The custom is of such standing men and women participate equally. Yet men don't just throw money at every woman in the bar. A woman sitting alone may be waiting for her boyfriend or husband and thus avoid unsolicited drinks while nearby men size up the situation. Older men are quick on the draw. But here's where the story gets interesting.
Men excel at the simple purchase.
But, according to women in bars across the Dallas area, men often stumble appallingly in the follow-through. Rachel Pool, bartender at The Gingerman, tells of a man who tried one line, without success, on three different women. Loving just shakes her head when she describes truly inexpert men. Then they go to the next woman, then the next one, the next one, and so on. Even female bartenders must suffer the approaches of male patrons.