Cupid’s arrows are ready to fly this Valentine’s Day, but a new survey reveals that some daters would benefit from dating etiquette classes. The survey, conducted by coupon site CouponCabin.com,reveals the biggest dating deal breakers, with poor hygiene, (e.g. body odor, bad teeth, and dirty hair) topping the list.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CouponCabin from January 17th -19th, 2012 among 2,415 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

While poor hygiene is the biggest dating deal breaker with 84 percent of U.S. adults, a variety of other dating missteps made the list:

• Using their mobile phone too much; constantly texting, checking email – 75 percent
• Being rude to a server or host/hostess – 73 percent
• Talking too much about an ex – 70 percent
• Flirting with the server or host/hostess – 61 percent
• Date drinking too much alcohol – 60 percent
• Aggressive driving – 49 percent
• Not offering to pay for the whole date, or at least to pay for their share – 33 percent
• Being too expensive of a date (e.g. ordering the most costly food and drink) – 31 percent
• Talking about a potential long-term future together – 30 percent
• Using websites or social media (e.g. Facebook) to find out information before the date – 26 percent

Women were significantly more likely than men to consider dating offenses deal breakers, in every case aside from being too expensive of a date, wherein men were significantly more likely (34 percent) to say that it was a deal breaker than women (28 percent).

The biggest discrepancies in opinion on what constitutes a deal breaker between women and men were for using a mobile phone too much during a date, at 82 percent and 68 percent, respectively, and being rude to a server or host/hostess, at 80 percent and 65 percent, respectively.

“Dating can have many hurdles, but don’t let the money issues get in the way of a potential love connection,” said Jackie Warrick, President and Chief Savings Officer at CouponCabin.com. “Many modern daters often offer to at least pay part of their share, and if not, are cognizant and order moderately priced items.

No matter what the situation, though, daters should strive for politeness and tact, especially when making that critical first impression.” First impressions aren’t the only difficult part of dating. Selecting the right Valentine’s Day gift can also be challenging ground in the land of courtship. When asked what was the worst Valentine’s Day gifts they’ve ever received, U.S. adults said the following:

• Bathroom scale
• Birthday card. Valentine’s Day is not my birthday.
• Pooper-scooper
• Dead butterfly mounted in a plastic case. It was our second date.
• Break-up text
• Card stating a donation was made in my name for a charity I don’t support.
• Laundry basket
• Pair of silk boxers that had someone else’s name on the gift tag.
• Stuffed animal that looked like it was won out of one of those claw games.
• Electric can opener
• Lottery tickets
• Tupperware
• Snowshoes

The article Poor Hygiene Named the Top Deal Breaker on a Date appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

In advance of one of the busiest dining holidays of the year, a new survey by OpenTable, a leading provider of free, real-time online restaurant reservations for diners and reservation and guest management solutions for restaurants, reveals that diners are planning to fill seats at romantic restaurant hot spots early this year, with 53 percent of respondents saying they plan to make reservations more than a week before this Valentine’s Day.

An infographic from OpenTable that showcases additional 2012 Valentine’s Day trends may be viewed by clicking here. ”With this Valentine’s Day falling on a Tuesday, we are going to see two spikes in restaurant reservations,” said Caroline Potter, Chief Dining Officer for OpenTable.

“About half of diners surveyed anticipate booking a romantic evening on the 14th, while another 26 percent are choosing to celebrate on Saturday night, February 11. Regardless of which night diners plan to celebrate, Valentine’s Day promises to be a bustling day for romantic hot spots.”

The economy doesn’t seem to be a factor as OpenTable diners are looking to enjoy an evening out with 93 percent planning to match last year’s tab or step up the spending, which is 3 percent more than spending plans in 2011. Additionally, 54 percent of OpenTable diners plan to spend $101 to $200, while 10 percent expect to shell out more than $200 on dining.

One city famous for its high rollers is preparing to up the ante this year with 20 percent of diners in Las Vegas planning to spend more than $200, a claim to spend they share only with the sandy, sunny city of Miami. Not surprisingly, New York City dwellers follow closely behind as 19 percent also will be dropping the big bucks with their sweetheart.

The love-driven lavishness when dining, however, stops just short of gifts with 86 percent of respondents admitting that they do not exchange gifts at the table. In fact, 15 percent of OpenTable diners believe a gift exchange is much better suited for a private venue, finding swapping gifts in a restaurant to be inappropriate and bordering on obnoxious.

A few cupid-happy cities firmly stand by the age old idiom that money can’t buy love and hope to scale down spending entirely this year. Seattle respondents lead the pack on shifting Valentine’s Day spending down a notch with 16 percent of diners saying they will drop fewer dollars celebrating this year, with Atlanta (15 percent) and Los Angeles (10 percent) diners following this trend close behind.

One item the OpenTable survey respondents couldn’t quite agree on was what type of restaurant they find most romantic in dining with that special someone. While 35 percent of diners find it most amorous to stick to a traditional Italian cuisine for Valentine’s Day, other diners seek a different type of taste for a romantic rendezvous:

• 25 percent find French cuisine to be the most romantic
• 11 percent find American cuisine to be the most romantic
• 8 percent find fondue to be the most romantic
• 7 percent find tapas to be the most romantic

Even if there is no special someone this year, OpenTable diners still are committed to dining out. Three out of 4 survey respondents said they have dined out with friends on Valentine’s Day or if they have not yet, they certainly would.

For diners still searching for the right restaurant, OpenTable.com provides Diners’ Choice Top Ten Most Romantic Restaurants lists for each metro region and access to specials and menu details for February 14. For more information, please visit www.opentable.com/valentines. Diners can also find more tips and trends regarding Valentine’s Day on OpenTable Chief Dining Officer Caroline Potter’s “Dining Check” blog at OpenTable.

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