Wing woman for hire: The single guys sidechick - Washington Times

Lacy Meyer strutted into a crowded Indianapolis bar with her client, Brandon Bowen, and scanned for single women.

Once she found her targets three middle-aged women sitting in a corner she approached and delivered the first opening line that popped into her head.

Hey, Ive got a crazy question for you, she ventured confidently, though inside her heart was pounding. My buddy and I are trying to find the age of a python he just got for his daughter. Anybody know how to tell the age of a snake?

The women responded as Ms. Meyer had hoped. They chuckled, said no and started peppering Brandon about his love of reptiles.

Ms. Meyer felt her body relax. Her client was in. After weeks of training, she finally had become a professional wing woman.

As single men turn increasingly to online dating and social networking sites to meet women, theyre getting a little rusty. Their in-person pickup techniques iffy under the best of circumstances are susceptible as never before to atrophy.

Enter the wing woman.

Professional wing women, a modern twist on the wing man, facilitate conversation with women whom their male clients otherwise might not approach. For a fee, they pose as platonic friends, living, breathing proof that their buddy is cooler than he seems. Successful wing women will land their clients a date as well as some extra confidence.

Wing woman companies are popping up across the country in places such as Boston, Chicago and New York, giving men hope and women the opportunity to make an extra buck. The jobs can pay well some women earn up to $50 per hour but they are not easy to land.

Women must often have the right looks and social skills to be serious candidates. Training can be intense, and turnover is high. Even after hiring wing women, company owners wont hesitate to dismiss their employee barflies if they fail to make the grade.

Its a lot of pressure, said Jamie Thompson, a part-time wing woman based in Los Angeles. You are out there being paid to help the guy get the girl, and that is a very outcome-driven scenario. If the guys not ready or there arent the right girls out there, its hard.

Some women are more naturally suited to the role than others, recruiters say. In Craigslist ads or on scouting missions at bars, they seek women with certain characteristics: extroversion, attractiveness, social intuition, confidence and, perhaps most important, the ability to put their clients interests before their own.

You have to find the right personality, said Kevin Emmons, marketing director at Miss Pivot, the Indianapolis-based company where Ms. Meyer was recently hired. In the beginning, we had a bunch of promotional girls who wanted to do this, but it turns out they are very good at getting value for themselves not good at getting value for our clients.

Once recruiters find women with the right traits, there is often a trial run. Before Chicago Wingwoman owner Dennis Jeanpierre makes any final hiring decisions, for example, he will ask recruits to serve as his wing woman for the evening.

We may go to a couple venues in the night, he said. If theyre not getting it, Ill advise them, Ill give them pointers. Its like every job interview youre not going to hire every candidate.

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