If I end up matched with a woman who clearly doesn’t seem interested in making an effort—not because of anything on my end, but because of her own attitude (showing up to the first meeting in casual clothes that aren’t suitable for taking her to a restaurant, being extremely late, saying right away, “Please keep it to within two hours today,” and so on), is there anything I can do besides complain to the club or provide feedback?\r\nAm I just expected to take the loss?

Maezawa from the Business Planning Office will answer as well. Unfortunately, there is no “something more” we can offer. However, if you provide feedback, it may help us improve and prevent similar situations in the future, so we would appreciate your feedback. We’re happy to hear your complaints, but it would be difficult if you were also asking for some kind of monetary compensation. > Coming in casual clothes that aren’t suitable for being taken to a restaurant for the first meeting In some cases, a woman may have just registered and not have enough money to buy nice clothes—or may simply not own any. If she doesn’t have anything other than casual clothes, I feel that can’t really be helped. There are also cases where, even if she owns reasonably nice clothes, she doesn’t know what to wear because she has no idea what kind of restaurant she’ll be taken to. I’ve even heard stories of women dressing up nicely, only to be taken to an izakaya or a beer garden. Why not specify the dress code when making the offer? Of course, if she doesn’t have anything that fits the requested dress code, it may put her in a difficult position, but I think it can be effective. > As soon as we met, he suddenly said, “Please keep it to under two hours today.” Was this a Relationship Type A or B? The general guideline for a first date is two hours for the meal plus another two hours afterward, so I don’t think that comment was appropriate. That said, on rare occasions, some men want to go on four- or six-hour dates while paying only the transportation fee set by the club—¥5,000 to ¥10,000—which leads to complaints from women. Even if it isn’t an adult relationship (intimate), if you plan to spend more than two hours together, you should discuss it properly with the woman and provide an allowance or otherwise compensate her. If the meal runs over two hours because you’re having a course meal, we haven’t received complaints in those cases, so I don’t think any particular discussion is necessary. > Being extremely late Being late for a first date results in a penalty and a lower rating. By “extremely late,” I assume you mean being more than an hour late. In that case, please let the club know that you can’t wait and will be leaving. We’ll contact the woman and tell her not to come. And if you never meet the woman, no setting fee will be charged.

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ I’m only wondering whether I should tell the club, so other male members don’t fall victim to the same thing… I don’t think there’s anything more to it than that. Let’s move on. That’s just how it is.

I’m Joe, your column writer. There’s no time to cry. On to the next one.

I’m male member だて◎ゆめ. I see it as a lesson fee that I can learn from and apply to future offers.