Karaoke Forums

Well, last week I made a comment in another post about a certain KJ's issues at another bar, and how not to openly criticize another fellow KJ:

http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=15980

Interestingly enough, last night, the WIFE of the bar owner came to my show. She was a awesome singer, and I didn't know who she was until the end of the night when she came up to thank me for a good time.

Some folks from my Wednesday night gig, who had been going to the other bar of Fridays had been trying to get her to come down for weeks... ever since I picked up the Friday gig. They had been going to her husbands bar, but had been dissatified with the way the KJ ran show for some time.

Anyway, after thanking me, she came out and said that things had started off great, but had fallen off in the last few months. She was frurstrated, because she had been asking for months for him to get Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" and he hadn't gotten it (His hard drives full ). She also mentioned his "bad attitude", etc.

If he only has three singers, he won't even do karaoke. He'll just play music, rather than alternate... argh!

Now, I am not looking to grab this guy's gig, but darn it, I'm loosing my patience with this loser. I've got sucessful Friday and Saturday gigs. I might want to pick up a Thurday night... and I did find myself saying, "if you think that a different face might pick things up, I have a Thurday opening... "

I'm feeling bad for that now.... was I out of line? Opinions on how aggressive I should be would be appreciated.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Look, I see it this way: It's a business, act like a businessman. That means you are here to make money, but also ethically.

Now, are you actively chasing his gig? No.
Is he letting himself down with his attitude, etc? Yes
Has this presented you with an opportunity? Yes

What businessman isn't interested in an opportunity?

He has every chance to make it work for him, protect his gig, etc. But he isn't. Is that your problem? No, it's your opportunity.

Yep, business is business. Short of sabotage or murder all is fair.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Well, at this point the only guy that is sabatoging him, is himself.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

One of the principal tenants of selling is that if you listen hard enough your customer will tell you what his/her needs are. At that point it's the salesperson's job to find a way to fullfill those needs. A good sales person looks for opportunities regardless of where they come from.

Based on your description it sounds as if this lady was; 1) describing the needs of her husband's bar; and 2) giving you an opportunity to try to meet those needs. If you are concerned about ethics, and in this case I don't think that's an issue, be assured that the lady's comments were unsolicited.

If you believe that you can do a better job at the Thursday night gig than the existing kj by all means go over then and market yourself.

From an ethical standpoint there is no reason to shy away from seeking additional business. In doing that it's not necessary to run anyone else down. You don't need to market against the other show. Just find points of differentiation between the other show and yours and communicate that to the owner along with why you believe that those points of differentiation should be important to him.
Sell him on the features and benefits of your show. If he's a good businessman he'll make the comparisons to the other show on his own and maybe he'll give you a shot.

I'm sure that you have insurance. Has that prevented every other insurance agent in the world from asking for your business? Of course not. This is similar.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

Sounds like the wife IS actively seeking a new host. I don't think you were out of line at all.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I go the route of actually giving reasonable advice on what has worked for me in the past. Fact is a majority of the tricks any of us do work for us in conjunction with our equipment and personality and won't work for everyone. I end the conversation with a card and the statement, "If all else fails and you're looking for another host please let me know and I'll try and recommend one that fits your needs."

She came out to your gig to scope out the host, hit you with complaints and see how you handled questions. You would be irresponsible to yourself if you hadn't given her some assurance you could fill the slot should she need to. It was no accident she showed up there.

Good luck with it!

nope, you seized the moment, and dropped a hook in the water. It's up to her to nab and go!

If you beat her over the head with the stick, then YEAH, you went to far! !

don't apologize for being successful! You can be empathetic for her and his loss, but it's up to the troubled kj to figure out what he's doing wrong. If he asks, TELL him.

She came to your show NOT BECAUSE she was going out to have a nice time at karaoke, but TO SCOUT YOUR SHOW FOR A REPLACEMENT FOR THE GUY AT HERS.

She liked what she saw as an upgrade and APPROACHED YOU.

You were not activley soliciting her.

As to the other guy...clearly hes's not responsive to the customers there. Shooting himself and that bar in the foot.

Do not feel any kind of GUILT if she asks u to take the gig.

Business is business and she would be hiring you as a replacement for someone who IS NOT PERFORMING.

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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

Thanks guys, its good to hear my personal feelings echoed back to me from other professionals. I'm going to stop in Monday and check it out.

I'll let ya know how it goes.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

best of luck, KK!

Lonman's answer was short and to the point. Don't feel guilty.

I agree, don't feel guilty. It's business and even if you approached the owner and offer your services I don't see a problem. As long as you're honest in your sales approach never feel guilty about taking someones gig. ( they wouldn't lose the gig unless the show and or host was in need of improvement)

Ack! Massive snow storm!! I guess this will have to wait till Tuesday.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!