Everyone wants to have that Hallmark movie ending and find the person with whom they are meant to spend the rest of their lives. Finding that special someone has evolved over the years and the ways in which people look for love have gone from meeting someone at your local coffee shop or during a night out at the pub, to using apps on your phone. However, one way of meeting people that has continued to stand the test of time is by using a matchmaking service.
Right now, with the world staying indoors and social distancing to avoid spreading the coronavirus, things are a little more difficult for those trying to date in hopes of finding their soul mate. But one matchmaking company says they are still here to help single people find their better half.
Misty River Introductions is a Canadian matchmaking company with a location in the Kitchener area. Despite the pandemic forcing a wedge into the most basic parts of our lives, the company says people are still looking for a dating match and have found creative ways to keep the search for love alive during these times.
“The pandemic has changed things so what we’re doing is we’re doing interview over Zoom or Skype or over the phone for people and surprisingly people are still very interested in dating,” said Linda Miller, CEO of Misty River Introductions. “It’s something nice for people to look forward to rather than the news cycle that’s going on constantly.”
She says people are now getting more of a chance to know each other over the phone before they meet in person for dates.
Since COVID-19 hit, Miller says they have been changing the ways in which they work, including rewriting software so staff can continue to work from home. And now that these changes are implemented, people are continuing to interview to become clients.
People who joined Misty River throughout social distancing and the lockdown are already in relationships, and Miller says it is because of the way they are encouraging people to get to know each other while continuing to follow safety guidelines.
“They started out getting to know each other over the phone, then some of them started with distance walking and different things like that,” she said.“We even had somebody that met in a Tim Hortons parking lot – they each went through the drive-thru, got their Tim Hortons coffee, parked like 10 feet away, rolled down their windows and had a talk.”
Miller says other creative ideas for dates include Zoom dinners where a couple would share a recipe and cook it together over the video chat before eating, and even sharing a socially distanced drink together at the other person’s home.
“It just goes to show you how much people are interested in having a connection, even right now,” said Miller.
Every client meeting their match right now is getting a little bit of advice from Miller on how to stay safe and healthy. This includes not meeting in public places and prioritizing talking over the phone.
Coming out of this pandemic, Miller sees things changing for the dating world. She says things will get back to normal, but people will be more selective about whom they date, with spending time jumping from person to person a thing of the past.
“People are going to be more discerning about who they end up going out with because… you don’t want to risk your health with dating 100 people.”
