Karaoke Forums

I'm with Re Invention on this - put it back out. I begrudgingly put one out after so many people asked me where it was. I had to draw the line at one of my regulars going around with it, asking people to contribute. That I don't like. However, there are people who are extremely uncomfortable about handing a real live person a tip and may feel better about just dropping it in anonymously. Nothing wrong with a tip jar at all. BRING IT BACK OUT, BILL!

For some reason, however, a great big jar with a HUGE sign on it saying TIPS sitting right in front of where the host will reach for your request slip is somehow ia bit annoying to me.

k

Swirl - You sound like me when I first started. I felt wierd about it too. As long as you aren't bringing attention to it by begging for tips there isn't any dishoner in it all.
Especially if you already have people handing you tips.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

late last summer we did a few shows at a place where the DJ had gotten the crowd in the habit of getting the ladys to get him to stay by flashing him..when time came to end the show (1:00 I think) the girls started to convince us in there normal way. as a red blooded guy I didnt complain and stayed late. there was a group there who we saw pretty often for several months prior and they left around this time. i haven't seen em since. I have emailed them, and they say they are just really busy and have not made it out over the winter..I wonder..either way there was a lesson there. flashing is still never discouraged (it seems to be pretty accepted around here) , but will not get you to sing any sooner, or us to play later. usually i will go till closing if we have a good crowd and theyre singing and having fun.

_________________
the voices arent real, but they have some good ideas

Well, let me put it this way. I didn't try to hide it. I told a couple of the singers that were coming up and they laughed and said if he is stupid enough to give you $20, take it.

So you know, I've been at this a few years now. It's just one of those things I've kind of let slide for so long. I'm coming around to a different way of thinking, though. I have a show tonight, and I think I'm gonna pick up a tip jar, set it out, and see what happens.

_________________
hi-voxentertainment

Swirl - don't be disappointed if at first you only get a few dollars here and there. It's crazy how some nights I only get maybe $2 and other nights more than $100.
I always bait my jar (have a few dollars in there to start). The bartenders taught me that one. You don't want your tip jar completely empty or full. If it actually fills up you'll want to empty some out.

_________________
[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I must point out that when the tips are significant, as Lon does, I share them with the waitresseses and bartenders!

We don't have a tip jar as we get well paid for the area. However, if someone wants to give extra that's fine and it's done low key. The tipper does not repeat, does not get bumped up. If a singer wants to get bumped up, then they have to go to everyone in front of them to get permission and pay them. This has never happened. .

_________________
You can be strange but not a stranger

I don't take tips because it looks like taking a bribe which I definately do not do at all. I do not play favorites and singers get up in the order I received the first request.

_________________
The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I was this way when I first started out... but my association with other kjs soon taught me that yes some folks had no problem with it. It's the non-vocal majority that will shake their head, and if another show is near, they'll go see them first next time, and maybe stay.

I like Lon's subtle tip jar. Says "401k Fund".

Mine says "tips", but when people put money in, I nod and say thanks. But I also, like Tim, say to them they'll be treated like everyone else. Some have complained that "Hey, I TIPPED you!" I reach in and take their measly dollar and say, "Then take it back!"

You tip a bartender or waiter when they treat you right. You BRIBE them if you want preferential treatment. Same goes with kjs, djs, etc.

It was a one time thing. No one ever offered me $20 again and I probably wouldn't do it for any less. It was early in the evening and the people who had to wait one more song would get to sing as much as they wanted anyway.

Where I worked everything was owned by the bar and I got paid $50 plus tips (someone was sent around with a tip jar to ask for donations. This was the policy of the bar, not mine.) They changed it about a year later and paid me $100 a night and didn't solicit tips.

yeah, I started out the same way. I started my company because I knew I could do it better and with MY morals, rather than pandering to folks like that!

I've been offered one time $100 for the guy to sing next. What I told him was "you buy a round for all the singers that you'd bump down in rotation... and I'll let you do it."

We both went up to the bar and figured out the costs... it was over a $150... and the guy shook his head and walked away.

I have walked out of shows that exhibit this behavior in the host. It may have been a one time thing, but in my eyes you are putting everyone else aside for your own worth basically saying they aren't worth anything.

_________________
[shadow=deepskyblue]I'm impressed, I've never met such a small mind inside such a big head before.[/shadow]