In the wake of a recent story about a woman who sued Match.com over an alleged assault by one of its members and the subsequent decision by the popular online dating service to conduct background checks on potential members, the CEO of Matches That Matter – a social introduction service for Bay Area singles over 40 headquartered in Oakland, CA – has called for the dating industry to adopt background checks as a standard business practice and also applauds Match.com’s choice to perform background checks, according to a press release from Matches That Matter.
In the press release, Matches That Matter Founder and CEO Odette Pollar indicated that her service – which allows Bay Area singles over the age of 40 to meet while serving the community by completing projects for not-for-profit and cultural organizations – runs “background checks against both criminal and sexual predator databases before processing a member.” Pollar also believes background checks of potential members “is only common sense and should be standard practice for the industry.”
Though background checks take time and money, they are a simple step that dating services should use to help serve their members better. “Doing a background check for members is a fundamental precaution that all dating services should employ,” says Pollar. “While there are no guarantees with background checks, the mere fact that you are running them helps discourage criminals from ever even joining a system.”
Pollar also supports Match.com’s effort to better screen potential members through background checks. “We are encouraged by Match.com’s decision to change their process and urge them to do more for their members as we do,” she says.
Instead of having members fill out profiles and submit pictures like most online dating sites that can be full of inaccurate information, out of date photos, or be completely fabricated, Matches That Matter interviews members and carefully arranges live group activities with a compatible set of six men and six women to work on community service. To learn more about Matches That Matter, visit http://www.matchesthatmatter.com/.
For more information about background checks, visit Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a nationwide background check provider headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area and accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®), at http://www.ESRcheck.com.
About Employment Screening Resources (ESR): Founded in 1997 in the San Francisco Bay area with a mission to help employers and employees maintain safe workplaces, Employment Screening Resources (ESR) wrote the book on background checks with ‘The Safe Hiring Manual’ by ESR founder and President Lester Rosen. ESR is Accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) and is a Designated E-Verify Employer Agent helping U.S. businesses maintain legal workforces. For more information about Employment Screening Resources, visit http://www.ESRcheck.com or email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at tahearn@ESRcheck.com.
Source:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/4/prweb8337751.htm