🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4415n6$qde@transfer.stratus.com>,
   fereira@isis.com (John Fereira) wrote:

>I am not familiar with all the various dating services out there but 
>all of them basically just accumulate a number of members and then provide
>some sort of matching service that is supposed narrow down the field so
>you can find the perfect match.  Wouldn't a dating service be much better
>if they went a step further and provided guidance on how to approach that
>potential mate so that the chance for sucess were greater?  If a dating
>service were to offer a seminar to their members where they could practice
>those social skills (like Toastmasters does) I wonder how many people
>would attend.  

There are things sort of like this.

There was a trend a few years ago to offer classes like this at night schools. 
  (Mostly in urban or suburban areas likely to have high numbers of 
professionals who are single.)  They sometimes had names like "Dating 101", 
but often had unfortunate titles like "How to Flirt".  I don't know how 
successful they were, but there was a time there when it seemed like every 
dang commercial for a talk show said they were gonna have somebody like that 
on.

Also, I once saw a fluff piece on the news about a "dating evaluation" 
service.  You paid them a fee and then went out on a "sample date".  Your 
"date" would make mental notes (and occasionally discretely make written notes 
when out of your sight), and the restaraunt portion might even be videotaped. 
 Then you would come to the office and your date would be evaluated to show 
you how you were effective or ineffective.

I suppose none of this hurts if it teaches basic social skills which come 
more naturally to some than to others, but it does all seem kinda phony.