BOY meets girl. He takes her out on a couple of dates. She decides he is not The One and tells him she does not want to take it further.
Instead of exiting gracefully, he sends her copies of the receipts accumulated during their dates and asks that she pays for her share.
This is just one of the many "clueless men" Ms Annie Chan, 38, has met in the course of playing matchmaker to singles over the years.
She has organised more than 1,000 social events for the Social Development Unit as an independent events organiser.
Other true accounts of men who "just don't know what to do" during dates include a stingy guy who bought a shooter drink but asked for a glass of ice so as to prolong his drink.
"His date initially thought that he found the shooter too strong," recalls Ms Chan. "but he actually told her: "No, one small glass, so expensive. This way, the drink will last the whole night'."
Then there are guys who arrive late at speed-dating events, dripping with perspiration and sporting unsightly armpit sweat stains, and men who take their dates to a hawker centre for their first meal to test if the girl is materialistic.
"Singles can be very mistaken about what goes on during social events and the matchmaking process. It would be great to share and educate them so that they are not so ill informed," says Ms Chan.
Last June, she and her primary-school mate, public servant Chow Wai Ling, 38, set up Club2040, which offers matchmaking services exclusively for men, specifically shy men who don't know what to do to find a partner.
This means that they accept only men as their paying clients. Four men have signed up with them so far.
They search for a suitable female partner within their database - they have about 120 online members of both genders - or through other dating agencies.
They will also look among friends, relative and even their own family members for the right match.
"We believe that everyone's special someone is out there. If we were to restrict our search, we could be missing the right person altogether," says Ms CHan, who is married to a videographer. Ms Chow is single.
Indeed, when it comes to love, it seems that singles in Singapore cannot get enough help.
At least five dating agencies were set up in the past year or so, bringing the number of dating and matchmaking agencies in Singapore to about 200.
This figure refers to the number of agencies registered under the heading of Friendship, Matchmaking and Dating Services by the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority.
It also includes social escort services and foreign bride agencies.
The Dating Loft, set up in December 2006 by three women, has attracted about 400 members in the past year. It specialises in organising weekly dinner parties at its office, a two-storey shophouse in Circular Road.
The agency came into the news recently when Miss Genecia Luo, 25, who is Miss Singapore International 2006 and Miss Singapore Universe 2006 (second runner-up), engaged its help to find Mr Right.
'We see many singles whom you never think need dating help approaching us," notes one of its founders, Ms Kat Lee, 31.
But some of them are still single because of their reluctance to get out of their comfort zone or change their mindset, she says.
"Some singles have a fear of intimacy due to their family background, such as having divorced parents or bad dating relationships in their younger days," she adds.
The latest player to enter the already crowded industry is the Over Forty Singles Club, started by Chinese physician Liu Weiying, 54.
The Beijing-born mother of a grown-up son, who settled in Singapore 18 years ago, came up with the idea of setting up a club for singles, divorcees and widows over the age of 40 after meeting many lonely patients at her clinic.
"These people have not given up hope of finding a companion, but they just do not know where to start," says Madam Liu.
She adds that even if they do not end up getting married, it's fine because her purpose is to bring them together and to widen their social circles through talks and seminars.
To gain more experience, she has visited several dating agencies in China and AUstralia to find out how they run their businesses.
A retired civil servant is helping her to run the club.
"Everyone will have his lonely moments. but you don't have to face life alone if you can find your soulmate," Madam Liu says.
Romancing Singapore
Club2040
Who can join: Singles in their 20s to 40s. Matchmaking services are for men only
Activities: Group events such as bear-making workshop, crystal keychain and cellphone accessory workshop as well as talk on the benefits of fragrances. Matchmaking clients will receive a grooming-cum-personality profiling workshop, two sessions of private face-to-face coaching with matchmaker, eight single dates and two group dates
Fees: $88 for a 12-month online membership (men and women) and $988 for a 12-month matchmaking package (men only)
