Karaoke Forums

As a karaoke host, I used to not invite the water drinkers out to my new shows. Until I had a bar owner explain to me he made as much money off of a water drinker as he did a beer drinker.

Water cost .30 a bottle and sells for $1.50, beer costs almost $1.00 and sells for $1.50 & $2.00. Water drinkers are a better profit. and are usually better singers.

This discussion came up as I was laid up for 6 months with throat cancer, and after the treatment, now I can't drink alcohol, as it drys out my mouth and throat. I miss the drinking, But the singing has really improved. I had really felt guilty singing, and not buying anything but water........... what a suprise on my end.

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I'm Not Dead yet...... But every day Im getting Closer !

well tis great to hear you are on the mend enough EE to be able to sing. No-one deserves to be a victim of the hideous big C

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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."

glad to see you're on the mend!

and yeah, water drinkers can be a help, assuming they don't nurse THAT once they buy it! !

I saw the topic and all I could think of was.....red flag. Bull. Close the china shop!

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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.

Why do you want 30 drunks trying to sing when you could have 10 sober singers that can sing? I want sober singers not drunks. My crowds here got tired of that long ago listening to the same old songs over and over. My rotation is small but I could go into any bar USA and take over.

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I think the trem "WATER DRINKER" was originally meant for those just drinking FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE WATER.

Heck BOTTLED water is the biggest RIP OFF $$$$$$$

Ripoff, no doubt. Most of it's tap water anyway, and the bottles themselves live in the landfills for 700 years. Did you know plastic bottles leak toxins into the water that we as consumers end up ... consuming? Stay away from bottled water!!!

My venue serves water from the gun for free. Gunned sodas are $1.00. So no real benefit of having them take up one or more of the limited seats!!!

no place i've gone to serves bottled water.

I'll say nothing more than this

Last Friday I was invited to meet with a venue to discuss doing a show. I immediately learned that he already has a show. What was the reason they wanted to change hosts? Basically... poor turn out coupled with "water drinkers". Not my terminology... the owner's terminology!

Good to see you back EE and best of luck to a full and permanent recovery!

So whats the margin on a cup of coffee and a glass of diet soda. Surely it must have as good a mark-up as water! Add in a Burger or a Rueben sandwhich or maybe a half-side of fries for a snack and I'd say that's a pretty good margin sale.(Pretty much what I do at a Karaoke night).....(and paying for each refill throughout the evening). Just goes to show there IS ROOM for NON-DRINKERS at a Karaoke bar!! Plenty of other profitable things for that bar/kitchen to sell besides strictly booze.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I can see the owners point ... If it's a BAR serving Alcohol ..That's what he wants to sell.. Singers that FREQUENT a bar to sing karoke and only drink FREE water or buy 1 drink and baby it for 4 hours just so they can sit there and sing are a waste ( excluding the DESIGNATED DRIVER OR IF YOU ARE PART OF A BIGGER GROUP ETC)

The police are circling the two karaoke bars in town and picking off the patrons at a pretty good rate. Two DUIS out of our place in the last few weeks--that's two more singers removed from the rotation--3 counting the guy who got it last month. They have even stopped people on foot. The bartendress has been stopped 6 times on her way home and she doesn't even drink. It makes people afraid to drink at all.

Bars may have to rethink what they focus on selling to stay in business. People just aren't going to be able to drink alcohol all night and get away with it anymore. They need something else to buy to pay for their seat. We don't have cabs in our area and if a person is the designated driver or has come as a single then they have to not drink until they are sober enough to drive. So expecting that they are required to buy alcohol because they came to a bar isn't going to fly. They need something else to buy.

I never said the venue I was at was a BAR.

In fact, it was an upper scale restaurant... the entrees started at $20

My bar comment was in response to Jam saying that a Bar is in the business if selling alcohol so people should expect to buy alcohol if they go to a bar. I think in today's climate, bars will have to expand what they sell as people can't drink alcohol for 5 hours at karaoke and still drive home.

Leopard

If you were responding to my previous post.... well, I was responding to Jam whose post referred to my earlier post about my meeting last Friday. And in his post Jam inferred that the venue I was at on Friday was a bar.

Getting back to your post I am surprised that in NV such strict enforcement is occurring. Is it a financially motivated crackdown?

Well, I'm lost on the first paragraph, but no matter.

Don't know what the motivation is but it seems to be happening in more and more locales and that is why I wonder about bars in their current incarnation. They had started doing it where we used to live just before we moved. I was pulled over almost every time I was out late at night--little light on the license plate out, exhaust seemed loud when you went by, whatever. Was never checked for drinking or ticketed for anything but it was so stressful to see those lights go on in the rear view mirror and sit there waiting to find out what was wrong that I felt afraid to go out in my own town. Business went down 25% at the local karaoke place.

Then we move to supposedly anything goes Nevada (not for the little guy, I've found, just for big business) and it has started up here. Not that I approve of drunk driving but pulling over anyone and everyone in hopes of finding a drunk driver really puts a damper on business. The pool of oldtimers is shrinking due to death or arrest and if the bars don't adapt to attracting and profiting from a more sober crowd then I wonder what the future will be.

And re water drinkers who aren't paying for water or not buying enough of it in a night--how much responsibility is that of the KJ? Shouldn't the KJs job be to attract the customers to the bar and then the responsibilty of making sure they are spending once they are there would go to the bar staff? Or do some KJs find that they are successful at influencing the drink buying and consider that another part of being successful on the job?

There are a handful of local KJ's who are mindful of the bottom line and discourage non-spenders from participating. NOTE, I said non-spenders.

Now if the venue is strictly a bar, it doesn't change the attitude of the KJ. If you don't drink you don't sing.

Many, if not most, on this forum frown upon this posture. They excuse non-spenders by suggesting that they maybe the designated driver, a recovering alcoholic who came with friends who are spending money, entertaining to the audience who are spending, etc.

I assure you that the KJ's involved size up the situation before taking any drastic steps...... and excluding a singer is a drastic step. Furthermore, you get to know after awhile who the freeloaders are. No KJ is likely going to pick out a newbie and exclude them. But when the newbie returns and still doesn't spend they will be recognized.

I have never seen staff, other than the owner or manager, take note of who is and isn't spending. And from previous discussions regarding this topic, it is a rare KJ who wants to get in the middle of it.

Frankly, if the place is making tons of money.... nobody will probably notice or care.

But if a karaoke show's effect on the bottom line is marginal, noticing deadwood may be beneficial to everyone?

When I learned who was hosting the karaoke show at the venue where I had my meeting last Friday, I knew basically who was there and who the "water slurpers" were

Non Spender is a better TERM..I assumed the venue was a BAR ..MY BAD

no matter what type of venue ....BAR,Restaurant , COFFE HOUSE OR PIZZA PARLOR ...SINGERS must first be CUSTOMERS of the venue before singing
THAT MEANS SPENDING MONEY BUYING SOMETHING

I had a woman that showed up new on the scene saying, "I've never done this before", and of course any KJ is going to be encouraging. This woman got up and belted out It's Raining Men" Ah yeah...never done that eh..? Next think I know she has a pile of songs to sing and shows up every week thereafter.

Then the bartenders started to complain that she was only drinking water and only interested in being heard not to make money for the bar or bring in friend’s that would make money for the bar. Not quite sure how I said it but I did try to encourage her to buy some food or at least a soda once in a while. Nope!!! Now it might be that she is just a particularly annoying individual but both pubs that she frequents only sells her bottled water. Goes to show that not all bartenders or owners are willing to put up with the constant "Water Drinker" regardless of how good a singer they may be.

Plus has anyone ever had really foul water from the bar hose?

I don't think the host should have to worry about water drinkers, after all, it is the bartender that is serving the water. If the bartender hands out free water and then regret that they are not charging for it....hmmm.....and then tries to get the KJ to be the enforcer....hmmmm