Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Does anyone have some tips for making money off a guy who just wants to hang out w/ you when the club is dead... like during dayshift or its super slow and he's the only guy in the club or every other guy in the club has a girl beside him?
I can't say "well it's been fun talking to you, but I have to go off and sell some dances now!" (because there's obviously no one else to sell to). And I feel weird saying "well we can hang out for x amount of $" because in his mind it's like, "it doesn't cost her anything to talk to me, and theres no one else in the club for her to talk to anyway, if she enjoys hanging out w/ me so much why wouldn't she wanna chill w/ me instead of being bored!?"
To make matters worse, at one club I work at management seems to forget that we're independent contractors, and they kick us all out of the dressing room every goddam 5 minutes unless we just got off stage or just finished giving a private dance, in which case we're allowed to be back there for 15 minutes to "freshen up". So I find myself either sitting alone awkwardly out on the floor (because I'm FORCED to be out on the floor no matter what), or giving my time away for free to guys w/ no chance of a dance sale.
I wouldn't mind sitting w/ these guys if they at least tipped me for my time, but I just don't know how to get across that I simultaneously a) am having fun talking to them, but also b) am prepared to walk over to an empty chair and sit alone if they do not pay me, without them getting turned off or me seeming like a "money-hungry bitch" or whatever (I got bills to pay!).
-So, any tips for getting paid to talk when you don't have a good enough excuse to avoid talking to customers?
-Also, how much should I reasonably ask to be paid to just sit out on the floor and chill w/ a guy? Especially considering there might be some dancers willing to sit around w/ him for free in the hopes of a dance sale?
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
This is an excellent question, and I'd love to see some responses to it!
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Very good question. Only thing I can really think of is maybe trying to get a pity tip by saying how you've made no money and have this or that bill to pay. Though this also might turn the customer off as complaining isn't exactly fun or sexy.
If it's at the end of the shift you could try asking for a tip to pay for your taxi home, but if they do tip you for this it probably won't be much more than $20 (better than nothing though).
Looking forward to seeing some other replies to this :)
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
If I am having trouble making a sale, I will say something like "I'm having a great time talking with you. I would love it if you got a dance with me; I literally have not made anything today." Or something like that. When you get them back there give the best dance ever, and try to turn it into a multiple sale.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Oops, you asked about selling convo. Usually if I am pushy about selling the dance, they will offer. Other than that, I'm not sure.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
I don't know that there's a graceful way to do this in a dead club. What I'd start doing is ducking out of the conversation for a few minutes at a time. When the customer finally asks what you are doing tell him you are doing homework/finishing a project in the dressing room... and that you figured if you weren't getting paid you needed to at least be doing something productive.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
its hard to do it gracefully. if their are other customers a simple "well i would love to sit around here chatting for free...." usually sends them the hint that they have to pay for you to stay. Maybe if you did "I am having an awesome time chatting with you for free, but it would be even better if you tipped me" if you said it playfully and silly enough to not come across as a bitch.
If he is opposed to buying dances, try selling backrubs/neckrubs/shoulderrubs while chatting. ive always done that. and if its really dead... maybe discount it i.e. if you are in a club with 20$ dances, and would normaly sell 20$ a song back rubs, maybe do 10$ a song. usually customers opposed to buying dances who want to hang out will be more open to buying backrubs while chatting.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
If there are other customers I usually tell them ive been having fun (try to remember and use their name), then I say that "I need to get to work and mingle for awhile" and "I'll be back around" that way I can judge their reaction to that statement. Sometimes they just arent ready yet and if so they might say "oh, please do" or show interest in some way.
If the club is dead what I say depends on the type of customer. If he seems quiet, shy or "serious" I'll put it all on management and say something like
"Well hon, I'm gonna have to go pretend to look busy somehow (laugh) my manager gets on my case if I sit in one place for too long without working"
If they guy is fun and generally responds to my sarcastic sense of humor (you can only do this with certain guys) I'll just say
"honey if you want me to stay parked here you're gonna have to put some money in the meter"* and then ill motion towards or hold out my garter.
*which is a variation of a line I actually read on here long ago. ;)
and I also sell backrubs like athena said. I've gotten really good at it over the years. You would be amazed at how many guys will say yes to a backrub after they refuse a dance. Just make sure you make it clear that they're paying for it.
athena is also right about the "way" you say things. Like the parking meter thing I mentioned. It's hard for me to explain it on here, but there's a specific "just kidding, only serious" tone that works wonders. I use it allllllllllll the time.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
All of these are good suggestions. My club is usually pretty slow in the beginning of the night. If there just aren't any other good options, or all the other patrons are "busy" with other dancers, it makes it much more difficult to look busy. I personally would rather sit at the bar alone, or with other dancer friends of mine than chat endlessly for free with a customer. I hate sitting in the dressing room because it is so smokey (it is smoke free on the floor), and I hate listening to all the drama and dumb ass convo back there. I know its a stripper sin to be seen sitting alone, but I just will not have my time wasted. You can try all the great suggestions here, but sometimes the guy will just NOT buy anything and there will be no other options at the moment. I would try chatting with some of the staff for a few minutes, then some of the other dancers. If a guy is doing NOTHING, like not even buying drinks, tipping anything, won't get a dance, then it is just not worth it to sit there for a long period of time. I never sit longer for 15 minutes even if the room is VERY slow and nobody else is there. If he's tipping or buying a shitload of drinks I will sit for a while. Mingle a bit with the staff, bring a book and read it, or even try something new with your hair if you can't make the sale on anything.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
What are some nice ways to gracefully excuse yourself if they refuse to buy? I typically just say I have to go fix my hair or something, hehe.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
I've had some good luck just outright saying "Baby, I'm having a great time here with you, but ALAS! My time isn't free! Do you mind talking shop for a second, and we can get back to playtime?"
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
If it's slow you should be hard selling him on going to the VIP.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Tell them the bouncer/manager is watching you and if it doesn't look like you're working and just sitting around chatting you'll get in trouble. Take the blame off you and blame it on mean management. They'll either tip you and say well you are working then if they're nice, or say well i'll let you go..and you should leave since you probably wont get anything out of them.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
what I'll usually do is before I get up I'll just say "Hey it's been great talking to you, but I gotta go walk around. Since you weren't interested in getting me a drink or a dance, would you mind tipping me $5 for my time?"
Most guys I've done this with don't say no. If I just straight up say "Would you like to tip me for my time?" The most I'll get is $2.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Autumn Lily
what I'll usually do is before I get up I'll just say "Hey it's been great talking to you, but I gotta go walk around. Since you weren't interested in getting me a drink or a dance, would you mind tipping me $5 for my time?"
Most guys I've done this with don't say no. If I just straight up say "Would you like to tip me for my time?" The most I'll get is $2.
this also limits the guys who would shell out a significant tip. and since we are talking about getting tipped for time in a dead club, not failing at a sale and trying to scrounge up a wee bit of cash to justify wasted time, i dont think putting such a low limit as 5$ is a good idea at all. When you want to get tipped for time for sitting for a while in a dead club, it is ideal to be getting tipped a reasonable amount for the time spent with them.
if they are only tipping you two bucks... a well practiced pout should get them to cough up more no problem.
Re: Graceful ways 2 get tipped for ur time when the clubs DEAD!
Generally, asking for a dance is the best first step. If they say no, THEN it opens up the conversation for "well, how about we do x (pay for chat, massage, etc) instead so I can keep hanging out with you!"
Some guys just aren't going to buy, but most guys will say yes to one of those options:)
And if you're doing pay-for-chat you could charge 1/2 of what you'd make off of lapdances for that time, or 1/2 of the CR amount for that time, whichever you're more comfortable with. My club just has straight dances or hourly rates, so those are our charging options. We're not allowed to undercut on dance prices (thankfully) and we're allowed to charge 200-250 hourly (no less, and no more, although we're allowed to get tips).