Elan Real Relationships

I met with her in August and it's almost October. NO dates. She is really "talking care" of my program. Both of us are out of a lot of money. Here is my story: I had an interesting journey with this company. I am like many single women in Chicago looking for love. With the popularity of Millionaire Matchmaker, I figured why can't I pay someone to find me what I'm looking for without the awkwardness of online dating and the whole bar scene is a joke. I put my faith in the company and they let me down in a big way. I signed up after I had a breakup with my ex last summer and they had a year to find me someone, or I would have taken a decent date. I met the matchmaker at the time and she blew a lot of positive smoke my way saying I'll find someone and we are different, etc. With a company that has 20 years experience, you would think they would have plenty of guys in their database, not really. There is a "client liaison" whom you never meet. There is no real office, just in the complex. There were times where I didn't talk to her for MONTHS!!! If you are really putting yourself out there, would you really want someone to not talk to you for months?! I had to reach out time after time and keep filling out that form saying what went wrong. For almost $4000, you would think you'd be getting a millionaire or a prime catch lol, sadly no. I was set up with ONLY 3 guys IN A YEAR that could have been more WRONG for me or NOT EVEN close to what I was looking for. I came in many times and tried to talk about what I was looking for. I am not looking for an Abercrombie model, but an intelligent, good looking guy with a job, who lives in the city- let's start with that! Also don't even think about getting your money back! Even if you die, you can't get your money back. Do not buy into their company or what they have to offer you. I did and look where am I! I am more frustrated and stressed about going on dates from this company and I sent them a detailed e-mail about my frustrations and how my experience has done more harm than good. They proceeded to ignore me, the client liaison is away, and the owner has not called me when they said they would. I am done with the company and thought that others should know how bad my experience was so that no one has the same frustration and stress that I went through. I am still looking for love, but this company will not be the one.

I rarely write online reviews, but feel compelled to seriously caution folks before using Matchmakers of Chicago (MMOC), which is also the same company as Elan Real Relationships. If you do some research, you will be shocked at the level of disappointment regarding MMOC/Elan, so I encourage you to search (links below). I did not, I am paying the price now. I would be skeptical of favorable reviews as they may not be real clients. Similar to many other reviews, I do not believe that MMOC/Elan even comes close to fulfilling their commitments to find a good match for you. To be honest, it is the worst purchase decision that I have made in over 20 years. Unlike some reviews (who never met anyone), I have been introduced to a few women at this point. However, none really met the profile that I had requested. At $400 per introduction, you expect a lot, so you can understand my frustration. In the end, I have lost a lot of money and time... and there are much better options out there. I have even had a better experience through Match.com, where a one-year subscription is cheaper than one date through MMOC/Elan. Another thing to note is that MMOC/Elan has undergone three different company names over the last five years. They have been Sterling, Elan, and also Matchmakers of Chicago. One thing you quickly learn in business school is that you don't change your name unless you are trying to hide from something. If you have a great service, you keep your brand which is your best asset. Like most of us, I personally abhor deceptive marketing practices and general dishonesty... until the internet, consumers rarely had a voice to warn others. It is a shame that many people want to meet someone special and there are services like MMOC/Elan that will promise tremendous effort and take advantage of that situation. Please don't make the mistake that I made. No matter what verbal commitments are made to you, I think you will seriously regret the decision to pay for this service. Good luck in your search. I hope you find that special someone. If for someone reason, you decide to move forward, here are a few suggestions to protect yourself. First, ask for a satisfaction guarantee (even Match.com provides that), so that if you are completely dissatisfied, you cancel and get full or partial refund (and be sure it is in the contract). Second, pay with credit card, which will give you an opportunity to dispute through your credit card company. Link to CitySearch. Note that the owner has put a block on new comments: http://chicago.citysearch.com/profile/3749****/chicago_il/elan_real_relationships.html

In September of 2010, I paid $3,300 for a 6 date/6 month period membership to Elan Relationships/Elan Real Relationships/Sterling Register, located in Chicago. Eileen Messier, owner of Elan Relationships, guaranteed that she would provide me with personalized matches that reflected my specific values and my goals; some of which were non-negotiable. My non-negotiable elements were neither considered nor honored in the matches. Based upon Eileen Messier's, owner of Elan Relationships, failure to fulfill her commitment to me, I requested a refund. Eileen Messier, owner of Elan Relationships, vehemently refused to provide a refund.

Elan Real relationships has made me an offer that I am happy with, but pissedcomsumer.com won't take down the original negative review I wrote, even though I have asked them to, and told them that the issue has been resolved by the company, and they can verify it by calling the company. I didn't realize when I posted my review that I wouldn't be able to edit it and that it was permanent. Yelp and City Search allow editing and I thought it was like that. At the time I wrote the review I was very angry, but I have since had a talk with the company and we have come to a resolution. They are trying to do their best in rectifying the situation, and I feel pleased with their offer.