Got A Blind Date?

[Kennedy 0]

Need an escape route, but friends are busy (or not particularly punctual)?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040808/ap_on_hi_te/date_rescue_calls_3

Quote

Via Cell, Help's on the Way for Bad Dates
Sun Aug 8,10:57 AM ET

NEW YORK - The peak time for dates from hell in New York City is Friday at 8 p.m. — judging by the cell phone calls delivering emergency excuses to bolt.

Truth is, they're fake "rescue" calls — now being offered by two cell phone providers, Cingular Wireless and Virgin Mobile USA. In an era of Internet-set dates, it's just customer service — a hip way to wiggle out of an uncomfortable encounter.

The rescue calls are a way to use the phone as a lifestyle accessory, Virgin Mobile spokeswoman Sarah Koening said.

For both Cingular and Virgin Mobile, the prerecorded messages are created at a high-tech central command in California's Silicon Valley. There, five people with doctorates in linguistics dream up excuses for folks to repeat before suddenly dropping a date gone sour.

Dan Enthoven, director of marketing for BeVocal, the California company that designs complex voice-driven software for the telecom market, said the number of rescue calls go up on weekends, especially Fridays at about 8 p.m. BeVocal's two rescue-call clients in North America, Cingular and Virgin Mobile, generate at least 10,000 calls a month, he said.

With both Cingular's Escape-A-Date and Virgin Mobile's Rescue Ring service, a customer can arrange to be called at a set time, using the cell keypad.

When the cell rings, one of Cingular's eight "emergency" messages says: "Hey, this is your Escape-A-Date call. If you're looking for an excuse, I got it. Just repeat after me, and you'll be on your way! 'Not again! Why does that always happen to you? ... All right, I'll be right there.' Now tell 'em that your roommate got locked out, and you have to go let them in. Good luck!"

And bingo, the bad date is history.

The rescue-call service is part of a Cingular package that costs $4.99 a month. Virgin Mobile offers its Rescue Ring at 25 cents per use, plus the price of the call.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[Tailgate 0]

Well, back in my day..... we had to make up our own excuses ...

But that is kind of novel

_________________________________________________
Let me live in my house by the side of the road and be a friend to man- Sam Walter Foss

[Kennedy 0]

Yeah, it's pretty GD sad that some people need a fake phone call to leave a date.

Really, how hard is it to tell someone they suck and you're leaving? Chicks do it all the time when they meet guys while out. Why not do it even though you met before leaving the house?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[MarkM 0]

Huh. Whatever happened to just going to the bathroom and crawling out the window?

[champu 1]

Weaseling out is an important thing to learn, It's what separates us from the animals...


...except the weasel.