From spending hours sorting through online profiles looking for a good match to trying to connect via pokes, winks and email, dating can suddenly feel like a full-time job.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just fast forward to the fun part of dating? That’s exactly what newlyweds Desireé and Michael Schlitt say It’s Just Lunch, a dating service for busy professionals, did for them. The matchmakers at It’s Just Lunch took the time to learn what they were looking for in a partner and then delivered.

Desiree: I travel a lot for work, so I’d read about It’s Just Lunch in airline magazines, and then I ran into a friend who was attending the wedding of an attorney in town who’d met her husband through It's Just Lunch – the fact that those two events happened so close together, I thought I should call them. At the end of my work day I didn’t want to come home and go look at profiles online. I felt like it was a waste of my time.

Michael: I had gotten a divorce and then did online dating for a while before joining It's Just Lunch. I joined mainly because it’s a lot of work to do the online thing. You have to keep up on it. You never really know who you’re going to meet. It's Just Lunch was just a lot easier. They found people for me based on what I was looking for and I just had to show up. You don’t have to do much work.

D: I thought if someone is going to pay to join It's Just Lunch, they’re going to be more serious and what I’m looking for – it’s easy to do online dating; anybody can do it. I wanted somebody who was serious about finding someone and wanted a real long-term relationship.

M: I’d ask, “Are you looking for a relationship or not?” With online dating you never know who’s on the other side of the line. It's Just Lunch had better quality people who were interesting to me. It truly was an experience that was tailored for me.

M: I had a phone interview first and then went in and met with a matchmaker. It really made me think. Online you can say anything, but if you’re paying for this I assume you’re not going to lie about what you want.

D: She asked me questions about myself, what I like to do, what I want in a relationship, whether I’d marry someone who already had kids, how important religion is, that kind of thing. It would take much longer to find out someone else’s answers to those questions through online dating. This was black and white.

D: I never went on lunch dates because I was always busy at work so I met Michael after work at a downtown restaurant. The conversation just flowed. I was attracted to him from the start. I remember it turned into dinner.

M: I’m good at having a conversation if I’m interested in somebody, and I was interested in her. We had a great conversation. I don’t think either of us wanted to leave.

D: I met my husband, so I guess I would say that! It’s Just Lunch – it’s just a lot of fun. I remember I’d get off a plane and have a voicemail from the matchmaker saying she had a potential date for me. She would tell me about the person and was flexible with scheduling.

With online dating, you can go back and forth and waste a month with someone and not really get to know them. With IJL, you go meet your match and if you like them, you see them again, and if you don’t, you’re done.

M: I liked that they’d just call me up and say they had a date for me. You have to eat, so it was a nice way to meet people. If you’re interested, then you move forward. If not, then you don’t have to do anything.