THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606180126
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: EARNING A LIVING IN VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 86 lines
Gail Parr is a romantic. She believes a man should pay on a date and hold the door open.
Parr also believes there's someone for everyone and that belief has served her well in business. She owns and operates Connections Ltd., a dating service she recently moved to Independence Boulevard from Elizabeth City, N.C.
``My husband tells me I live in a fairy tale land,'' said Parr, who commutes each day to work from her home in Currituck, N.C. ``I like love and I believe in the Cinderella story.''
When a potential mate goes to Parr for help in finding the right someone, she begins a process she says is designed for comfort and convenience.
The customer is asked to fill out a questionnaire that includes basic questions like eye and hair color, interests and occupation.
Next, the candidate fills out another questionnaire on their ideas of the perfect mate.
Parr has customers fill out the forms themselves because she believes in also being able to look at a prospect's handwriting. After the forms are finished, she conducts an informal interview to be sure that the candidate is looking for a ``serious'' relationship.
``I have to know that this person is serious about starting a relationship,'' said Parr, who added that married folks are a no-no in her dating service. ``We don't want anybody to get hurt.''
After the forms are filled out and the interview complete, customers submit a picture or two. Parr has had folks submit glamour pictures, studio shots and portraits. Most people tend to give more than one picture, she said.
If there are no pictures available, Parr pulls out her Polaroid and takes the shot herself. The picture is then tucked into the back of the customer's folder, where all the information stays for constant match-making and review.
Parr then matches folks using a program on her home computer. First, she matches the basics like age, etc. When she's found what she believes are several good candidates from her list, she will pull the folders and invite the customer back in to make the final selection. Then, she calls the potential date and asks for permission to pass on his or her phone number.
Parr does not correspond by mail. She said privacy is important and so she spends a lot of time on the phone.
Parr offers three types of memberships in her dating service. Memberships can last for three months, six months or until the customer ``gets hitched,'' which actually translates into one year of limitless introductions. The ``get hitched'' membership is Parr's top-of-the-line offering and costs $599.
Parr doesn't believe in ``lifetime memberships'' because it sends a negative message, she said.
Parr's customer list includes folks representing a range of occupations, from farmers to doctors. She has matched a couple of 74-year-olds and a few young adults in their 20s. Most of her clients, however, are between 35 and 55 years old.
Surprisingly, looks are not tops on everyone's list.
``Beauty really is only skin deep,'' Parr said. ``Most people just want someone to be compassionate and caring.''
Sometimes the dates work, sometimes they don't.
Parr estimates that she's matched at least 50 percent of her 200-plus customers. One couple who signed up on the same day and agreed on a date are getting married in August.
Parr began her business in 1994. She researched the idea at local libraries, read books on the fastest-growing businesses and discovered dating services were on the list. Also, at the time, there were no other dating services serving the Outer Banks and Elizabeth City area.
It took only a few months for Parr to decide to quit her accounting job - a field she'd been in for about 15 years - and open the business.
Parr, who divorced and remarried 10 years ago, has her oldest children - Candace, 24, and Karen, 22 - help with the matchmaking as well as her mother, Mary Giannone.
Parr also has two other children, Wally, 9, and Brandon, 6.
If there's one thing she's learned about the romance business, it's that love can happen in the strangest places.
``I never knock local bars,'' said Parr, whose dream is to one day have a chain of dating services. ``I met my construction worker husband in a bar after work. Love can happen in all different places.'' MEMO: Connections Ltd., 522 S. Independence Blvd., Suite 100, is open
from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment only on
Saturday and Sunday. Call 490-LOVE. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
``My husband tells me I live in a fairy tale land,'' says Gail Parr,
owner of Connections Ltd. ``I like love and I believe in the
Cinderella story.'' by CNB