Uniform dating belongs in the popular niche of those that either work in a uniform-based profession or have a preference (some might say fantasy!) for uniform professions.
If you wear a uniform or want to date someone who does this will be the obvious place to look. You will, of course, be able to find people in uniform on other sites, but for ease of searching it helps to use a website belonging to this niche sector.
Uniform Dating was set up over 10 years ago and, while targeting mainly uniformed personnel, others can join too. At present, more women have signed up than men, but this does not mean that there are not plenty of men who are out there. The female to male ratio is 60 /40.
The jobs that are covered are not only professionals but will include anyone who wears a uniform for work. This means that it could be a refuse collector or street cleaner or a doctor or Judge. As long as users are genuine and are open about the reasons they are on the site they should be able to find someone like-minded and take advantage of all that the site has to offer.
It’s not unknown for some to indicate they seek a serious relationship when the reality is they are only after a bit of fun. This will just waste their time as well as honest members who really do desire a committed relationship. In this case, as ever, honesty is always the best policy.
Once the decision has been made to sign up, you have a number of options that can be taken, and they are:
• $0.99 for a three-day trial
• $39.99 for a month
• $77.97 for three months
• $119.94 for 6 months
Once sign-up has taken place the fee will be taken on a monthly basis. If there is the need to cancel membership 30 days-notice has to be given and depending upon the timing, this may require paying for a month that may not be fully used. Any issues that you have can be dealt with by the billing team.
Uniform Dating used to consist almost exclusively of UK members. Clearly, the owners have been marketing heavily in the U.S., and, analytics site, SimilarWeb, reports that 44% of traffic comes from America whilst UK visitors are down to 22%.
Women make up around 60% of the membership, and the site has found that there will be more than 20 winks received on average by each member a week. I would be a bit wary of that claim, and indeed the site is a little less active after it was purchased by previous UK-based owners Cupid PLC for a reported £7m and subsequently sold for £3m in a package deal with two other sites for £3m. The site is now run by NSI (Holdings) Ltd, who also run the long-established and popular Cupid.com.
Search Options
There are a variety of ways to search for possible partners. As well as the age, sex, location basics users can search for other members in a specific unformed job.
Searching is detailed, and users will be able to look for people who are live near to them just by putting their location in the search engine. Due to the nature of the employment of some uniformed personnel, users can search for people overseas, and this will be ideal if they are moving away for some time. There is no reason why contact has to be made with someone near to where you live.
Live Chat
This feature is a great way to get to know someone and once used, it will feel comfortable to carry on contacting other members this way.
There’s no need to give out your skype or other IM too early; live chat can take place via the site, and it’s a useful feature to use before arrangements being made to meet in person. It will give users a better idea of the sort of person they will be going on a date with and you’ll already have broken the ice a bit before that first date.
Mobile App
For those who are more IT savvy there is an app, and the good news is that it can be used on Android, iPhone, and Windows phones. There is no reason why a chat or contact should be missed just because a computer is not being used.
Photo gallery
As many as 20 pictures can be added, and as with all online posting, it is essential that they are suitable. The last thing a member should do is to create the wrong impression by uploading an ancient picture.
Members should still select flattering photos but using images from many years back will, almost inevitably, just result in wasting time and disappointment on both sides in an arranged meeting.
Profile Viewings
A fully paid-up member will have access to a lot of information surrounding the people who have viewed their profile and who has taken a particular interest in them.
Uniform Dating, have clearly understood that not all users will be computer literate beyond the basics. Accordingly, the site has been set out in a way that is easy to use and so that users will not become discouraged at an early stage; registering does not take long.
There are not too many details that have to be entered so potential members will soon be able to browse other users. As searching profiles are free, this is one of the first things that can be done after signing up.
It is possible to fill in the sort of information that it is imagined people will want to know. If someone doesn’t want to give religious or political views, they don’t have to.
Members do have to remember that the information presented will be the only thing most people know about them so they can give the image they want as long as it is genuine.
The people who run Uniform Dating want users to feel safe about the people they are coming into contact with. Accordingly, all applications will be thoroughly checked before they are approved and given access.
Anyone hoping to join for the wrong reasons should be filtered out; however, some ill-intentioned individuals may disguise their motives to gain access, so it’s important to be careful.
Members can report any impropriety from other members to the administrators. It can take around 48 hours after a complaint is made that the person will be removed from the site. Some sites pride themselves in dealing with this issue with a 24 hour timeframe so 48 hours strikes us as a little tardy.
Contact can be made online. By clicking on the contact us link, prospective members will be taken to a page where they will have to choose a subject from a drop-down menu and then type in the details that they want to pass on. Following that they will want an email address and then the insertion of a code that has been provided.
Then just press “submit,” and the details are on their way to the site. If there is a reason to contact the company, the website has a brief form that can be filled in. It is as simple to use as the sign-up form. Just choose the reason for contact, write the message and provide an email address for reply.
Pros
• Security – it is good to know that details are being protected in case unscrupulous people are trying to use the site.
• Fee – it is a competitive price when compared to other online dating sites.
• You can search by specific career, so there is no need to look at profiles of Army or Navy members if they are really interested in a Firefighter.
• The site is easy to use and gives a wide range of options.
• It has the largest membership base of any site in this particular niche.
Cons
• Profiles – Some people have claimed that the profiles of inactive members remain on the site too long. Uniform Dating should definitely introduce a last online date stamp to help overcome this issue.
• Certain locations, rural areas particularly, will not have a vast number of members,’ so users may have to spread their net further afield or be prepared to travel.
• People don’t have to be a member of a uniformed profession to join. We don’t have any firm figures, however, after checking a random selection of profiles we found approximately one in three appear to be just looking for a uniformed partner as opposed to belonging to a uniformed professions
• Some users have been concerned that they cannot tell who is still active on the site. With no details of when the profile was last used it makes it difficult to assess whether a member is always looking.
There are few clear, direct competitors to Uniform Dating. Nonetheless, the mainstream sites will have many members belonging to the various uniformed professions. Two that immediately spring to mind are Match and eHarmony. There will, however, be a lot of profiles to go through and, unlike Uniform Dating, there is no specific option to search for a uniformed professional. Other sites to consider are the likes of:-
• Match
• Plentyoffish
• OkCupid
• eHarmony
• MilitaryFriends
There appears to be split opinion as to how much benefit can be gleaned from joining the site. There are allegations of fake profiles; however, it’s likely to be inactive rather than fake profiles.
This negativity can be counteracted by people who have found success on the dating site. Many uniform based professionals are required to do anti-social hours and find it difficult to have an active social life.
Uniform Dating at least gives the opportunity to find others who are either in the same situation or those seeking their ideal nurse or fireman and therefore have some admiration for the role and understanding of the demands.
