I heard of Events and Adventures through their advertisements on the radio. I was curious and decided to call to find out more information on pricing, location, and the type of members enrolled in this group. When I called I was told that information could be given in person if I set up an appointment with one of there "advisers". These "adviser" are sales representatives in disguise. When I first sat down I had specific questions I wanted addressed.
1. Were all of there members single?
2. Did they have a large group of men in my age group? (I am 25 years old)
3. What were the terms of the contract ex. cancellations?
4. How much was this all going to cost me?
The Representative I spoke, Ronnie, told me yes all of the members enrolled in Events and Adventures were single professionals looking for meaningful relationships. She asked why I was single I explained most of the men I met were already involved with someone, they either had a girlfriend or wife. And that most of the men my age were single but uninterested in starting a meaningful relationship. She told me not to worry since everyone was single I would not run into that problem and that they had a LARGE GROUP of men in my age range. I asked her what would happen if I were to move away or find myself in a relationship she said I could cancel or freeze my account. Finally when she presented the price I explained it was a little steep for me and she said we could spread out the payments and this would all be worth it in the end. I also asked her if there were a lot of events around my area seeing as I live in Miami and I noticed most of the events were held in Fort Lauderdale. She told me there were several events I could attend in my area. I have to hand it to the Events and Adventures hiring staff because these "advisers" are very good on selling the company and its success.
After they did a background check and ran my credit card I signed on for my first event a week later. When I was signing on for the events I noticed almost all of the them had a small fee I had to pay to sign up for the event. These small fees ranged anywhere from $5 to $85 per event on top of the monthly membership fee and the Surprise maintenance fee of $25 Ronnie forgot to mention. Any how the first event I attended was the "Icebreaker" for new members is held every month in the same location in Fort Lauderdale. I was surprised to see every member there was at least 10 years older than I was I made the best of it and I tried to have fun. I was hit on by a 55 year old man who I clearly had no interest in. I signed up for 6 events there after and every event there was a much older crowd and more women than men. I sent an email informing E&A I was having some problems with the location of the events and most importantly the age of the people attending the events I received no reply. I finally called my rep. and explained I had yet to see someone in the 30-35 year old range let alone anyone my age at the events I had gone to. She told me she was surprised because there were ALOT OF MEMBERS IN THERE 20'S enrolled in the group. She then told me maybe I wasn't going to the right events. I asked what I could do she said when I sign up for an event I can call a few days before to see what the age range was for the people attending that particular event. I sighed and said OK I signed on for two more events the same thing happened everyone was in there 40's, divorced with kids.
I called her back and explained the same thing was happening and asked if she could please help me she repeated the same thing she said in the previous conversation. Ronnie decided it was important to remind me I signed a contract and unfortunately I could not cancel. All I could think was are you serious right now? I finally told her she would have to simply provide me with a list of events with people my age. I asked if she could email or contact me with that information, Ronnie sounded extremely annoyed and reluctant to help. A few weeks had gone by and no word from my rep, I started to talk with my ex boyfriend and after a couple of weeks we decided to work things out. I called Ronnie and explained I was no longer single and I would need to cancel my membership. This is what happened next to my disbelief:
Ronnie contacted me and said she had heard my message and she was returning my phone call. I told her that my ex-boyfriend and I have decided to work things out and I knew you had to be single to be a part of the Events and Adventures group. She said although I was dating someone I was still technically single. What?! This rep and I had clearly discussed in the interview what single meant she said they did not allow members in who were married or in a relationship. I told my rep this and she then in so many words called me a liar and said I must have misunderstood her in the interview. I told Ronnie that this was extremely unfair and why would you want someone in the group who is currently involved in a relationship. She said well "technically" E&A was not a dating service and members could sign on to meet friends. Now if that is true why is it they do not allow Married people to sign on if they are "technically" not a dating service. I asked to speak to someone higher up and her words exactly were," fine but he is just going to tell you the same thing." I work in a hospital as a Team lead, I would never dream of responding to an unhappy patient requesting the manager the way Ronnie spoke to me. What ever happened to customer service? I am paying a ridiculous amount of money on a scam! The members are much older, apparently some might even have girlfriends, and the events are extremely far from where I live.
For those of you who are thinking of joining this "Singles Activities Group" DON'T YOU WILL BE LEFT EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED AND FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD BROKE.
