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Feature Request 17: The Availability-o-meter

Dear eHarmony:

Are you looking for a simple feature that will totally improve the experience of your members? I have one for you today. Here is the handy-dandy Availability-o-Meter:

The Availability-o-meter

What you do is put the Availability-o-meter on “My Home Page”, so all members can see it and adjust it after they log in. Then it’s up to you where to display the Availability bars on the Match Details and My Matches screens.

Karen 3/10 

(“Just looking… ’cause I don’t feel I’m ready to enter a relationship now.”)

The Availability-o-meter distinguishes lack of availability from lack of interest, and separates the serious-seekers from the occupied. I won’t spend time describing the benefits of this suggestion, because I know you know why members are frustrated with other members in the site… and you care about us, right? ;-)

Joseph 6/10 

(“I’m still on eHarmony and I’m not ignoring you, but it’s been hectic recently… How about later?”)

I will however suggest four possible enhancements when you decide to install this feature:

  • Turn off matching automatically when the member moves the slider all the way to the left. Turn it back on when the member moves the slider to the right.
  • Ask it on the last page of the questionnaire, replacing “Are you ready to receive matches?”
  • Put the slider between 50% to 70% as a default for existing members.
  • [Serious suggestion] Let the system automatically move the slider bar to the left a few percentage points for each month the member has not signed in. The system can update this across the database every week or every month, it doesn’t matter. The decrements can stop at 50% or 0%, it doesn’t matter either.

Readers, how do you like this idea? Do you agree it will improve the site? Email eHarmony management and request this or send them the link to this page (http://eharmony-blog.com/436). Mention “Availability-o-meter” to customer service the next time you speak to them over the phone. If you don’t act, eHarmony won’t hear you. If you don’t light a candle, we all stay in the dark. So speak up!

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Comments 7

  1. Scott Grey wrote:

    It WOULD be nice.

    But when people see that their “First six matches free!” are all people who aren’t particularly ready to meet someone… it’s hard to lure ‘em in.

    Sure, customer satisfaction is nice. But new members pay the bills. :-P

    Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 1:17 pm
  2. eHarmony Blog wrote:

    It’s all about the money, huh? Not “we’re here to help you every step of the way”? It’s a “get you in, then leave you alone like a headless chicken in there,” huh?

    Easy and fast solution, for the coffers: hide the Availability bars from free members.

    Isn’t it plain that availability bars cause would less pain and remorse than paying up, sending your communication and receiving no reply?

    Posted 06 Dec 2007 at 1:59 pm
  3. Richard E. Perry wrote:

    How do I e-mail eharmony ? I need to ask a question about putting more ladies on my e-mail address !

    Posted 07 Dec 2007 at 3:54 am
  4. Scott Grey wrote:

    eH Blog: Yes. It probably is, IMHO. If they were really THAT dedicated, don’t you think eHarmony Marriage would be free? (It’s not like it costs them a lot to publish it.)

    Problem with your plan? That “Quit in the first week, and we’ll refund your money” clause. Too many uninterested, and you’ll get calls for refunds.

    90% of people who try online “dating” services quit in the first month. The biggest money maker? Those who get lured in for the first time.

    Besides, if they forget to call and cancel, they get charged for another month. And they get to talk to a high-pressure salesperson, who will plead “you aren’t giving us enough of a chance… you need a multi-month membership.” Or try to sell all the great “advice” books, DVDs, and CDs. And, if that fails, you can give them a free month, hoping that they’ll forget all about the fact that they have to cancel again in 4 more weeks to prevent being auto-renewed…

    eHarmony can be a useful service. But the businessmen DEFINITELY know how to squeeze the most money from it.

    And, yes, it pisses people off. But they’re ex-customers, who are unlikely to return, so they don’t really matter. At least from a financial perspective.

    Posted 08 Dec 2007 at 9:10 am
  5. eHarmony Blog wrote:

    The Availability-o-meter isn’t all-new. Members can close matches or put them on hold because of reasons ranging from “there’s too much happening in my life at the moment,” to “I’m pursuing another relationship.” It’s the same thing, except that the Availability-o-meter is adjustable instantly and doesn’t shut out communication.

    > don’t you think eHarmony Marriage would be free?

    Do you mean the quizzes and videos? There were production costs to be recovered. Similar to porn sites, I might add.

    > Too many uninterested, and you’ll get calls for refunds.

    Maybe not!! Low bars mean lack of availability, not lack of interest. Also, a “seriously-looking” person can be a big turn-off to those who aren’t. “Get off me!” they’d say.

    > But they’re ex-customers, who are unlikely to return, so they don’t really matter.

    Customer attrition makes any business unsustainable. Why else does the company spend time, money and effort in a customer call centre department? In that light, what is a small upgrade like this compared to the customer satisfaction gained? You may be being cynical.

    > 90% of people who try online “dating” services quit in the first month.

    Where did you get this information? Anyway, the kind of service is hardly a necessity and has high elasticity of demand. Nonetheless, I doubt that eHarmony’s plan all this time is to bait-and-switch its customers.

    Posted 08 Dec 2007 at 7:31 pm
  6. RM wrote:

    Don’t take your eharmony matches so seriously because it is creepy. Communicating on Eharmony is not “dating” its more like having a conversation at a party and obsessing over a stranger to the point that you want to know why they are not replying is weird. If they don’t respond move on, if you feel you are investing so much that you deserve to know, then you need balance and need to spend your time elsewhere. So, if you think something like this is necessary, you should try limiting your time on eharmony to 10 minutes a day and live life in the real world. Who knows, you might meet someone the old way.

    Posted 09 Feb 2008 at 2:04 pm
  7. oldbiker wrote:

    You guys never, ever send me a man in any way other than return your charges. I got so many, 40 more more matches, that never ever, were interested in me at 57 years old. You guys are a fraud.

    Posted 24 Apr 2009 at 10:46 pm

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