Help For Men Who Can't Get Dates

Is it just me or does this seem to be the wrong way to start off a relationship?


Meredith, 28, works by day at a top investment bank in New York. But for the past few months she has also been moonlighting at a different trade -- accompanying men, too busy or too shy to meet women, to bars to make connections.

Meredith works for Wingwomen.com, a three-month-old service aimed at men who are tired of trying to figure out the best way to approach that attractive female across the room. For a fee starting at $150, they offer the company of a girl whose charms might help attract others.
"Normally, you might go out ten times before you meet one girl," said Brandon, a 28-year-old investment banker who has used the service several times. "With Wingwomen, I met four girls and went home with two phone numbers in a single night."

Meredith's job is to start up a conversation with any woman the client wants to get to know. Then the ball is more or less in his court. If things are moving along smoothly, wing women are experts at leaving the chattering pair alone. At a recent after-work cocktail party at Bogart's, a bar in midtown Manhattan, Meredith was hard at work helping a client find that special someone. The client spotted a group of good-looking prospects and Meredith worked her magic. "Hey, do you guys know if there's a private party in the back?" she said nonchalantly to the women. "Are you part of that group?" With the conversation under way, Meredith went in for the kill. "I'm sorry, this is my friend...," she said, introducing her client. In an instant, the ice was broken.