Karaoke Forums

Howdy all! Just wanted some input on my new problem. Picked up a new show on thursday nights, weekly deal. The place is a gold mine, in my opionion. The area it's in is pretty populated, with low competition. Not a bad place, just fighting a bad reputation. The owners have owned it for several years, and just recently the wife decided to take it over, and manage it. They seem to be very good people with some pretty good ideas. The issue is that in years past, they have really let the place go a bit, kinda dirty and unkept. The clientele has been on the rowdy side, so the place has a bad reputation for , shall i say,,"some low-life" customers. But for about the last six months or more, the owners have decided to clean up the joint, and really have done an wonderful job in making the place look great. And have even made it hard for the sleezy people to be welcomed. They want the place to be a fun spot with good people. I agree totally with what they are trying to accomplish. In the process, they are trying to offer some new entertainment, including karaoke on thursdays. I got the job because of my reputation as a professional with personality to match, (hopefully that doesn't sound conceited". Here's the issue, it's really starting slowly, only a handful of customers or singers. Even my loyal "following" has been slow to attend. I sorta think it's because of the bad rep the place has. I can't seem to make them understand, it's a better place now. The owners seem to be very patient in building, but I don't know how much longer they can sustain paying for entertainment, with not much in return. My goal, as should be all of our goals, is the success of the bar, because if they succeed, we succeed. I am afraid the they won't be able to keep paying for much longer. One idea is I have an occasional Saturday open, and they have asked for me to do a show on saturdays, when possible. I believe, that if I do a few shows on saturday, that I can promote my thursday shows. The question is, should I give them a "deal" on an occasional saturday show in hopes to make my thursday shows grow?

What are your thoughts and ideas,,,
Thanks in advance.

Scott

Back in my drinking days, I saw quite a few bars try to change their rep. I have seen it in the past 4 years, too. Difficult to do, very difficult. And it takes a LONG time.There is enough competition out there that most people are going to wait a long time before they give the place a consistent try. We have one around here that gained the sobriquet "So-and-so Gun and Knife Club". That is hard to live down.

I think it is more successful if you try to make it a complete turnaround. One place did a pretty good job by turning from Jasper Cattle Company into The Cricket Lounge. That might be enough of an image change to get the job done.

Good that your post was so interesting -- normally I get lost in long paragraphs. Getting lazy, I guess.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Thanks for the quick response micky. I did forget to mention that they renamed the place, and have even given the bartenders, all beatiful ladies, the power they need to execute good decisions in who is "out the door". Seems to be working for the most part so far.

And sorry for the long paragraph, hehe. I guess I coulda tokked in red-nek-eze....Just for fun! ,,just kidding.

Reputations, whether a bar, a company, or a person, takes a very long time to go from bad to good. It takes a lot of work. In your case try to get some of your regulars there. If they see the change, they will tell others. But be prepared for the long haul.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

#1 If you're tring to build your THURSDAY crowd ..why confuse people by OCCASIONBLLY offering Karaoke on Saturdays ?

The way to build your crowd and the BARS business is to ADVERTISE and MARKET the NEW atmosphere ...Newspaper, outside signange and Banners.

Have a GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION ..sounds corny but if t he owners proceed likes its a NEW place ..people might stop in to see the NEW place

Speaking of reps - one of the nicest clubs in our area has arisen from the ashes of a place that was just HIDEOUS...Kind of place you didn't rest your arm on the table, you certainly didn't use the restrooms, and the smell of the old carpet and the thickened residual smoke on the walls could linger in your nose for hours after leaving. The new owner refuses to make any reference to the former name of her place even though it was so well known by that name that anyone in the area would know EXACTLY where you were talking about.

She has a very good rep in the biz, having had several really excellent clubs, but the time that it takes for everyone to 'get it' - that it ISN'T LIKE THAT ANYMORE, is often longer than it takes for the ink to turn good and black.

Food is now awesome, the bartenders (females) know what they're doing, the bands she is having in area of great quality, sound and lighting are great, the place is immaculate, it's a great location, the new awning sports the new name of the club, and after several months people still comment that they 'had no idea!'

Uphill battle for a while until word of mouth does its thing.

The same thing happened here. A VERY scary bar changed hands and was completely redone and re-named.
The people that bought it also ran the local pool league. They got people in by making it the pick up and drop off point for score sheets. Before long, the place was consistently packed with pool players every league night. That spilled over to other nights and the place turned right around. For several years, it was THE place to be.
Then they sold.
It's now gone quite a bit downhill. People are starting to bring up the old name of the place, before it was re-done. The bad rep is starting to come back to peoples' minds.
It's hard to shake it, even years later.

One thing karaoke singers prize most is consistency. Especially if you are starting out in a new place. If you don't do every Saturday it may do more harm than good.

We are just three weeks away from the slowest time of the year for most of us... early January. Don't do another night if you don't have even one working yet.

when a bar tries to clean things up... it's always best to spend some money on advertising. Banners that say things like "New Attitude" or "Dirt not Allowed!"... having specials sponsored by the Beer peeps with banners, and dare I say it, karaoke specials.

Although I hate to admit it, contests and events will really bring people in for that one night, and you can often find renewed interest due to fresh ideas!

The biggest thing working against you is time. I've experienced the same type of scenerio and it took a good 6 - 8 months to see a turn around in the crowd. Bad reps are hard to change. The name change was a good start.

I don't know that there is a whole lot you can do except try to get the word out the bar has changed. They need to give people a reason to think it is different.

For instance if they advertised themselves as all new under new management. I agree with the banner idea. That is something that wouldn't cost them a lot and seeing a banner like new management might help.

You say the food is good. If they offered coupons for dinner in local advertising literature on the nights you have karaoke would be a start.

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

do you have a local radio station? why not get that station to maybe do a breakfast show live from the new improved bar...I know its the wrong time slot but its when people are listening...if doing brekky live from the venue wont work why not live endorsements from your brekky jock...

"hey called in to (insert name here) last night with a friend of mine, what a change!!

etc

word of mouth (even if its contrived and paid for) is your best advertisement

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

one more thing...go check if your fire brigade members are having some kind of milestone (here they get awards for long service and get thrown big parties) get your bar manager to offer to host them. Everyone loves a fireman...so there would be plenty of hangers-on

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I love the fireman idea!

thanks

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Vickie - Awesome ideas !

I like the idea of the bar doing something for the community to get people in to see the place. Host a meeting place for the village or their chamber of commerce. Firemen, policemen, etc...

A Grand Reopening with the mayor cutting a ribbon. Free advertisement in the paper with that one.

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

About six months ago I started working in a venue with a bad rep. Radio promotion really worked in this case... It must have cost the owner a small fortune, but he has turned this place around in a short space of time.

He also holds a regular karaoke competition on a sunday afternnoon (after all of his roasts have been served) and it is pulling people in. He also has a website with all the photo's of his customers on it and everytime a new face arrives he personally greets them

Venues can turn around, this one certainly has and word of mouth is the biggest advertisement (but if you can give it a little push with the radio. . . go for it).

My hardcore regular customers still haven't ventured over, but eventually other singers will tell them about it and they will make the journey (once someone other me confirms their cars won't be stolen ).

I like some of the comments and ideas you guys have given so far,,,keep it up!! I never claimed to know all the answers,,only that I am able to learn what I can.

This bar doesn't have much of a budget for advertising, but there is a local radio station that has the way to do some free radio spots. Might try them. The firemen idea sounds like a winner too..thanks.

Mrscott,

You have described a spot in my area to a tee, right down to the Thursday! You from NJ?

The sign in front says "Palais Gardens" and is a running joke to those who frequent JacK E. Pooh's.

The place had a horrible rep. They had called me to come in and I passed. In the last few months he has renovated a bit, and started to bing in a more mixed ( read females) crowd, anstead of the old crowd of mostly drunken rowdy guys.

A month or two ago he started karaoke on Thursdays with a less local ( and unfamiliar with the rep) host. However, I'm told that while the money isn't yet rolling in from it, it seems to be enjoyed there...

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" Disc based and loving it..."

I got the news last night, that this bar does NOT have the financial capabilities of sustaining the "growth" period. They need to see results , fast! Or it will have karaoke cease. I am hoping that they can keep the communication lines open, because I believe this place has a lot of potential. Last night I had 11 extra people that would NOT have been there, if I hadn't been hosting. They came just for me. Boy, I feel special... hehe. I really want to make it work, but don't know how much I can do, without "shooting" myself in the foot. They are supposed to call me and maybe we can make a game plan. Wish me luck, and keep up any more suggestions, i'm all ears!

Scott

Thought I would follow up on this latest problem. Got the call today that I was pretty well expecting, ending the show. The owners were not really willing to put the horse before the cart this time, they needed to have immediate results, and they just didn't happen. So as of this moment, the show is hereby canceled. My last thursday show had some promise, but I guess it just wasn't enough. But hope you all can keep giving some good advice for others who have similar issues.

Thanks for everyone who had some good input. It was much appreciated.

Thanks again, Scott