Karaoke Forums

Are they BARS whose primary business is selling ALCOHOL that also offer karaoke ? or are they KARAOKE shows that also offer Alcohol?

Babs is going to yell at me for not getting in more often, but I still concider myself one of her regulars...

I generally drink beer or my "Doc Shot" (equal parts gin and vodka) for the majority of the night and then drink the free water or coffee for the last hour or two... I think this new policy will ultimately cause me to spend less because I'll be drinking less and stretching it out longer so I don't end up driving impaired.

I still have that fart machine you gave me.

Johnny I love the new avatar ! The grand kids are adorable and so are you.Tell Karen I said Hi.

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I prefer bottled water, can't hardly stand when a place only offers tap water, so I'd gladly pay for the bottled stuff.

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Another thought... if I'm paying $3 ( ) for a cuppa coffee, it better have some caramel or mocha in it and whip cream on top;)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Good question
I could give several examples of how the owner has an odd control problem. I'm trying to be nice here. He'll start odd rules sometimes for unknown reasons. We've gone through tons of bartenders because of this. I could go on more sbout it, but I have a good relationship with him personally after yrs of building his trust and don't want to bad mouth him. Usually the rdiculous rules fall to the wayside after time any way.

Like I said before I think he's singled these people out because he doesn't like them. I've seem him do it before. They do spend money on food and pool, like I said before. He is bored with their singing is his main complaint.

I could be totally wrong and actually hope I am.

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I know these people well enough to talk to them on the side about it and have because they brought it up. I've explained it is normal practice to charge for water at karaoke bars and the reason owners of bars do it is because of freeloaders. His response was, we're the only ones that drink water and we spend money on other things. He has certain health problems, so he can't drink alcohol. I backed the owner by saying he did as a preventive measure.

They are not the only water drinkers - They are the only regulars water drinkers. I may need to make that clear.

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Blue Stained, hate to break it to you but bottled water is tap water, which may or may not have gone through a filter system.

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Three bucks is three bucks is three bucks and in MY book and IMHO which I am entitled to, is ridiculous.

I won't write an essay on it, it doesn't merit it. Make your money on your alcohol and call out those who take advantage of it.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

No chit, you mean it doesn't grow on trees in the bottle? Who knew?

No, seriously, YOU would not want to drink tap water from my town either. They just finally passed it a bit over a year ago.. Molalla, Oregon (hillbilly capital of the west) can now dump "treated sewage" into the Molalla River... which winds it's way directly to Canby... which is our city water source, and Molalla is only 10 minutes up the road. Our city water is so chlorinated, it tastes like pool water.

No thank you.. and as for the bottled stuff, there are reliable water bottling sources that are spring or artesian wells... Not podunk-town crappy creek water labeled "distilled" or "purified".

(sorry to op for being off topic.. but hey, it was about bottled water, Lol)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

Ms Stained, try this, fill a jug with your tap water and put it in the refrigerator overnight. The chlorine will evaporate. A friend at the Water Commission tld me that.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

Friday was a packed house - I asked the bartenders how many bottled waters they sold.

Two in total

I asked if there were any water drinkers that switched to something else to drink.

Zero

I did it just out of curiosity

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Babs,

That is really strange. The cheapskates must have done something to make themselves so well known to the owner that he reacted so strongly towards them. You're sure there isn't a similar problem during other nights of the week?

BTW, I assume there are tables to sit at. Is there a waitstaff for table service or just the bartenders?

Just bartenders. I would think the only time you'd see water drinkers is on a night there is entertainment. Other than that you just get your regular bar drinkers.

I'm pretty much the only entertainment the bar has. He hired a soloist to perform this Saturday, but the last time we had a band was over a yr ago.

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So if the cheapskates sat around and drank nothing the bartenders would not likely be aware of that?

If that is correct, the cheapskates made a "spectacle" of themselves by ordering tap water or refillable coffee. No?

I think the people that work there, including me, notice just about everyone in the bar regardless. It is a small bar.

Well these people are the first ones to arrive for karaoke and stay til finish. Plus they are there every karaoke night - 3 times a week. They are regulars, everyone knows them. I wouldn't say spectacle - but noticeable. They both play pool and on occasion buy food. But for the first few yrs, until coffee went up to $3, they sat right in front of the stage with all their coffee fixings for the night. They even brought in their own coffee mugs.

They are very nice people and bring little gifts for people, even the bartenders. He is a clothes vendor by trade, so will give t-shirts, jackets, hats ect... to people when he can't sell them. I know he keeps an eye on me too. They always sit near the stage to make sure no one bothers me. It's very sweet.

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We wrap the 16.9 oz. bottles with labels like this to drop hints:

http://dkusa.com/images/singer1.jpg

I don't agree. It is up to me as "the man on the mic" to do everything I can to increase the register ring. Whether than means hyping their specials, or calling out those who repeatedly come in and buy nothing, it demonstrates that I am there to do more than collect a paycheck.



They're usually slammed at the bar, busy with serving people who WANT to buy booze.



I think there's a difference between sounding belittling and malicious, and saying things in a humorous self-effacing manner. (Think Don Rickles.) I believe a good karaoke host is interactive with his crowd. If I see someone walking back to their table with a tray of shots, I'll call them out too and even offer a countdown so everyone at their table can drink them at once.

And I'll only mention this once, if my calling them out neither changes their behavior nor embarrasses them enough not to come back, then they'll have to deal with everyone knowing they're a freeloader.

By the way, I love the water label!

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This is getting a bit deju vu but here is a new story since the last time round: Had a guy that was not only just ordering water, he was insisting on a small glass so the bar maid had to keep refilling it. She informed the owner and he told the guy he could have all the water he wanted but if that's all he was having there would be a cover charge for the entertainment. I think he got $5.00 out of him. Next time in the fellow ordered a real drink and then said to the barmaid, "You aren't really going to charge me for this are you?" Uh, yeah.

If you know of the problem, as suggested by DangerousDan, why not address it?

I also DON'T concur with the opinion that if the staff isn't dealing with freeloaders then they aren't doing their job.

Generally speaking, I can visualize many PROBLEMS if you feel that bartenders and/or wait people should deal with the karaoke cheapskates:

ASSUMPTION: Table service is provided for all those who are seated at tables
FACT: There may not be any table service and if there isn't, no one on staff might realize that there are people engaged with karaoke who are sitting around and not purchasing a thing
ASSUMPTION: It is the staff's responsibility to deal with freeloaders
FACT: It is their responsibility only if management informed them of that but only if they have also become aware that there are non-spenders in the room
ASSUMPTION: The staff would do a better job dealing with karaoke freeloaders
FACT: Possibly, if they are familiar with all of the karaoke regulars, their long-term spending habits, their personalities, the designated drivers, the non-spending guests accompanying singers who do spend, the non-spending singers accompanied by guests who do spend and all of the other "dynamics" of the particular show
ASSUMPTION: The staff isn't already swamped with serving those who are buying drinks and tending to other matters that keep things running smoothly
FACT: That may or may not be true
ASSUMPTION: When it comes to the karaoke crowd the staff doesn't need to know anything other than the fact that the KJ has pointed out that someone is freeloading
FACT: Knowing there is a problem while having the authority to handle said problem doesn't mean that someone on staff, particularly someone other than a manager, has the ability to confront the cheapskate(s) without causing more problems than if they had left things alone! And it is the karaoke show that will suffer if things are handled poorly


FACT: Many people in prior posts have been emphatic that the problem belongs to management and should NOT be tackled by the KJ

FACT: WHENEVER, there have been postings in the past about how some venue has dealt with freeloaders or the question is asked about how to respond to freeloaders, many posts have appeared THEORIZING how a freeloader maybe accompanied by those who ARE spending, etc. etc. THE ONE PERSON working at the venue who IS IN THE BEST POSITION to know the dynamics involved with freeloading karaoke patrons IS THE KJ! Note: this statement does NOT mean that the KJ is ALWAYS aware of EVERY freeloader! But since the real problem of freeloading is most attributed to "regulars", not someone who pops in to sing one song and pops out, if the KJ can't spot the non-spending regular it is unlikely anyone else can. And from week to week the venue may not have the same exact staff working the karaoke show

The only circumstances that I am aware of under which cheapskates don't take advantage of "free" entertainment is when there is a cover charge, a minimum, or a cover charge that provides you with a ticket for a drink (or two), which is actually no different than a minimum.