硅谷红娘牵线忙

    一个60岁的前技术公司高管和多次创业家说：“艾米的直觉非常重要，这是一种第六感，可以评判一个人的个性和愿望。”他本人没有选择Match.com，而是要找一种筛选更严格的服务。这就是说，安德森采用了一套比大学入学申请还严格的筛选流程，包括通过电子邮件发送的一系列预甄别问题、一个小时的面对面交流（以便了解客户的个性）和一份12页的申请书，其中包含这类问题：“如果我们去请您的‘前任’来描述你，老实讲，你觉得他/她会怎么说呢？”

    实际上，安德森手里有大量高管的照片，还有不少客户认为很吸引人的普通人的照片。另外一次单独面试则会深入了解客户希望自己的另一半具有哪些方面的品质，涉及外貌、教育背景、职业、政治观点等等方面。面试非常严格，安德森介绍说，来找她的每10个客户中她会拒掉4个。

    这种做法对有些客户来说很管用。比如刚刚提到的这位高管，他成为VIP客户的两年内相了4次亲，还和一些对象短期交往过，然后就碰到了自己现在的妻子。安德森一手包办了这些相亲。2011年年初，安德森为他介绍了一位对象，他们在旧金山的Jardiniere法国餐厅首次约会。“艾米跟我说，‘我觉得她就是你要找的人，’而我是这么说的，‘是啊是啊，没错’，”他一边回忆一边笑道。而事情的发展也正如他所愿：“我当时就觉得，哇，这一次我真的找到知音了。”四个半月后，安德森帮他精心策划了一场求婚仪式，在半月湾（Half Moon Bay）的丽兹酒店为他们订了一套海景套房。房间里点着蜡烛，洒满玫瑰花瓣，摆满了花束，背景音乐是玛丽亚•凯莉的浅吟低唱。结果这两位在当年秋天就步入了婚姻的殿堂。

    另一个客户是个三十多岁的创业公司联合创始人。她住在旧金山，整天忙得不可开交。她试过Match.com，也见过几个人，但是都无功而返。于是，她也找到安德森帮忙。回想当时的情景，她半开玩笑地说：“我每天要接到四五百个回应，如果可能，我真想雇个人帮我筛筛他们！”而在去年11月注册成为安德森的客户后，她一共和四个男人约过会。她喜欢其中一个人，那也是个创业公司的创始人。但他的态度一直含含糊糊。这时安德森及时介入，建议这位客户装得让自己没那么好约。结果这个“吊胃口”的招数真的奏效了，两个人在2月份就正式确立了关系。

    每个成功找到伴侣的客户都再次证明了安德森反对BBD的理念是何等正确。安德森是这么说的：“有些客户老说：‘我想要更多选择。我能不能一次见好几个人呢？’，我总是告诫他们，每次一个，每次只能一个！”（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    "The role Amy provides is that intuition, that sixth sense that goes along with evaluating people's personalities and desires," explains a 60-year-old ex-tech exec and serial entrepreneur, who had skimmed Match.com but sought a service with more filtering. To wit, Andersen follows a procedure more stringent than the college application process, with a series of pre-screening questions via e-mail, a one-hour meet-and-greet (so she can get a feel for a client's personality), and a 12-page application with questions like, "If we were to ask the 'ex' to describe you, what honestly do you think he/she would tell us about you?"

    Indeed, Andersen mandates hard copy photos of exes, along with photos of non-celebrity individuals the client finds attractive. Another separate interview dives into the metrics of what the client is seeking from his or her match, factoring in looks, education, occupation, political views and the like. It's so strict in fact, Andersen says she turns away four out of every 10 people who approach her.

    It's paid off for some. In the case of the ex-tech exec, he met his wife after two years as a V.I.P. client and four dates -- and short-lived relationships -- arranged by Andersen. In early 2011, she arranged for him to meet a match on their first date at Jardiniere, a French restaurant in San Francisco. "Amy said to me, 'I think this could be the one,' and I was like, 'Yeah yeah, sure,'" he remembers with a chuckle. But things worked out: "I was like, wow, now we're talking." Four and a half months later, Andersen helped him plan out the proposal by renting out an oceanside suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay embellished with candles, rose petals, floral bouquets, and Mariah Carey playing in the background. The two married last fall.

    Another client, a busy thirty-something startup co-founder living in San Francisco, sought out Andersen after trying Match.com and meeting a few duds for dates. "I was getting 400, 500 responses a day, and it's kind of like, if it was possible, I wanted to hire someone to go through them for me!" she half-jokes. After signing up with Andersen last November, she was matched with four different men. When one she liked, another startup founder, remained noncommittal, Andersen stepped in and advised the client to make herself unavailable. The "hard-to-get" tactic worked, and the two became exclusive last February.

    Each client that pairs off becomes another validation of Andersen's anti-BBD philosophy. Says Andersen: "To those people who say, 'Well, I want more. Can't I have multiple people at once?' I tell them, one at a time. One at a time."