Perfectmatch.com was an

online dating Online dating, also known as internet dating, virtual dating, or mobile app dating, is a method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An online dating service ...

and relationship service based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The company offered what it calls the "Duet Total Compatibility System (Duet)". Perfectmatch.com was co-developed by Dr. Pepper Schwartz. Duet is modeled after the Myers-Briggs test.

History

Perfectmatch.com was venture capital-funded and was founded in August 2003. It was created and is managed by Duane Dahl, Cindy Henry-Dahl, and Jason McVey, who previously built and managed Kiss.com/uDate.com to over seven million members. Kiss.com/uDate was sold to

InterActiveCorp IAC Inc. is an American holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and Internet. The company originated in 1996 as HSN Inc. as the holding company of Home Shopping Network and USA Network before changing its name to ...

(Match.com) in 2002. Since 2003, Perfectmatch has partnered with the entertainment industry to build the Perfectmatch brand in a non-traditional manner. For example, they have partnered with

iVillage iVillage, Inc. was a mass media company that operated the ”most popular female-oriented sites” on the internet in the 1990s. In addition to ivillage.com, the company operated iVillage UK, Astrology.com, GardenWeb, and the NBC Digital Health ...

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, Oxygen Networks,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

, and many others. The company has also been prominently featured in these entertainment-related shows or events: The Retirement Living Television series "Another Chance for Romance" in February 2008. Hosted by

Roger Lodge Roger Lodge (born August 19, 1960) is an American TV game show and sports radio host and actor. He is known for hosting the syndicated dating show ''Blind Date''. Lodge's acting credits include appearances on the ABC sitcom ''Full House''; CBS's ...

, the segments also featured commentary by Dr. Pepper Schwartz, utilized the Duet Total Compatibility System, and included numerous Southern California-area members of Perfectmatch.com, all of whom paired up on blind dates using the Duet System. In August 2007,

Commission Junction CJ (formerly CJ Affiliate and Commission Junction) is an online advertising company owned by Publicis Groupe operating in the affiliate marketing industry, which operates worldwide. Offices The corporate headquarters is in Santa Barbara, Calif ...

published an Advertisers Case Study about Perfectmatch.com discussing how affiliate sales increased by 300 percent. The NBC Television special in June 2007 called "The Science of Love: A Modern Dating Experiment". Dr. Pepper Schwartz and the Duet Total Compatibility System were also featured. The 2005 Warner Bros. film, ''

Must Love Dogs ''Must Love Dogs'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film based on Claire Cook's 2002 novel of the same name. Starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, it is the second and final film to be written, produced, and directed by Gary David Goldberg a ...

'', which starred

Diane Lane Diane Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Her accolades include nominations for an Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. Lane made her film debut in George Roy Hill's 1979 film '' A Littl ...

and

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

as a couple who met on Perfectmatch.com. The company reports that an entire Valentine's special

Dr. Phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), also known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author who is best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased ...

Show broadcast on February 11, 2005, resulted in 207,000 women joining their site that day. In October 2005, Perfectmatch served as the online dating service working with

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated breakfast television, morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show ...

in their efforts to assist show Production Coordinator, Lori Schulweis, during her two-week search to find her own perfect match. Perfectmatch partnered with

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in late 2005 to kick off the first season of ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' by creating a matching game of the shows characters based on the Duet Total Compatibility System and helping to stage a dating/social event in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at Grand Central. Perfectmatch was the backdrop of the Lifetime Original teleplay, ''Perfect Romance'', featuring

Kathleen Quinlan Kathleen Denise Quinlan (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1977 film of the novel ''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (film), I Never Promised ...

Henry Ian Cusick Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director best known as Desmond Hume in '' Lost'', for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred as J ...

, and

Lori Heuring Lori Ann Heuring (born 1973/1974) is a Panamanian-born American former film and television actress, known for her roles in the TV movie '' The Locket'' (2002) and the direct-to-video '' 8mm 2'' (2005). Early life She was born in Panama City, P ...

. ''Perfect Romance'' originally aired in June 2004. According to Perfectmatch's website, as of late 2015, "After a great run, Perfectmatch.com is saying goodbye for good."

Duet Total Compatibility System

The service uses the so-called "Duet Total Compatibility System" which attempts to match members based on an analysis of their personality traits, values, lifestyle, and ideals. Users are required to fill out a

questionnaire A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions (or other types of prompts) for the purpose of gathering information from respondents through survey or statistical study. A research questionnaire is typically a mix of ...

with approximately 100 questions, loosely based on the Myers-Briggs model, and they are then categorised according to eight characteristics. Users may then choose to look for partners whose characteristics are similar to or different from their own. In January 2006,

Schwartz Schwartz may refer to: * Schwartz (surname), a surname (and list of people with the name) * Schwartz (brand), a spice brand * Schwartz's, a delicatessen in Montreal, Quebec, Canada * Schwartz Publishing, an Australian publishing house *"Danny Schwa ...

published the book ''Finding Your Perfect Match'' which was based upon this system. While

claimed that the system was built on scientific principles of compatibility, that assertion has been contested.

Jonathan Cohn Jonathan Scott Cohn (born 1969) is an American author and journalist who writes mainly on United States public policy and political issues. Formerly the executive editor of ''The American Prospect'', a senior editor at ''The New Republic'', and ...

points out that while there are studies that show that some specific similarities may increase the likelihood of a relationship being successful, "the evidence is largely contradictory". Finkel et al. review the claims and algorithms of three different online dating systems, and state that they "are not aware of any research conducted to facilitate the creation of the PerfectMatch survey or to establish the reliability or validity of the dimensions."

Criticism

In 2006, Perfectmatch.com faced controversy over complaints about poor service and failure to respond to refund requests. The Washington State Attorney General's office collected 18 complaints were filed with the Better Business Bureau from 2002 to 2006.The Seattle Times: Local News: Some feel wronged by dating service
/ref> and about 30 complaints

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.perfectmatch.com
Dating site review
American companies established in 2003 Internet properties established in 2003 Online dating services of the United States