Surrogate Boyfriends Rescue Men From Shopping

Reuters ^ | 11-9-01

[wyopa]

LONDON (Reuters) - Shopping-phobic men have been given an early Christmas present by a Scottish retail center which is providing surrogate boyfriends to accompany female customers around the shops. The Braehead Shopping Centre in Glasgow is testing a scheme which lets women drop off their recalcitrant partners at a kind of boyfriend creche and borrow a fresh new shopping-friendly specimen for a few hours.

"The Shopping Boyfriend is the ultimate retail therapist: enthusiastic, attentive, admiring and complimentary," said Carol-Ann Stewart from drinks company Lucozade Energy, which behind the pilot scheme.

"He will browse with the girlfriend for hours on end. He'll even say her bum looks small."

Stewart said an NOP poll showed "shopping" was one of the most dreaded words for young British men -- coming just behind "babies."

Freed from the rigors of shopping with their loved ones, the men can relax with video games and a selection of men's magazines until they get picked up and taken home again.

[wyopa]

At last, an article that does not mention anthrax, chads, or Afghanistan. Even though that makes it quite irrelevant to anything at all, I did find it entertaining.

[TomServo]

Already posted here.