I’m the female member who asked the question, “I had three stars.” Thank you to everyone who answered.

I’m a BB7 male member. When it comes to the number of ☆ ratings, I actually pay more attention to women with fewer stars rather than more, partly to avoid people to avoid. I really appreciate it when the reasons for the deductions are also listed. On the other hand, I won’t make an offer just because someone has a lot of stars. Sometimes the woman I happen to want to make an offer to has a high rating, but when it’s five stars, I can’t help wondering how many offers she’s getting. I also start thinking she probably knows exactly how to act in a way that appeals to older men, and that she must be very experienced with this kind of dating. So, ironically, I tend to avoid making offers to them...

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ I don’t worry about ratings of ★3 or higher, but I avoid making offers to anyone rated ★★ or below. (I think that’s probably a pretty standard approach.) There was once a woman whom the staff recommended, saying she might have changed her ways… But when we were alone together, she was awful. (Apparently, she had been persistently begging the club to introduce her to men.) When I meet a wonderful woman, I make a point of contacting the club proactively. I feel that this also helps her rating move up more smoothly— perhaps even beyond what’s written in the manual.

I’m a male member based in Seattle. I just checked, and about 90% of them have three stars. So I don’t really pay much attention to the ratings. That said, if someone has two stars or fewer, I’d probably pass on making an offer. I’ve never had a good experience with women who are slow to respond—24 hours is my limit. All eight women I’ve made offers to so far had three stars. Personally, I think it would be more interesting if people moved up to four or five stars sooner.

Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well. > How much of an impact does the star rating have on getting offers? Everyone starts with three stars. If that drops to two, for example, and a man is deciding between A and B, he may end up sending an offer to the woman with three stars. Even if he has already decided he likes someone, seeing a note saying, “Her rating has gone down because she canceled at the last minute,” may make him think, “I’d hate for her to cancel on me too,” and decide not to send an offer. So when the rating goes down, it can have quite a significant impact. As for ratings going up, most people’s ratings don’t increase, so men may wonder why someone’s rating went up. If it says, “I’ve had five offers and gone on dates with all of them,” a man may have mixed feelings. He might start thinking things like: “So she’s gone on dates with at least five men…” “I wish she would only date me.” Odd thoughts like that can come up. On the other hand, even if she has gone on dates with five men, men may be happier when a woman says something like, “He’s only my second.” In that sense, a woman with three stars may actually be preferable to one with four. You can still ask things like, “Am I your second?” or “How was the previous guy?” Then, if she says something like: “We just didn’t click, so I’m sorry it ended up being dinner only. But you’re wonderful, so I’d really like to continue things after dinner…” I think his impression of her would improve. Even with four stars, though, it could make a difference if the explanation says, “I gave her four stars because she was exceptionally pleasant to deal with.” So I think the reason behind the rating is important. With that in mind, three stars may seem like the safest option, but depending on the reason, four stars might actually be better.

I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member. > How much of an impact does the star rating have on receiving offers? My impression is that women with more stars are probably more enthusiastic and proactive about their activities at the dating club. So if I made an offer, I feel they’d be quick and stress-free when arranging the date, wouldn’t cancel at the last minute or show up late, and would be easy to have a smooth date with. I also get the impression that they’d be proactive about pursuing a relationship and that things could progress without much stress. When I say I “hold back from making an offer,” it’s because women who are easy to approach probably receive a lot of offers, including from other men. Then I start thinking that someone ordinary-looking like me would face a lot of competition and get filtered out anyway. If that’s the case, I wonder whether I even stand a chance, and sometimes I think I might as well give up before trying. Of course, confident men will probably go for it without hesitation. Still, in the end, it’s between the two people involved. The woman gets to review the man—I consider making an offer my chance to compete—and if she decides she’d be open to seeing him, things can move on to the next step. If she decides he’s not her type, then it’ll simply be, “Thank you for the enjoyable dinner.” That’s how I see it.