Karaoke Forums

Something got me thinking --- Why not create an EVALUATION sheet to hand out to the singers and have them RATE the HOST, SOUND , EQUIPMENT etc.
The sheet would have questions and ratings from 1 to 5. No one should sign the sheet and should be made to feel to answer honestly. I bet (myself included) there are KJ's who think they are the BEST and do a BANG UP job not realizing SOME customers ,singers and owners may not agree.

Who wants to help create one of these sheets ????

I tried putting some survey type things in with the slips. Guess what, they got used as slips.

I had thought about doing a survey like this at one time but after thinking about it more decided not to. Consider the setting. Many of us play in bars. Bars have drunk people. Drunk people like to do all sorts of strange things. Give them an opportunity to open their mouths (so to speak) and you never know what kind of bizarre things will come out. Basically what I figured was the number of useful submissions would probably be far outweighed by the nonsense ones. Instead I rely on just talking with my guests and finding out from them what they think I could do to make things better.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

I agree 100%. I don't need a sheet to tell me what my peeps want. When I do, its time for me to do something else!

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

We give each of our venue owners/managers an evaluation form at the end of every contract/agreement term. It provides additional feedback (in writing) that could benefit us at a further junction down the road. It also lets the owner know that we are serious about our "karaoke business". I think it also shows a level of professionalism that most in our line of work just dont practice enough.

Its also great to send to charity, private, or corporate functions. We always send one about a week after each gig and the response is very positive. Heck, half the time we get a very nice thank you letter along with it.

Always send it with an SASE!!!!

If anyone was sober enough to fill out a form at the end of a karaoke night, I would figure that I was doing a pi$$ poor job.

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Okay, who took my pants?

I've done them off and on over the years - mostly as a tool to present to venue owners because I not only have them evaluate us as a hosting company but the location itself. I hand them out at the beginning of the night -- when they bring it to me filled in, it goes in a pile and I don't know who has done which one - but as soon as they turn it in, they get to sing next...funny how great a motivator that is.

Anyway, I think in all the years, I've had one negative one and it wasn't even that negative. They're a great tool. I'll try and scare up the last one I used. It was based on "Choose 1 for most important, 2 important, 3 not so important, 4 don't care" and I broke down everything that way. Some questions required a written answer. Everybody was very good about filling those out. In fact, I was cleaning up my office the other day and came across some. Ironically, when one of the establishments found out I was doing these, they didn't like it - not sure why - you'd think they'd want to know what people liked and didn't like about their venue. That person is no longer employed as a manager - gee....mmmmmhhhhh.....

I don't know if these would work everywhere - in fact, I still carry some with me and if it looks like there is an appropriate candidate, I hand it to them. Most of the time I get them back. People like to give their opinions, but again, it wouldn't work in a lot of places.

I evaluate mine with constant communication with owner, staff and crowd (singer& non singer). This is one on one or over the mic during lulls. I take compliments very seriously and ones from the non singers are special.

During setup I am talking to friends and meeting new ones. During teardown I am saying farewells and come again to folks leaving. They let me know if my host or I put on a good show. Also I can tell by the energy of the crowd.

Watch this video and listen to the crowd noise. This is at the start before the place packed out and gets noisier. Listen to to my host after Patti. No silence and immediate fill. I look for bobbing heads, Do not judge the sound for the mic was internal camcorder. I found out since you have to be real close to a speaker.

It is opened by the owner and his wife. Then Patti a school teacher I have known for years.

[youtube]BEYvI5v_Ilw[/youtube]

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I have comment/suggestion cards people can fill out, I get maybe 1 every couple months. Usually for a new song request.

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Because I try my best to be fair to every singer and give preference to nobody, I'm afraid I wouldn't score very high. Bad idea.

I think this is a great idea ! I love the professionalism !

Evaluation sheets are a great way to make sure your providing the service people are looking for. I would have loved to have the option of filling one out at some of the shows I've been to. Although I don't think some of them would like what I had to say.

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

Good idea. Make sure they can feel confident you won't know who wrote each one, then they will be more candid with you. If all you want to hear is the good stuff, no point in having them. Unless you are perfect?

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

As usually there are some NAY SAYERS who know they are the best and don't think that any suggestions would be good ones. The truth is there are no PEREFCT KJ's out there. There are some GOOD ONES and there are some BAD ONES.
But PERFECT ...NOT

The sheet would allow those who have complaints and ideas to be able to submit them without the fear of being TARGETED for their comments.
Even if it was one suggestion out of 10 ..it could be worth looking in to ?

I figure if you're consistantly filling seats and the bar is making money then why need them.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

My point is that if you listen to what's going on, not only while you're there, but when your not you have a good idea of how you're doing.

I know when I'm doing well, and I sure know when I'm doing poorly... the numbe of unfilled bar stools is the best "evaluation sheet" you can get.

I question the usefulness of an actual sheet in that I can barely get my patrons to fill out a song slip coherently, much less some type of written survey!!

If you think it would be useful to your business, I say go for it... but from the very beginning I've had a pretty good feel for what I was doing wrong as well as right, and have made changes to reflect that. Each time I have, things have gotten better.... I've moved on to better bars, with more pay, and larger crowds...

I'm very concious of the quality of my show. I agonize about how every singer sounds regardless of skill, that the songbooks are easy to get to and read, that the video is of the best quality, that folks can easily see my monitors, that people have easy access to when and where my shows are, that the audio is of the highest quality, and most importantly that people are smiling/dancing/ bobbing their heads, and having a good time!!

Why do I need a sheet to tell me I need to do these things?? You should already know... people do give me suggestions all the time. Some good, and I frequently adopt the good ones, but many are simply not practical and frequently illogical.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

I agree...and chances are, if you ever talk to any of your customers, you know what they like, anyway -- and most drunk people are not afraid to tell you what they don't like. I have found that the thing I find people complain about, I can't do anything about anyway -- 1 1/2 hour rotation...nothing I can do...

If people don't like your sound, they'll go elsewhere. Selection? Same. If your bar is busy, you have no worries.

birdofsong

Yes! These folks aren't just "customers"... the regulars become friends... Why would I need my friends to fill out a form?

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Kind of losing the point here. I use this tool because sometimes people may have something to say about your show or the place you're hosting at and it is comfortable to have that anonymity. I also like reassurance, particularly if management gets full of themselves (see Babs' thread) -- and frankly, sometimes we don't notice all or anything that might be wrong at a venue and everybody is scratching their head about attendance. I guess I'm saying why not give people the opportunity to say something anonymously on an evaluation sheet?

Again, I hand these out if someone is interested - not to drunks...that'd be bloody ridiculous. Furthermore, I'm certainly not afraid of what is on those evals. Don't we get a yearly review with our jobs - even if we're doing a great job?

Singer evaluations/feedback can be a very valuable tool. Ever think that some other host is doing something that might be of value to you and and your show -- and one of those evaluations might contain some info like that?

Just after I posted this the first time (this is an edit) I started to think that this type of question regarding evaluation sheets is another manifestation of the different ways people do shows. My approach to hosting is probably very different than most of yours - I am truly interested in the humanity of it. I work hard at getting into the heads and hearts of the singers, and I value their opinion. However, I can think offhand of many places where it would NOT work, and many people I would never hand an evaluation form to - because their opinion would not matter to me at all. Just my dos centavos.

Exactly! People, even though they may still come in, may not always tell the kj what's wrong or what they do/do not like!


I have them available for anyone to grab if they want. There is a box they can turn them in with their name or not. Again, the most I ever see one come back is mainly for new song requests! The last few cards I hav recieved are for BRAND new song requests, so I will be picking up some brand new songs my next buy!

Singer evaluations/feedback can be a very valuable tool. Ever think that some other host is doing something that might be of value to you and and your show -- and one of those evaluations might contain some info like that?

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Not to cause an argument ... It seems some are afraid of an evaluation.

Sure your rotation is filled and your bar is busy and your "FRIENDS" and regulars seem to be having a GREAT time. Doesn't mean they are completely satisfied or don't have any suggestions ? How about the new comer who comes in and walks out because there was SOMETHING they didn't like ? Maybe an suggestion box or evaluation form might make you aware of something you are blinded to?

Koyote - How about "DOUG" in your post who thought everything was going GREAT all this time....not realizing the owners and singers were not happy ????

The sheet could be used as a TOOL ..once in awhile
Forget how it makes you FEEL ....Think about how important it could make the singers feel if you actually asked their opinion ?