Almost anyone who hears the word matchmaker can immediately picture their overbearing grandmother or grandchild obsessed mother. Everyone has a relative that considers themselves the family matchmaker. They are the ones always handing out your picture like its a resume to any remotely interesting person they meet. You could end up with phone calls from people you don't even know, but who somehow know all about you. This is no reason to fear a professional matchmaker. Luckily, they will not be putting you in these awkward circumstances. But since most good matchmakers charge for their services, you need to know how to get the most for your fee.
It helps to know exactly what you should look for in a good matchmaker. Ask them about their successes. If they are worth their fee, they should be able to point you to many couple who've gone on to happy, successful marriages. A good matchmaker will tell you up front exactly what you get for your money. They will sit down with you and details their services. Usually this includes questioning you at length about your goals, values and morals. They should ask why physical qualities about a person are attractive to you, and which ones are not. Their goal should be to find you a long-term, committed, loving partner not a hook up buddy. These are the things they'll be using to find you a good date. Someone can be a regular God in the looks department, but if you differ on fundamental values that you both have, then it's not going to be a good way to spend your time and effort. You cannot force a square peg into a round hole, and a matchmaker shouldn't try and force incompatible attributes to be compatible.
The best matchmakers usually have rules for their agency. It is in your best interest to follow these rules. For example, some matchmakers have rules about no sex before you and a potential match have been together for X number of months. It's definitely a rule you want to heed if you want the matchmaker to keep working with you. Remember, they are trying to find you a life partner not a casual intimate relationship. Following this particular rule would allow both of you to get to know one another better before taking the relationship further. In the long run, you'll be happy you listened to the rules.
Be sure to accept a lot of dates. Your matchmaker will likely want to introduce you to all sorts of people as the new person in their agency. Even if you don't think the person sounds like a match for you, there is no harm in going on a date and being kind, generous, and friendly. You can't really judge a person based on a picture and a two-minute overview of their personality from the matchmaker. You might think he/she sounds like a dud and end up with a soul mate. Even if the date isn't going well and you realize there is no chemistry, be kind and courteous. Have a good time no matter what. Being rude to dates that you don't like will only give you a bad reputation with the matchmaker and they may not set you up as often. Think of it this way, even if the date is a flop, you discovered a new restaurant. Or a new activity in the city. This can be useful information when your next date asks what you'd like to do.
More than likely, your matchmaker will call you after a date and ask for an update. They will want to know how it went, if you'll be seeing each other again, and why you won't be if you decide there's no chemistry. It's important that you are honest about this. If there was something very off-putting about the other person's personality, the matchmaker is the person you want to be brutally honest with about it. Tell the matchmaker why you didn't like that person and what they could have done better. This criticism will allow the matchmaker to not only help them improve themselves for their future partner but help improve the compatibility of your matches. Once you and a partner decide to take the relationship to the level of being exclusive you don't necessarily have to cancel your membership with the matchmaker. More than likely you've paid for a certain amount of time, and you should instead put it on hold. Let the matchmaker know you and he/she are taking your relationship exclusive so you don't wish any matches currently. By putting the membership on hold you can always go back to the matchmaker if the relationship doesn't work out. If it does, you can cancel then and share the good news.