Maezawa from the Corporate Planning Office here as well.
> An acquaintance told me that “it’s virtually impossible to fail the Universe interview.” Is that true?
That’s not true.
Some people do fail.
> Is it fair to assume that you’ll pass unless there’s some serious issue?
Not at all, so I think you should come prepared and take it seriously.
> I also heard that they only take a quick look at your ID to verify your identity.
No, no—we make a copy.
For example, if a woman lies about her age and turns out to be under 18, Universe could also be held responsible unless there’s proof that we properly verified her age.
That’s why we take this measure.
> Is there any special screening process?
The interview takes about an hour, so you could certainly call it a special screening process. They ask all kinds of questions.
> If I were the owner, I’d instruct them to “reject as many applicants as possible.”
There hasn’t been any specific instruction to reject people left and right, but that’s the atmosphere on the ground.
Among those who fail, there are women who make us think, “Wouldn’t it be fine to register her as Gold?”
Even apart from that, there are quite a lot of women who seem like they should at least be registered as Standard. Only about 30% seem to have been rejected because they didn’t meet the average standard of attractiveness.
The remaining 70% are women who might well have been accepted depending on the timing.
That said, even when someone works hard and tries to interview again after failing, they may still be turned away.
So people who do get registered may think the screening isn’t that strict, but those who fail are left wondering, “Why was I rejected?” The standards have become that strict.
I think the standards at the front line have become stricter because there are so many opportunities to hear directly from male members. Still, it’s pretty remarkable that things have reached this point without the owner even giving such an order.
Personally, I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and everyone has different preferences. I think about half of the women who were rejected could have been registered, but the reality is quite harsh.
> If there’s a risk of trouble with male members, it’s quicker to reject them.
Exactly.
I’m Saito, the column writer♪
My impression is that more women are probably being rejected at interviews than at U.S.T.
The reason is that there are quite a lot of scouts (or female friends) who think, “As long as I get her into a dating club somehow, I’ll keep earning referral fees forever,” and send women to interviews after telling them whatever suits them.
At interviews, there are still plenty of women who have only picked up the convenient parts of what they read online and say, “You get tens of thousands of yen just for having tea, right?”
Scouts only tell them the truth after they’ve joined, stopped receiving offers, and started to panic.
Since other clubs are struggling with this as well, it’s easy to imagine that a club with the highest name recognition in the industry—and, as your acquaintance put it, a “kind Universe”—would be targeted for sign-ups precisely because of that reputation.
It’s the club’s responsibility to explain to every woman who comes in for an interview what a dating club actually is. If the alternative is ending up in trouble with male members, they probably decide it’s quicker just to reject her.
I don’t know what the reality is, but if I were the president, I’d instruct them to “reject as many as possible.”
Of course, this is just speculation, so I’m looking forward to Maezawa-san’s answer. lol
