Original Dating  Avis 

I was a bit tired from work earlier in the day- although hopefully this didn’t show too much in conversation. It was nice to meet such interesting and pleasant people and surprising how much information you can gather from four minutes!
Occasionally found it a little noisy since there was no carpet in the room so it echoed a bit, but overall a good venue and a good experience, thank you for facilitating.

Really good experience, made to feel at ease and John was a great host.

I attended a speed dating evening at a back water pub in London near St Pauls where there was no vibe and where the bar prices were very high. There was supposedly going to be a 10:10 ratio of women and men but on the night there was only 7 men:10 women which the host said was actually a good turnout. Turned up in good time as the instructions say to turn up on time as you may be refused entry to the event. The event started late and I was unimpressed by the evening. I spend money to get the event, money to buy drinks and then the event fee its self. Terrible evening and would not even attend again if I was paid to do so. On leaving the venue one of the female attendees said she had attended a this same event at this same venue 6 months earlier at which 5 out of the 7 male attendees had also attended. So the field of attendees is very staid and narrow. Waste of time and effort and money.

I had a voucher for an unsuccessful event but somehow I was charged on my card even though I didn't put my details in. It was for an event more than a month away and I ensured them within minutes of my my card informing me that I had been charged. They refused to refund me instead giving me another voucher. Now I have 2 vouchers that I cannot use and I am £60 out of pocket. They are not responding to my emails. There's are much better organisations out there for speed dating. Avoid this one at all costs

Update: their reply below still doesn't help. You will notice that I am still £60 out of pocket, they have not responded to my emails - only to the public forum - to refund me for an event more than a month away booked in error and they're happy to scam individuals out of their money by using small print. They have had to drop the price to £15 as no one wants to attend. Their event probably wouldn't be such a disaster if they treated people better. I am sure that I am one of many who have been treated so poorly and will not attend their events again. I even offered to go to the event at the reduced price of £15 and would have brought friends. But they are so desperate to hold on to my money that they have not responded. A poor business model and terrible way to treat customers.

I recently contacted the event organisers to ask if it was acceptable for me to attend, given that I had a suspected Virus/COVID infection and am still contagious. Their response was completely shocking. They were happy for me to either lose my money or attend while potentially putting others at risk.

No flexibility, no consideration, and no attempt to provide an alternative solution like a credit for future events, despite the fact that I purchased my ticket just a few days before. Their rigid 7-day no-cancellation policy was strictly enforced, showing a complete lack of care for their attendees’ safety and well-being.

Given their attitude and lack of empathy, I won’t be going to any future events with this organisation. Very worrying experience.

Editing to respond to OD:
Despite their response here, the email I received encouraged me to either attend while unwell or lose the money spent on my ticket. This is NOT standard industry practice, as other companies, like C&C, have offered transferable credits to friends in similar situations and speed dating events.

Their argument about maintaining the male-to-female ratio doesn’t hold up as whether a ticket is cancelled or the person doesn’t attend, the ratio is still affected. It seems their priority is retaining customers money over ensuring a safe and positive experience.

Due to their handling of this situation, I will NEVER attend their events. I’ll be choosing organisers who value the well-being of their attendees.

Purchase and attend at your own.

Attended a speeddating event in the City. Located roughly in the Eastern half of London, you can expect most people to live in East London, or generally more outside London M25 in that direction.
The websited said there are typically 20 attendees and it showed only 4 tickets left. So I was supposed to be #17. However, the organiser on the day confirmed to me in a conversation that the website counts are just honey traps. We were 9 people.
Despite that small number of participants, the organiser had no clue how to run a speed dating event, and how to get people moving around. As a result, for the 2nd half, we had to look for each other in the room. Unprofessional, chaotic, frustrating. No value in the service. There is much better out there, save your time and money for better Speeddating event organisers.

My first time speed dating
So being it was a new experience, as soon as we walked in the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. The host was great she made me feel at ease straight away, she was very kind with a bubbly personality witch was infectious.
The staff at the pub were great, welcoming and efficient, drinks where affordable 😄
Had a wonderful evening lots of great people there, everyone seemed to be having a good time lots of smiles all round
(The only thing I'd change would be to change the real candles into battery operated candles as the tables we where seated at were very small and accidents can happen)
Definitely will recommend to all my single friends

Having not been to a speed dating event before, I was a little bit nervous and apprehensive as to what to expect, but I needn't have worried. It was extremely well organised - Charlotte ( the host ) did a great job of making everyone feel welcome and explaining how it worked, and everyone seemed to have a good evening and after the event,the mingling continued in the bar section of the pub. Fantastic experience, and one I'd definitely do again.

Really exciting experience!

Great fun - lots of smart nice people to meet

Was very unsure to start with but dragged myself there and really glad I did as it was well worth it and much better than I thought it was going to be!!

Great way to meet new people and it’s a lot of fun too.

Kind hosts, relatively quiet pub, easy to use website for matching with and messaging people.

I attended the coffee lovers speed dating event in London yesterday. The host was great and the idea of a coffee lovers speed dating really suited me. I don't drink and I don't tend to go to bars at night. The quality of the men wasn't great but that wasn't Original Dating's fault. I would do this type of speed dating again.

I've been to a few of these types of events, run by other companies. For me, this was the best so far. Keith was an excellent host, and took the time to explain how everything worked in detail. The online platform is also the most accessible and responsive I've used for these kinds of events. Well done team!

I attended an event in St Albans this week. The first time I have attended speed dating. The people I met were friendly and the host was very accommodating. The only criticism I had would be the venue. There was little parking and it was cold. However the pub staff were very friendly. I would recommend and attend again

I have never experienced a speed dating event before and I was quite nervous, I didn’t know what to expect. It was difficult to know who the host was, I managed to work it out. The event went very quickly and the time with the dates seemed inconsistent. Some felt exactly 4 mins, some felt shorter and others longer. The event finished 55 mins after it started and that was it. I find it difficult to talk to strangers at the best of times but then to just mingle felt a bit strange, it felt really rushed, needless to say I left.

I attended a Lock & Key event in May, my 3rd and best yet. The venue, near Bank was easily located and nicely chosen, big enough, and drinks reasonably priced for the area. I do think it would be good if the event started maybe half an hour earlier, to better allow people to leave in good time for trains home. I also think the age guides could be reviewed (I found the separate “over 40” event wasn't well attended, perhaps as the Lock & Key is branded for those up to age 45).

Original Dating is always well organised and executed. Lisa had been always kind and friendly and supportive of new nervous singles. I always had so much fun going to those events even though I never been matched with anyone.
Many thanks,
Adam Gotfree

Very professional dating company. Events are always well attended and organised well for a fun evening.