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half a dance for half the price?
Sooo, I'm a big time newbie (first week, but going well!) and I'm just full of questions! The club I'm at you can only make money for private dances (I've only seen two girls get tipped on stage, and both tips were five dollars that they have to lean over the guy's mouth naked to get). The dances are $20 each in the booths, and when I get back there the other girls said just wait for the next song before you start. I find it awkward though chatting during the song while waiting because many guys just go on trying to grope me anyway or want me to sit on their lap. What I've done (before I knew any better, but it seems to work) is I just get going right away with the frisky guys since they're bugging me anyway. I say "If you want I can start now and you can have the rest of this dance for $10, and then we can have the full $20 dances from there". They seem to like this idea, don't turn it down, and for the guys who would probably only buy one dance anyway it works to get me $30 instead of $20. Is this an ok approach? I know it's not typical in our club, but it seems like it's helping me...
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
That's only going to be a problem if you're in a club where they count your dances and expect a cut from each one (they would charge you the full fee for each song). I don't have a problem with it, really, though I don't see why it's so hard to wait for a minute or two. Beware of other dancers having a problem with it though (they might consider it a form of undercutting).
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
Yes, I didn't think about what other dancers might think. I probably won't do this again. It just comes down to me saying 'no' with less ambivalence. If I don't want them petting/groping me excessively before I'm being paid for it, I should just sit farther away and say no like I mean it. Really, it's only been an issue with 2 or 3 guys, and they were club regulars who just seemed to want to try out the new girl's mileage.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
Another thought to consider (assuming that the club has no issue with it and they aren't counting dances for a cut) is to just start right away. Since virtually all the songs have the same length in a club anyway, just start that minute. Otherwise you are both just sitting around waiting for the inevitable. If your customer gives you a strange look, just say, "Don't worry, I'm not going to short change you one second" and then keep going. Stop dancing about at the same point in the next song.
Now, if the club is slow, I wouldn't suggest it because there is little need to. If the club is super busy though, it's a good way to maximize your time. Another concept to add on to this is stop after this first dance and make a little chit chat to finish up that second song you danced into. Then, sell him on a second dance for song #3.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I wouldn't do that for the simple fact that they will try to negotiate with you after you offer them the 10 dollars for the rest of the 1st song. Once you sell something for less, they will think they can get a better deal.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
oh and btw... if they start trying to grope me right away i will usually start the song. That just doesn't come free.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
If my club didn't take a part of each dance, I would do that. But they do so I can't. I usually spend that time to upsell them to a VIP if they want to touch.vOr I step away and say the dance hasn't begun.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I just tell them that we should wait for the next song because the club will charge me (so I have to charge them) for the full song. I've never had a problem and they seem to appreciate that I'm not trying to fit in 30 seconds of a song and then charge them for it.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I say start ASAP! Then just continue through 1/2 of the next song.
I usually don't do this since I'm lazy and wanna talk a little before I get "naughty".
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I've found the easiest way to handle this is to sit on the guys knee and explain I'm going to wait for the next song to begin and "would he possibly mind rubbing my neck or back for a moment I think I over did it on stage my last set"
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
i don't see anything wrong with charging 1/2 for 1/2 a song if the club doesn't charge a per song fee. just make sure you're clear to the guy that he still has to get at least one full dance to get that deal. otherwise, start immediately and stop 1/2 way through the next song.
i've done both of those things before. at the end of the day, you've gotta make your money, so if you've found a way to make 30 instead of 20 the do it. otherwise, you'd just be standing around for 1/2 a song making nothing and feeling awkward.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
i don't see a problem with charging half the price for half the song. however, at my club, i think that for some reason, many guys would find this to be a little pushy. if ALL of the girls did this in a specific club, they wouldn't mind. however, most girls aren't very aggressive for money where i work, so compared to them, i don't think i'd look good.
most guys seem to prefer that i start on the next new song. if i bring them back to the lapdance area right when a song starts and is maybe 30 seconds into it...and if i don't feel like having them grope me and/or making small talk, i take a long time to undress and mess with the buckles on my shoes to take them off. then i make a big deal about smoothing down my hair and getting it out of my way. (ok, not a big deal, but i take longer than i should.) FINALLY after all of that, i slowly sit down on his lap and ask him if he likes the dances slower or fast or a combination.
i don't reccommend what i do, however. it might not work for some. whatever works for you, though!
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
It seems like an ok tactic to me. You get $30 for spending the same time in the booth as you would have for $20. The only problem I see, is as Susan said, if your club takes a cut of every dance. They'll be taking their full dance cut of those half songs while you're only getting half price.
If you don't have to pay a cut of every dance, I'd keep doing it. Extra money is extra money. If the other girls don't like it, well screw em! You're not undercutting, you're getting MORE money for the same time spent in the booth. Maybe they could take a lesson from YOU on this one...
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
This tactic is perfect honest. The problem with it is that if the customer is not familiar with you he may think you're trying to scam him since buying "half-songs" generally are not SOP in a club.
Your when you get a guy to buy a dance, you should always have a goal in mind of getting him to buy another, and another after that. The key to getting him to do this is to get him to relax. If you have a customer has it in his mind he might get ripped off (i.e., he's fearing that you'll do 1 1/2 songs and charge him for two) it is going to be impeding his enjoyment, and will make his less likely to go for multiples. Yeah, you're getting an extra $10 for that half song, but you can make an extra $20 by selling another full song. And once you have him relaxed, he may go for three, or four, (or ten).
Now once the customer has some rapport with you, and knows that you can be trusted, you might want to offer him that half song. It will seem more like a deal rather than a hustle.
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Originally Posted by fallenfaerie84
most guys seem to prefer that i start on the next new song. if i bring them back to the lapdance area right when a song starts and is maybe 30 seconds into it...and if i don't feel like having them grope me and/or making small talk, i take a long time to undress and mess with the buckles on my shoes to take them off. then i make a big deal about smoothing down my hair and getting it out of my way. (ok, not a big deal, but i take longer than i should.) FINALLY after all of that, i slowly sit down on his lap and ask him if he likes the dances slower or fast or a combination.
FF, kind of nails it here. I always want to wait for the start of the next song because I want her to be ready to go when it begins, to get acquainted with her a little, and have her inquire about how she can personalize the experience.
I also should point out that a lot of music in SC's isn't exactly Top 40 material, so I may not know at what point "halfway" is. The older your customer is, the more likely that's going to be true.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
1. Guys shouldn't be trying to time a "half song", ferfucksake.
2. If the stripper offers to go ahead and finish the remaining song for $10 and do the next full song at full price, I don't see the problem unless the guy is just OVERLY paranoid about getting ripped off. ::)
3. Some guys, as I've often said, need to relax a bit with the friggin sensitivity. Every stripper isn't trying to rip you off.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
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Originally Posted by Bridgette
1. Guys shouldn't be trying to time a "half song", ferfucksake.
Heh, heh. We shouldn't have to time a full one either.
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2. If the stripper offers to go ahead and finish the remaining song for $10 and do the next full song at full price, I don't see the problem unless the guy is just OVERLY paranoid about getting ripped off. ::)
How do we develop this paranoia? By getting burned a few times, and unfortunately some unscrupulous dancers pulling bait and switch tactics aren't that uncommon.
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3. Some guys, as I've often said, need to relax a bit with the friggin sensitivity. Every stripper isn't trying to rip you off.
Yes, but getting the customer to relax is part of a dancer's job. If you start off your dance with something that puts the customer on edge, you've already commited a strike against him buying a second one.
I can't count how many times I've had girls drag me into the LD area as a song began, and a good 15-20 seconds ran off before she actually got me to sit down, removed her top and shoes, and then they started dancing.
This was particularly true when I was out in Colorado back in June. A number of girls (at three different clubs) pulled this stunt. Just the same, a number of other girls who weren't pulling it made it explicit to me that we would wait until the next song so I got my money's worth, and we usually chit chatted for a bit. The gals in that latter group knew that it was paramount to get me to relax in order to get multiple dances sold.
So, paranoid or not, guess who ended up doing a lot of "one-and-dones", and who ended up taking $60-120 chunks apiece off my tiproll.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
this seems like an innovative idea, and i'm glad to see some dancers who are being considerate of the "half song" problem. As a customer, I DO feel ripped off when I ask for a dance right when a song starts. Then it takes a few seconds of the song to get over there, THEN she has to put on her LD shorts, THEN she has to do the bookeepping work with the VIP bouncer, THEN explain the rules of the dance to me. Soon, I've missed half the song!
Your 'song-and-a-half' idea sounds creative, but it might be hard to pull off, and explain to guys who have been drinking a little or just can't hear very well. Usually if guys don't understand, they'll just nod and agree to anything. Then they may get confused and wonder "Why the hell was this $20 dance $30?"
maybe a better alternative is just to take a quick bathroom break or something and time everything just right so you have all the preliminary stuff out of the way and are ready to go as soon as the song they're actually charging for starts.
All VIP dances at SC's are expensive enough anyway. If you make $20 for song that last 3 minutes, that's equivalent to earning about $400 an hour, which most heart surgeons don't even make. So, it's just not feasible to expect being "on the clock" for every single song that the DJ plays. If your dances take a little prep work, you shouldn't be charging for this. Pre-song conversation should always be gratis.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I think this is brillient. I am going to try it myself!
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
Well, how does the manager and other girls feel about it? If you are allowed to charge your own prices then fine, do so, but if it is set price then stick to it. The customer you just did a half a dance for could go tell the other girls, "well, such and such did a dance for 10 bucks", then you have other girls aggravated and telling management. If I must start a dance mid-song then I finish mid-song, however, custies aren't typically a big fan of this. If they are aggravating you prior to dancing maybe you should rethink your ability to dance for them. Guys that are handsy on the floor I will typically not take upstairs for a VIP because it tends to cause more aggravation then anything. The handsy customer gets thrown out and I get groped, what good is that for anyone?
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
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Originally Posted by dirrtyd
All VIP dances at SC's are expensive enough anyway. If you make $20 for song that last 3 minutes, that's equivalent to earning about $400 an hour, which most heart surgeons don't even make. So, it's just not feasible to expect being "on the clock" for every single song that the DJ plays. If your dances take a little prep work, you shouldn't be charging for this. Pre-song conversation should always be gratis.
If I was DANCING every song in a hour, I would be making that much. But lets face it. The sales pitch takes time. The walk to the VIP takes time. The "gratis" convo to kill the tag end of the song takes time. The walk back to the floor, the business convo woth the VIP host, getting re-dressed, all of ity takes time. NOBODY is dancing every song every hour. Where I work, ther eare rarely envoug customers to keep six girls busy continuously even if the WERE all siting there waving money and urging us to begin dances without any sales pitch whatsoever.
So speaking of what;s feasible, it is certainly not feasibel to imagine a dancer is making $400 an hour! Especially not in a smaller club or on a slow night.
Besides, she is not talking about trying to push a half-dance on EVERY guy she takes up to VIP. She is looking for a win-win answer to a situation she has with a very few guys who just can't wait to get started.
Either they can pay a little extra go get started right away, or they can bloody well wait until the next song starts. Free pre-dance convo should have taken place while she was pitching the custy, she does not owe any more.
I think this idea is brillient. Custy are happy and entrtained, dancer is happy and getting paid for dances and parts there of that she is actaully doing. This is a win-win situation. If the other girls are worried about her undercutting, then let them rip off this idea and try it themselves.
Personally, I would not worry about what the other girls think. If they want to be catty and petty, they will do it, regardless of what she is doing.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
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Originally Posted by dirrtyd
If you make $20 for song that last 3 minutes, that's equivalent to earning about $400 an hour, which most heart surgeons don't even make. So, it's just not feasible to expect being "on the clock" for every single song that the DJ plays. If your dances take a little prep work, you shouldn't be charging for this. Pre-song conversation should always be gratis.
I agree with Colleen- usually I spend at least one or two songs making the pitch before I dance, and nobody in our club makes money on stage, etc...Most girls think selling 5 dances an hour as an average is a very good night at our club. Hahaha, and it's $20 Canadian ($16.50 USD), for a very high contact dance... I offer the half deal when it's very busy, and I do make it very clear what we're doing. I'm more than happy to chat, prep, and wait, but if he's handsy, is very insistent for me to sit on his lap, touch my boobs, etc, then I'll say "Ok, well if you like, I can start now, and just charge you $10 for the rest of this song (only if the song is clearly not close to finishing) and then $20 for the next song...That is, if you really want me to start dancing right now." If he agrees, and I know he's clear on it, then I continue. We don't give management a cut, and no one has said anything so far. It's rare that I do it, but I think it's ok for those times when it seems appropriate.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
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Originally Posted by dirrtyd
If you make $20 for song that last 3 minutes, that's equivalent to earning about $400 an hour, which most heart surgeons don't even make.
You guys have got to ground your estimates of what we make in reality. Most of us are doing really well if we make $80-$100 an hour. The only way anyone makes $400 an hour is in the champagne room, and stays that last for an entire shift are rare, rare, rare.
As you noted, the reality is that we take time to make a pitch and close the sale. And most of us aren't trying to start in the middle of a song. I recommend if a dancer tries this, the customer ask her to wait until the next song starts. If she won't, you can always decline the dance.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
I see I’ve struck some nerves. Of course I understand that dancers don’t make $400 an hour… this would be an outrageous expectation of many dancers’ pay. At the same time… a dancer is also way out of line to expect that she’ll be doing a LD for every single song that the DJ plays.
BUT… Is this not the mind-set of the girl who shortchanges a guy by starting her dance halfway through the song and charging the same price? Is she not doing this because she believes her time is so valuable that she can’t afford to waste even half a song to take care of the prep work?
All I’m saying is that as a customer, we appreciate it when you just visit with us and break the ice for the last few seconds of the song that’s playing, so you can start the actual LD on the first note of the new song. Worse, we get PISSED off when you do the opposite and literally charge us for the time that you’re changing shorts and telling us the rules. I have a buddy who won’t ever go back to the club with me because of this stunt.
So to close:
1) No matter what, just be considerate of the custy’s money… your time is not as valuable as a heart surgeon’s… that’s why you don’t make as much as they do.
2) Its impossible to LD every single song… so don’t act like it IS possible and be in such a hurry. It won’t kill you to have a free conversation for half a song, and this is an investment in repeat business.
3) The original idea was still pretty good, at least as far as the grabby custy’s are concerned.
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
dirrtyd, if you (and other custies) would stop patronizing the dancers that do this and spend on the ladies that treat you properly, the wealth would be better utilized and more people would be happy.
I personally dont' dance for anyone that I don't talk to first. Even for the specials, I sit and talk to them before and/or after our time together dancing is over...
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Re: half a dance for half the price?
If the club is quiet, I will wait for next song.
If its busy, I will begin to dance as soon as accepted. If they complain, I will offer to go well into the next one. If they are hesitant (from being ripped off) I will immediately just jump in lap and cuddle for damage control until next song. I don't like the 1/2 song for $10 idea the more I think of it. Discussing money in that nickel n dime fashion is a poor selling point, don't make them think about money at all unless they seem sketchy and you want payment upfront.
Taking the top off is PART OF THE DANCE! Don't do it until you have begun or you are going to blow your wad in the first minute (shoot your load? Whatever, you know what I mean....)