How Lunchclub Works

The service held the clock, so you could not choose the time or the person

In 2020 the sign-up asked how many meetings you wanted each week and when you were free. A February 2024 review says calls were booked only after profile approval. Every later step ran on the service's schedule, so a single missed step in the chain could cost you a call. ^{[5] [6]}

Calls ran 30 to 60 minutes, and the wait before the first one varied

Sign-up and profile approval came first. The 2024 reviewer describes approval before any call was scheduled, and the 2020 form asked for objectives, interests and a conversation starter. No account gives a consistent wait for approval, so plan for an unknown delay. ^{[6] [5]}

Calls followed, and their length varied by account: 45 minutes in a 2020 blog run of seven weekly calls, 30 to 45 minutes with agendas built from profiles in a 2020 Blind reply, and one hour in the 2024 review. A 2023 commenter took three random 45-minute calls a week. Feedback after each call was meant to shape later matches. ^{[7] [8] [6] [9] [5]}

The match ran on the same clock, and a missed call hit both sides

Every member was also someone else's match. In a September 2020 Blind post, a match stopped responding after a confirmed time and cancelled about 15 minutes before the call, with no reason given. In a 2020 blog run, one match asked to reschedule twice and then never came. ^{[8] [7]}

No-shows and late cancellations were the most common complaint: 5 of 25 user reports describe one, from 2020 to 2023. That is 5 of 25 accounts that chose to write, so it shows the problem happened, not how often. ^{[2] [3] [10] [8] [7]}

Pausing, closing and signing in were where people got stuck

Pausing did not stop new matches for an 18-month member, who then deleted the app. A December 2022 reviewer's account was deactivated two days after sign-up because matching found nothing relevant, and the review gives no further reason. ^[2]

Sign-in was the other sticking point. The release notes list log-in fixes in October and November 2021, and a February 2023 reviewer still could not pass the login screen after repeated code requests. ^{[1] [2]}

Test sign-in before you give it any time

Sign in, and if the code never arrives, stop there. If you can book a call, confirm it the day before and keep your calendar and contact permissions to the minimum, since the policy reads calendar data by default. The status page sets out the dated signals, and the alternatives page lists services you can test now. ^[4]