Search engines on marriage portals receive human touch

Are professional commitments and a busy round-the-clock schedule keeping you from finding your life partner? Worry not, Relationship Managers (RMs) are at your service.

A relationship manager is typically one who fishes through countless matrimonial profiles to help shortlist those who best suit their client’s preferences.

Online matrimonial portals like Shaadi.com and Bharat Matrimony hire relationship managers specifically for those members who barely have any time to mingle with the opposite sex.

“Doctors, engineers, business professionals are primarily the ones who are assigned RMs,” says Rohit Tilokani, business head, Bharat Matrimony.

This customised service is called Bharat Matrimony Privilege, wherein relationship managers build a personal bond with the assigned members and constantly supply them with suitable profiles. If a member likes a profile, it’s the job of the relationship manager to express the member’s interest in that profile by calling up the person. If required, they also arrange for the first date and are a vital link for further correspondence.

However, like most others, the job of a relationship manager comes with its own highs and lows. The job title, for one, raises quite a few eyebrows.

“When I first told my friends that I am a relationship manager, they were like “huh what’s that?” laughs Sierra Vaz, a 20-year-old RM. Vaz, a graduate, says that she loves her job to the hilt because she feels “it’s cool, different and fun.”

Ask her about the challenges that this job throws up, and pat comes the reply, “Some people put on such a fake accent or even worse, some men, instead of enquiring about my member, begin to flirt with me,” explains Vaz, admitting that the first time this happened, she was shocked. But now, such a conversation simply means that Vaz warns her member, “to stay away from the phone-flirt types.”

So, what does it take to be a RM? “Our relationship advisors are trained in the discipline of active listening in order to assist members opting for the service,” says Gourav Rakshit, business head, Shaadi.com, which provides relationship managers to clients registered under its specialized service – Shaadi.com Select.

A relationship manager also modifies and enhances their members’ profiles. “So many members make themselves sound so boring by writing things like, “I am honest and peace-loving.” So I take a detailed brief on their hobbies and interests, and then draft an elaborate profile which brings out their true personality,” says Seemad Ansari, 22, another relationship manager who previously worked in an IT firm.

Getting “bad pictures” off the member’s profile is another daunting task, according to Ansari. “Sometimes, members upload really bad photographs. So we politely request them to send a better picture.”

Evidently, the most difficult challenge is to win the trust of the member and establish a relationship of understanding and comfort. For this, each registered member is provided with the personal contact of his or her relationship manager.

“The initial days are tough,” admits Seemad. Considering the members are busy professionals, many strike a“weekend conversation” deal with their relationship managers to discuss their interests and preferences about their life partners at length. “Good looks are the most common specification, irrespective of gender,” adds Seemad.

However, once the initial ice is broken, things move rather smoothly. Vaz is about to meet up for coffee with one of her assigned members, an NRI from Switzerland who is currently in the city. And if all goes well, Vaz’s assistance will be well-appreciated. “My member has told me that if the marriage happens, she wants me to be the maid of honour,” she says excitedly.