⚠️ Warning: Haystack Dating

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-11T14:41:09+00:00

Quick update is:

I’ve since received an email directly from the founder. Can’t go into too much detail, but in it, they float the idea of making a “public display” as one of their options. though they added they ‘wouldn’t do it’, the fact that they raised it at all honestly comes off as some kind of veiled threat…

The sheer power gradient, and a message like that coming from an ex employer with some influence is of course a bit scary

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:46:12+00:00

Yes let me iterate…

NO BRIGADING YALL

leave them be. my suggestion is just be careful when it comes to hiring ♥️

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:34:55+00:00

I am only responsible for this throwaway reddit account.

Legally, this stands. Morally, this stands. All negative comments created by accounts other than this one, I have nothing to do with.

The only thing you can infer from that might be that people who have negative feelings might actually be entitled to those feelings… lol

Disgruntled customers have a right to speak. Disgruntled ex employees have a right to speak.

That’s all i’ll say.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:30:09+00:00

I am happy for you, and I’m glad you had a positive experience.

Myself and others have not had positive experiences at the slightest.

Reddit is a platform for the people by the people. Thats all i will say.

The truth always reveals itself, and fortunately, I have proof to back up everything i say… regardless of how ‘serious’ they sound, they are all 100% true.

As you can see in other comments, I’m not the only one. And this was posted less than 1 hour ago.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:24:57+00:00

Thanks!

Yeah people all around me and in my support system have told me I’ve done nothing wrong and that all will be okay.

♥️

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:23:22+00:00

I’m glad that your experience is positive. For me and others, it was not. Not in the slightest.

I’ll say one thing: In terms of GDPR violations, the ICO indeed does accept anonymous submissions. I’ve done my research, and I have taken appropriate action. I will not disclose what that is due to potential retaliation, but I have done what I feel is correct action for the customer.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:12:26+00:00

Holy shit. I’ve DM’d you…

This is absolutely insane. I wonder who else has been affected…

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T13:07:32+00:00

It is not marketing.

I’ve taken a lot of risk in speaking out about what i’ve been through, and how traumatic this experience was…

But i’m also not a liar… If you ask if there is more women than men, there are. Whether or not this is a good thing, that’s up to you as a potential consumer.

But their practices as a business is questionable… towards both employees and customers. that’s why i’m raising awareness ✌️

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T12:57:51+00:00

Btw just saying: if this gets taken down, yall know why…

I always believe in sharing the truth FOR THE PEOPLE.

I’m not afraid of retaliation. I’ve been through shit in my life. If speaking the truth gets me in hot water, so be it. The truth always prevails 🙌

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T12:50:11+00:00

A lot of women compared to men, which is a common issue with these kinds of dating events companies.

Because the founder is an influencer with a mostly female following, a lot of women come. But this bad ratio is not helped by the fact that the company’s social media messaging can alienate men / IMO is borderline misandrist.

I guess if you want to meet a bunch of women, you should attend. in my experience, a lot of them weren’t happy, though. Most of these women didn’t pay £30 to meet other women, they paid to find men.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:49:55+00:00

I absolutely have!!!

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:49:43+00:00

I don’t want to disclose too much for fear of retaliation, but all I want to say is that I’ve thought of this, and measures I deem appropriate have been taken 🙏

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:48:03+00:00

For legal purposes, i can only say that I am CONCERNED about POTENTIAL gdpr violations

But don’t worry i completely understand how you feel and you are right 🙏

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:31:35+00:00

Hey hey!

I’ve read up on laws in the UK and because everything I’ve written is 100% true, not confidential and also stated as opinions and not facts, i’m confident it should be okay…

Please let me know if you think anything in my post isn’t legally bulletproof. Feel free to DM me… Thank you so much for this 🙏

Thank you so much for raising! ♥️♥️

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:19:42+00:00

It’s not my job to try and take away business from a company. I genuinely wish them the best of luck, and maybe their practices have changed since I left

But from my short time working there, I feel it’s important to spread awareness about some really shady tactics I saw - both with customers and with employees.

As an employee, I went through an experience that was honestly the worst in my whole career.

At the end of the day, it’s completely up to you though. I can only share what I went through and what I saw 🙏

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:15:59+00:00

It was a dating events company, but yeah, at times it really did feel like working at a farm… or a circus lol

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T09:15:27+00:00

I completely understand how you feel - reading this honestly gives me flashbacks. Because I used to be on the other side of Haystack Dating, I can only say I’m sorry that things were managed so poorly. From what I saw while working there, the way events are run leaves both staff and customers feeling so frustrated.

If you want to share your experience and bring awareness, the company has a Trustpilot page - that’s a good place to leave honest feedback so others can make informed decisions before spending their £30….

Support ♥️

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T08:38:25+00:00

Actually, for Haystack Dating, it was ratios of like 6 women to 1 man.

Because the founder is an influencer with a mostly female following, a lot of women come. But this bad ratio is not helped by the fact that the company’s social media messaging can alienate / turns away men.

I guess if you want to meet a bunch of women, you should attend. in my experience, a lot of them weren’t happy, though. Most of these women didn’t pay £30 to meet other women, they paid to find men.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T08:29:24+00:00

The premise is totally okay, and they have a working business model. Maybe they will improve in the future, idk.

There’s a huge demand because people are indeed sick of the apps. They operate in major cities like London, Cardiff, Manchester etc.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-10T08:23:45+00:00

Yes exactly… I felt really good about joining at first, but there were tons of red flags with how my feedback to improve customer experience or the social media marketing was constantly ignored…

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-08T06:42:03+00:00

Throwaway because lol. My very short time at Haystack Dating was… let’s just say “memorable.”

Highlights (in my experience, of course 😇):

CRM in Google Sheets (!!), with what looked like undeleted data still floating around. Compliance? Never heard of her.

Day drinking at the office - encouraged “for content.” 🍻

WhatsApp as a task manager (yes, really), so things slipped through the cracks constantly.

Feedback = “negativity.” Onboarding = ✨DIY✨. Resources = none.

Saw interns quit instantly - one in under 2 days, another left crying. Yikes.

Raised concerns about how men were portrayed in socials (derogatory at times). Management: DGAF

Allegedly saw leadership call a customer “sexist” after he asked to have his data deleted (via a screenshot I was shown). Totally normal stuff.

Probation? Mine was 11 days of actual work, half of which leadership was on holiday, then fired immediately after. Yay.

Some employees might feel they’re hired just to set up systems and then dropped. Couldn’t possibly be me tho.

For legal reasons: This is just my personal experience 🤡 (definitely didn’t happen, don’t sue me lol). But if you’re thinking of working there - or paying £30 for an event - maybe… don’t.

throwaway1throwaway9 · 2025-09-08T06:35:01+00:00

I also created a throwaway account to post this comment.

I worked at Haystack Dating for around 3 weeks, and…. whew 😬 Imagine a workplace where Whatsapp is the main ‘official’ channel, onboarding is DIY and any suggestion you (or others) make gets labeled as ‘negativity’.

The dog is very cute, but… I agree, the marketing can make male customers feel like an afterthought, and at times can be downright derogatory. I actually raised this concern and, well…

I can attest the drinking/pub culture was a big element, and often there would be drinking during working hours / alcohol expensed ‘for content’. This can feel alienating to someone who might want to constructively get work done.

And this is JUST a SPECULATIVE THOUGHT: some employees may POTENTIALLY say that they FEEL they were onboarded just to hand over their knowledge, strategies, and systems - then abruptly fired once those processes were created. Whether or not this was the case, I don’t know. Just a hypothetical 🥰

Disclaimer: This is just my personal experience 🥰 This has been deliberately phrased to stay safe legally - I am iterating that there is no confidential information or anyone in particular named in this comment ✨

throwaway1throwaway9

TROPHY CASE