Re: Tips for Conversation
If you're so into conversation, why not just go w/ the VIP rate & talk/drink for most of it? There is no rule saying she HAS to dance during that block of time.
Otherwise, the absolute lowest I would ever go is -$5/song of the club's dance price for clothed convo; that was only if I wasn't expecting to be in the same spot for ages & could be fairly certain I wouldn't be called to stage. Ex. if it's $25/song, tip her $20/song to sit at your table & chat. That said, she would likely still have to pay the DJ to skip her in the rotation so she doesn't have to leave you to go on stage. For that reason, I always negotiated higher, like $5-10/song more, so I wasn't having to eat the cost of that payoff, & to not negotiate w/ that added cost in mind would mean a big enough loss of $$$ for me + time for the customer that it would hardly be worth it.
Re: Tips for Conversation
Manhattan prices for VIP - don't love just chatting THAT much
It's an odd position for me - on the one hand, I'm there to enjoy myself...on the other hand, I know this is the dancers employment so i don't want to be wasting her time when she could be making some good money for her efforts
I actually appreciate the tough work it is being a dancer so if she could be making more money on stage or what have you, I'm never offended if the dancer tells me it's time to move on...just want my tip to show I appreciate her time ya know
Re: Tips for Conversation
If you're enjoying the conversation just slip her a $20, or some $5s here and there as she's talking. You don't even have to say anything. I love when customers just silently tip me while we're drinking and talking together. Even if he doesn't do a VIP I'll still like him for being respectful of my time.