Directors» insist they are good at their jobs, however they are only good at the sales part, not the personal matching. When I have provided feedback, they continue to say things like «well I wasn’t on the date with you so I can’t say what happened» or «give me feedback, let me try to make this right», however all could have been better if they had just took my wants and expectations under consideration. I was signed up over the phone and sent an email to sign the contract. I didn’t sign the contract and went on my first match, which was sold to me with a lot of lies. For example, I was told the person was from Australia and had a great Australian accent numerous times in one conversation. Well low and behold, no accent, so it was obvious that the Director had never spoken to the person and was just making things up to sell me a false bill of goods. After I requested a refund, my presence in the office was requested where I was immediately asked to sign the credit card slip. I made the mistake of signing it then and didn’t notice it said «All Sales Final». It’s really too bad this merchant has to run such a scam because the concept is good, the Directors just aren’t good at the matching part of their jobs. The second date, after I had very specifically provided all of my requests and requirements in person, was off the charts because the date was not even in the same ballpark. Seriously, I’m not a huge fan of online dating and I really wanted to believe that IJL would be the breath of fresh air they advertise, but it’s just not the truth. I do NOT recommend this service to anyone, they do not provide good quality of service for the price they charge.

Do not give your money to IJL. I gave them $ 3,300.00 when I signed the contract 9÷06÷13. Paragraph four «IJL does not give refunds.» Believe that. Paragraph 6, «IJL introduces members based on the judgment of IJL’s employees who MAY take into account the general criteria and guidelines specified by its members.» I signed a contract that had blanks which the director, Jordan Stinson, filled in. They guessed that I would pay $ 3,300.00 for the guaranteed minimum of 6 dates or 6 months whichever comes later. Though, Jordan did tell me that I would most definitely have many, many more dates than the six and that I would have the best time dating ever. After the first 2 mismatched introductions within the first week of the contract, I requested a refund from Jordan, the director of IJL. Jordan told me IJL does not give refunds and asked if she needed to mail me a copy of the contract. Hey, I was scammed. One definition of the word scam is a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people. I know that I was NOT given the services that IJL represented they would provide. I suggest that no ones gives IJL Austin office or any location for that matter their money, it may be a business model, and they will go out of business.
Anne w.
Austin, TX

Wish there was a rating for ZERO stars. I agree with 5 of the 7 reviews posted here. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY! This is somehow a legal scam. They have ZERO interest in finding you a match. All they want to do is set dates (appts). I know from an inside source that they get «spiffed”/paid based on how many dates (appts) they set per day. So their goal is to hit their number — not actually provide a true match.
Also– i have not been a paying member for well over 3 yrs yet they will continue to call me randomly on and off and as of late they call me SEVERAL times a day using shady techniques in their voice mails like «i was speaking to mutual friend XX recently about you and you MUST call me back because we have the PERFECT match for you.» Then i confirm with mutual friend XX that the convo never even occurred. Other times they leave messages and do not say who they are calling from but that it is URGENT that i call them (Tiffani) back.
On 4 (not 1 or 2 but 4) separate occasions i was «matched» with guys who were opposed to one of my biggest hobbies (i like to drink wine and they set me up with guys who did not drink and did not want to be around drinkers). After i gave IJL feedback, they told me they were not aware that the guy did not drink. Clearly they are not doing their screening and matching very well or this would not have happened. This is a huge part of their marketing (solid screening), how they claim to set themselves apart from other services/​and can justify their rates and they simply do not do that.
I would highly suggest trying any and ALL other avenues for dating and never use IJL. I have never seen such unprofessional services and business practices in my life. It is not an inexpensive service and you do NOT get what you pay for. I am willing to invest in a service like this but only if i see a good ROI and them truly trying to find me a good match.

Stay away, anything will be better. They tell you about these matches before signing up and oddly you never even get matched with them after signing up. I signed up for a year got 1 decent date, the rest were so far off it was a joke. I still to this day tell family and friends about some of these dates because how ridiculous they were.
Super pushy sign up tactics by the director constantly keep getting calls to sign up even though I clearly don’t have means to do so (starting my own business). Given the same line each time after telling her I can’t do it right now.
It’s to the point of me considering them being a telemarketer. Because for one they don’t even ask anything personal like how is your business going or calling to check in see if you might be ready. She just jumps right in telling me about matches and sign up again for the service. I thought they were specialized in dealing with busy professionals?
So after you sign up the director will disappear and you are left with a wing person. They must go through a lot of turn there, because in the last year I got 3 different people like they fell off a cliff or something it’s very strange. Also be ready to have dates not show because the meetup times were setup wrong had that happen twice.
I regret signing up for this after reading the reviews. Thinking well I will give it a shot it can’t be that bad. The choice is yours, but I felt compelled today after receiving yet another IJL telemarketer call.

Basically a legal scam. Was sold a great story. Was told they have plenty of clients to meet my criteria. Actually have very few clients from what I can tell. Either that or they literally have no regard to match you up with your expressed interests. Staff are young, immature and unprofessional. I stopped taking their phone calls after being told they would not let me cancel for a refund. Best advice is don’t pay up front for their promise of service. Ask if you can pay monthly and when they say no, walk away.

Unethical, Unprofessional, Dishonest — Don’t use this service!
IJL is so unethical. They care more about making money than making matches. If you tell them you are happy in a relationship, they will try to entice you away and break up your relationship in order to get your money so they can match you, which I hear rarely happens.
My boyfriend used their service two years ago before we got together. They keep calling him, trying to get him to come back, describing young beautiful women who want to meet him. He told them he was happy in a serious relationship and was living with his girlfriend… me. Tiffany told him our relationship must not be serious or he would have married me by now and she keeps calling him and leaving messages. He has repeatedly said he was not interested, even hung up on her and after a few months have passed, she starts calling again, like this week.

Finally one year of torture is over with! I’d have to carbon copy a lot of what people have already said. From a guy’s perspective. I felt like it might be an interesting way to meet people because I’m a busy professional. The matches were terrible and left me disappointed each time. This is almost like blind dating… save your money and use a different service, or go w/​something like
. Or. like another poster said. just go out!