Playing Cupid: Here's your chance to find your Valentine

Valentine's Day may be over but that doesn't mean you have to be dateless for the rest of the year. With so many unconventional ways to meet someone—there’s speed dating and numerous dating sites over the Internet, for starters—it would seem that finding that special someone should be easy enough.

Yet thousands of single, supposedly happy (ha!) individuals pretended to go home early during Valentine's Day in hopes that their officemates would think they were rushing to make it to a date.

It is in this dating department that Riva Galveztan, who put up Customized Dating, wants to help out. In a nutshell, Galveztan plays Cupid (sans the bow and arrow, we believe) in an attempt to put a professional touch in matchmaking.

“We’re more than a dating site. We believe that each person should never settle for anything less in life, most especially when it comes to being in a romantic relationship,” said the professional matchmaker.

In essence, this is how Customized Dating works: Individuals undergo a series of interviews and tests so Galveztan’s team can determine if he or she meets the criteria for their datebase. It is in this datebase where her team—not the members themselves—would try to match a couple and set them up for a date.

Customized Dating’s team is composed of a psychologist, a veteran relationship and parenting expert, an advocate of whole brain thinking and self-development, a professor of theology, a family ministry counsellor, and a medical doctor. It looks like a tedious process, but it only makes sure that people who sign-up for this are serious takers.

“I have been matchmaking my friends for years. When my friends want to have a date, they naturally go to me. Customized Dating is like that friend of yours who will introduce you to another friend from its datebase,” said Galveztan.

Customized Dating does not promise a “perfect” match, after all, that is a highly subjective term. But the company does promise at least a perfect set-up for the date.

Riva Galveztan

“Once we have found a match, we confirm with both parties their availability for a certain date. We ask them which restaurant they would want to meet and at what time,” she said.

It’s not going to be a blind date, though. Galveztan or a member of her team would be at the place to properly introduce the couple. Once, they’re settled and are comfortable with each other, they’d be left alone to enjoy their date. What happens after the date or the introduction depends on the couple.

“Of course, there’s no guarantee that the couple will instantly get into a romantic relationship. The quality of the chemistry and the level of attraction between the couple is something we cannot dictate or impose,” she said.

But Customized Dating is sure to have a very good idea of what its members want. After all, during the assessment period, they ask for one’s Zodiac sign, shoe size, and gambling and smoking habits (if any). They even ask individuals how many times they take a shower; whether or not they sleep with the lights on; or if they snore or talk in their sleep.

“There’s a lot of what we call indispensable factors so might as well know them as early as now. Based on our survey, more often than not, people tend to take these things for granted. It feels magical to hit it off with someone you like but eventually you still have to face reality,” she said.

Galveztan is confident Customized Dating will hit its mark. After all, she said, the system saves time and effort for the members.

*** This article was published on the Philippine Daily Inquirer last February 14, 2013. It has been edited for TWIST. ***