Karaoke Forums

I rarely get tips and don't have a jar out.
I would like to have a jar out at some of my lower paying gigs, though.
Not promote it or anything, but just have it there as a visual prompt should people choose to tip.
What does your tip jar look like? Where do you put it?

I don't have a tip jar just a sign that reads
TO SING KARAOKE IS FREE .....but the microphone is a $5 rental
J/K

Mine is a fish bowl. I keep it on a table next to the stage with my books, pencils and slips. I taped a message inside that says "Tips" thank you.

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

Brandy snifters (sp?) are also common and what I currently use when I set one out. You can get very large ones at Target and Wal-Mart.

The best tip jar I ever had was a very heavy extra large Marguaritta (sp again) glass that they set out on tables as a kind of communal experience in Mexican place we used to go to. It was unbreakable. And it took many spills.

Eventually it was stolen. With the night's tips inside.

I'll make somewhere around $30 on average. It was mentioned in another thread that your tips tend to suffer on crowded nights. Our shows are usually very busy, hence my tips aren't usually anything to rely on. The bar owner once said after a show, "Great night, man! You must have made a killing in tips!" After I stopped laughing, I explained how clients are less than appreciative of my services when it takes nearly 2 hours to sing their next song.

That being said, I have no problems taking tips and thanking people for them. If they are a new singer, I may put them ahead of a couple of other new singers in the rotation. I don't see a problem with it, since they will probably only have time to sing the one song anyway.

I avoid taking tips the last hour of the show. I tell them that if they insist on the tip, they should leave it on my table. If they don't make it up for their song, I will go and find them and give them their money back. I think a tip should be given for exceptional service, not as a bribe. And for those people that outright offer $10 to get their song up in the last 15 minutes, I tell them to come back next week and turn it in earlier.

Back to the poll.....the most I ever made in a night was $135 in tips at a regular weekly show. I was hoping that the trend would continue, but the following week I made $7.00. I'm glad I don't rely on tips!

That's the thing, some nights are little to nothing and some nights are surprisingly good. It's usually the one big tipper that makes my night. I have a few people who will throw a $5 in everytime they come in and then everyone else will put a $1 or $2 in. Now the big tipper will hand me a $20 or more. I have one guy that will always hand me a $20 if I sing him a song. I can sing what ever I want , when I want, no catches.

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

I was a regular singer at a venue near Las Vegas (tipping culture) and somehow a tradition got started of passing the hat about an hour before the end of the night at this one venue.

He was being paid A LOT by the bar / casino, plus getting at least $50 in tips.

He put on a pretty good show, but sheesh.

Confession: My largest tip was a bribe. I was a green, substitute KJ, brand new, and it was one of those "I need to leave soon" situations in the middle of the gig. Normally I just shrug and tell them how many singers are ahead of them. But this guy had put a $20 bill in my hand before asking. I called him up 7 minutes later.

Never again. I run a fair rotation, to the point of making me stressed about it (as mentioned in other threads)

I often get the "just one more song" at the end of the night when I'm ready to pack it up.
I usually ask them what they do for a living.
Then I tell them I'm going to show up at their job and ask them to continue working after hours for free.
They usually get it.
Going overtime once in awhile because it's going well is ok by me, but when it's dead and most people are already gone or I'm sick or tired, I just really want to go home.
Then I often get offered money to do one more, which I'm willing to take, since it's now my off time and I refuse to work for free.
Often it's $20.
I often get far less than that or I don't get it at all.

How do you POLITELY tell them to "show me the money, honey" before you let them sing?

If people are asking you to stay later and the owner isn't paying you -

Tell them what your quitting time is and if they'd like you to work later your fee is $5 for one song, $25 for a half hour and $50 for an hour because you do not get paid passed that time. Otherwise you will be back on so & so day, they can sing their song then.

The only problems you run into with this scenario is you must let everyone still have a fair rotation. Just because someone pays you to stay does not give them the right to dictate your rotation, unless they are paying the $5 sing as you go. If someone pays you $50 to stay an hour later the rotation stays the same. You must inform them of this letting them know approximately how many times they will actually be able to sing. If you give the people who paid special treatment you will allienate other customers causing bigger problems. You don't want to have to explain why some people get to sing and others don't.

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