Karaoke Forums

All drinks are 99.99999....percent water, so that makes us all water drinkers.....
Seriously though, my buddy had a huge bowling alley converted to a disco, and he hired some great bands(back in the 70's thru the 90's). At the end of the night, he would find tons of empty pints & 1/2 pints under the tables. People would buy dollar cokes, and mix their own drinks, rather than pay 3 or 4 bucks for the bar mixes. He found the only way to beat this was to charge the same(or 50 cents less) for a soft drink as he did for a mixed drink.
Free refills?... tell them to go to McDonalds and sing, but get the F@#% outta here....

So guess who showed up tonight? Grrr. At least he can't steal all my slips and waste them since I got the kiosk. I should learn to keep my big mouth shut.

MY kind of host!

Print this out, and wrap it around a water bottle next time a freeloader wants water:

If singers come in before(or during) karaoke starts, buy food and then stay for karaoke and drink water, they are vital to many of the establishments that hire us. Please refrain from the term "water drinkers" when you refer to people who contribute nothing, or very little to our personal economies. Can we coin a different name for them?....

Sorry but ..the name fits. I don't want to speak for anyone else but I know around here 95% of the water drinkers are just that..they come in order free water (and they weren't in earlier buying food), don't tip (which really only helps the server not the venue) and take up time in the rotation that could be better used for paying customers. Are there exceptions? Sure...DDs, people buying food etc. but the bottom line is that they need to be contributing something. I'm pretty sure the ones people are referring to here aren't.

@ Johnny: "If singers come in before(or during) karaoke starts, buy food and then stay for karaoke and drink water, they are vital to many of the establishments that hire us. Please refrain from the term "water drinkers" when you refer to people who contribute nothing, or very little to our personal economies. Can we coin a different name for them?...."

How about UUCB (Uncaring, Unthinking, Cheap Ba*#&#ds).

I was to a point of agreeing with Timberlea until he mentioned “Asian crack machines”. I need to pull up my pants from behind as it was getting a little low. (kiddin')
I don't like water drinkers either. One bar i played closed because of it. It started with only a handful until paying customers decided not buy either. Their reason was why buy to sing when the Joe Schmoes can sing without buying anything.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

here is a novel idea!

why don't the wait staff hand out song tickets when a drink is bought, 1 drink equals 1 song to sing.....

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It's all good!

In my area, that would be illegal. Since it promotes "over-serving". Where I live, it is against the law to have drink specials, happy hour, advertise alcohol outside the venues, give free drinks, among sever other laws that made it hard to be profitable as a bar owner.

Now, while I agree that "water-drinkers" can have an adverse effect on business, they can also add to the general "appeal of a busy night", drawing more people... people go where other people are. Can it get out of hand?? Certainly. But, just don't discount them just because they only drink water. You may not see that they might be contributing in other ways. I for one, NEVER drink alcohol or soda pop (no carbonation for me). I ONLY drink water, milk and juices. Period. Many bars where I live do NOT offer any sort of food or kitchens. What would you have people who don't drink do then?

Whenever and wherever possible, I support the bars by buying simple things that they offer (chips, candy, etc), but that doesn't seem to cut it in some of the eyes of some hosts on here. In other words, what I hear from some of the KJ's on here is, "karaoke is for drunks",,, and I believe that is a bad attitude to have. I believe that karaoke is for people who want to have fun,, whether they drink booze or water. Singing isn't about how good you are, or THINK you are. Everyone has a song in their hearts,, we as KJ's just pass on the microphones so you can be heard.

Now, as far as the business part of it,, sure,,, if the bars aren't profitable, then there is no karaoke in bars. So, we might have to curb someone who is less talented, or spends less money, but to outright tell them, "no spending = no singing",, that is wrong. Simply wrong. Shame on those who think that.

i do 2 for 1
if you are not spending any money at all
or not with a group that is
you will sing once for every 2 songs everyone else sings

most people understand

@mrscott: Try getting into a movie theater without paying for your seat, or a ball game, an airline, etc. Space is valuable and if you can't afford to contribute.....sing at home, for free! Save some money until you can afford to go out and then be part of the contributing society. I feel much better knowing that I am helping the bar owner than if I stole from him by paying nothing to sing. At my shows I get approximately 60 songs through in a 3 hour show, and divide my fee by 60 (songs) and that is what every non-contributor steals from the bar for every song they sing.

There are exceptions such as: they bring in a group of people with them that eat and drink, or they are a regular that normally does contribute, but just doesn't feel like it, or short on cash that night. Obviously there are exceptions, but we all know plenty of non-contributors that never or rarely buy anything. I think that this is the point that most here are trying to make

Even "coupon clippers" are now getting the heat for taking advantage of a "special" and the result will be less coupons for everyone. With more singers taking advantage of a bar owners generosity, in the end there will be less karaoke for everyone too.

@mrmagog... I agree that if one cannot afford to go out and pay their own way, (in one form or another), then, by all means "don't go" out and just take up space. However, my point is this-- "water drinkers" does NOT mean "non-contributor"... and THAT and WHAT I am hearing from many on here. I am not going to point fingers or name names,, but that is how I am viewing things.

The term "water-drinker" is a very poor choice of words, in my opinion. "Vagrant" or "Loiterer" is a better term,, a person who does NOT contribute and deters others from attending. There are many "water-drinkers" who DO contribute to the overall appeal and profitability of an establishment, like the ones you mentioned,, DD's,, people who bring others with them,, etc.

Bars must take the responsibility to offer the "non-DRINKERS" alternatives for things to purchase. If they don't, then the bars are only doing it to themselves. Myself, I would LOVE to buy a dinner, or some good snacks, or a drink that I like that isn't bad for my health. I choose to drink water, fruit juices, milk, Sobe etc. because I am health conscience. And if they don't off them, what would you suggest someone like me do? Not go and add my charming self to the crowd? I don't think so Lucy!!!!

There are MANY others like me who don't drink that would like to sing in front a crowd, not in front of my television set at home. Don't discount our contribution,, because it's more than the $$

Or the bars need to just charge for water - if the laws govern you cannot charge for tap water, then the only water that will be offered is bottled water - which they can charge for. The bars often do it to themselves - offering water for free, cheap coffee & soda then on top of that give free refills. Charge for every drink - regardless.

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And shame on those habitually expect a free night out. (and there are people that do it) I'm sorry but this not only bothers me as a KJ it bothers me as a customer. If someone isn't going to buy anything they better be bringing some spenders with them (and I'm not talkin' 1 or 2 sodas for the entire night)...otherwise personally I think the no spend=no sing policy is completely fair.


I agree, actually we are trying to get one of our venues to do just that.

The bottom line is that karaoke is a 3-4 hour show. In that time, "paying customers" visit the establishment and hope to sing as often as possible, or at least their fair share. When you have people who come in and don't contribute, then you are depleting that "fair share".

The term "Water Drinker" refers to the customer who comes in and orders nothing but water and has exhibited this behavior over an extended period of time. "Water-Drinker" does not apply to anyone who is a designated driver, nor does it refer to anyone who orders food, but drinks nothing but water.

If you want a new name for them, call them "Cheap SOB's" like I did when I created this thread.

But ok, maybe we can nit-pick the word cheap and say "They're not cheap! They just can't afford to buy anything".

To that, I say - they should stay home.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

I guess I'm more pumped up than I usually would be about this topic, we recently had a gig cancelled because this sort of thing got out of hand and it just wasn't profitable for the place to keep it going.

This is something that I could live with quite easily. Since bottled water is a bit more pleasant than most tap water, especially in the cities. However, getting the owners to agree is another story all the way around.

I can see how you would feel a bit more strongly about this situation than most people then. But, it's the owners doing to themselves,,, NOT the water drinker,, who was ALLOWED to do that from the start. Agreed,, things can get out of hand with those who will not contribute,,and those people should be curtailed to a minimum.

I just simply dislike the term "water-drinker",, since that is what I am, because I CHOOSE to drink water for my own personal health reasons. But for those who CHOOSE to drink water because they are too "cheap" to pay for something, then by all means, make them understand they should be contributing to the end result of the success of the venue and NOT just taking up space.

I think we are ALL saying the same thing,,, it's just the terminology that I dislike immensely!!

To be fair, I don't think it is possible to have a show cancelled because you had too many water drinkers. I think it would be more appropriate to say it was due to a lack of paying customers.

New shows are the only time I appreciate water drinkers. That's because of momentum. The more cars in the parking lot, the more likely it is that passerby's will stop, or that would be customers don't drive right on by when they see a lack of cars.

This same thing can be said for when they first walk in the bar. If they think that the number of cars "fooled them" into thinking that the right number or right kind of people were in the bar, they'll turn around and walk right out.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!