There’s a bar in my neighborhood that was supposed to open like, 4 months ago. They keep pushing back the opening date, citing permit issues and blaming everyone but themselves. They’ve gotten so many complaints about their lateness, in fact, that they’ve now resorted to erecting a sign that says “If This Sign is Still Up, No, We’re Not Open.” Great idea! Very professional! Definitely a place I see myself visiting! This is totally not sarcasm!

So Sam Biddle’s piece over at Gawker about a startup company called DateCoach rang pretty familiar. The concept of DateCoach is that the site employs smart, confident, online dating-saavy folks to help “coach” online daters, with their profiles, pictures, messages, etc. It sounds like an interesting idea – I’m sure singles who are new to Online Dating would be super interested in a little helping hand from an experienced online dater.

However, like this unnamed bar in my neighborhood, the site just wasn’t happenin’. Launch dates were pushed back, their “employees” hired off of Craigslist were never given a contract of employment and their only real communication with the company was with one VERY peppy (but not very helpful) “manager.” Plus, it was revealed that the folks they hired weren’t even legitimately online dating gurus. You should check out the article – it’s pretty great in an “eeesh I can feel the desperation dripping from this woman’s sweat glands” kind of way.

What we want to know is – would YOU use an online dating coach? If you’re new to online dating, or haven’t had much success, or just want to brush up on your web-flirting game, do you think someone experienced in the field would help? Or do you prefer to carve out your own way and learn from your mistakes? Let us know in the comments!

Image via Jonathan Brooker