Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 30

Thread: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

  1. #1
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    The money at the club I work at in Richmond, Virgina has gone down substantially along with every other club in the area yet the management still insists we pay $10 house fees and $10 dollars or 10% to the D.J. (whichever is greater) even though we are not paid and have no guarantee of making even the $20 we owe for every booking. Yet the D.J. is guaranteed $100 a day minumum (not including his tips) and that is often TWICE what the dancers make-even if they work a double. It is not uncommon to not make enough to tip out. When we averaged $100 minimum a booking it was fine but now it takes me often three days to get to $100 dollars and that means we pay out 1/3 to 1/2 of what we earn. This does not include the chair dances of which they take half of the $20 fee, however they are not where we make our most of our money anyways as we spend half of our shift on stage.
    I would like to remain dancing and at this club in particular but this lack of tips and having to work twice as many bookings for less money really feels like we are being taking advantage of - especially when I see all the money we give them not spent properly. For example, the AC has been broken for two summers and in the summer the stage basically becomes a slip-n-slide; The ceiling leaks everywhere even on the stage and the bathroom is so frightful I hold it until I get home; The stage which is nice and big is falling apart - lights snaking out and tripping us, pitted wood, splinters and shoddy repairs - like the time they repaired some holes in the stage with the slipperiest wood possible and it is not even flush with the rest of the stage. The owner of the club is seen about every three months so I wonder where he gets the money to hire OTHER people to run his club for him. Most people I know in the restaurant industry have to work their asses off to make their business survive.
    I don't want to go to another club because the money is no better there and they make their money doing contact dances. They also have problems with their dancers (drugs, drama, thievery, breaking ABC laws, etc.) and/or nefarious owner/managers and they also put way too many girls together on a shift. We always have just four dancers. How can I get the club to give us a break during these hard times? I mean we are on the bottom of the pile monetarily and authority-wise yet we pay the D.J. his sole source of income (other than tips) AND we give the club a minimum total of $200 a day (not including lap dance fees and fines) of which I think goes directly into their pockets. I have called the city about the health and safety issues but they are slow in responding. The Labor Department says we are independent contractors and they can't do anything about it. I feel that the fees they extort from us must be illegal but nobody gives a damn and I have contacted the press as a last resort. Does anybody have any suggestions?

  2. #2
    Senior Member naughtynaomi's Avatar
    Joined
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    98
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    The only suggestion I have is to go to another club.

    I ran into the same problem with a club I used to work at and all of the top girls (and the only ones who ever showed up when we were supposed to) organized a "strike" of sorts where we told the manager that we wouldn't show if he wouldn't cut us a break on the house fees. Well, nothing changed, and we were out the little bit of $ we could have made for the day. Most of us ended up simply switching clubs. If you go check a few out you'll find that sometimes the rumors are worse than the actual conditions.

    The only other option is...if you're having to work three days to make 100....maybe you should just find another line of work. Sounds like it's just not worth taking your clothes off in your area anymore.

  3. #3
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
    Joined
    Jul 2002
    Location
    way south of the border
    Posts
    25,932
    Thanks
    612
    Thanked 10,563 Times in 4,646 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    My Mood
    Cynical

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Despite what certain labor laws say and the independent contractor vs employee dancer argument, the reality of the situation is that clubs can and do charge stage fees and mandatory tipouts. As the economy of clubs gets worse, the clubs are more likely to charge/raise fees, along with charging/raising the club's percentage of private dances. From the dancer' standpoint this sucks because a rising percentage of her declining income winds up flowing to the club. But from the clubowner's standpoint this also sucks because utility bills are rising, property taxes are rising, yet the number of cover charges and mandatory drink sales it collects are falling.

    I've posted in other threads that 'middle of the road' clubs, and the dancers who work in them, are going to have a very tough time of it in the very near future.

    Also, consider for a minute that your efforts at 'agitating' with the labor dep't and the local press will probably get back to the clubowner eventually. Right or wrong, legal or illegal, this can be bad for future job security both with your current club and with any other clubs in the general vicinity (i.e. clubowners talk to each other, and usually maintain a list of girls who are 'troublemakers')
    Last edited by Melonie; 09-16-2005 at 03:25 AM.

  4. #4
    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
    Joined
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Gettin the fuck outta Dodge!
    Posts
    14,241
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    I'd just move to a better market. There's LOTS of places not so far from VA where you can make a hell of lot more than 30 bucks a night!

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

  5. #5
    Veteran Member Alexis81's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Central PA
    Posts
    552
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    What about calling code enforcement? I have no idea how it works, but they did come into my club to inspect a few weeks ago. This may have something to do with the fact the owner of my club renovated receintly but it may be worth checking into... Personally I would switch clubs or consider travelling a few days a week... You sound like you prefer giving air dances as opposed to contact dances, but in reality a vast majority of cutsys do prefer contact so you might want to give it a thought.
    Alexis



  6. #6
    Senior Member Polo Girl's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    119
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    I make $30 a day. $6.75 x 6 hours at fast food place. $30 after taxes. U need to quit that club.

    xoxoxo

    Polo Girl

  7. #7
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Phoenix is home, work in Upper Midwest Boonies
    Posts
    3,274
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 107 Times in 61 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Big Green is in Richmond VA, and says his club's dancers make big money. I can't vouch for that.

    You're in a major city. What are the three best clubs there? Have you attempted to get hired there. It sounds like you work in a dive if the AC doesn't work and the building is run down.

    Why are you not working in the better clubs?????

  8. #8
    Featured Member tootsie's Avatar
    Joined
    Feb 2005
    Location
    on my couch
    Posts
    1,305
    Thanks
    26
    Thanked 38 Times in 19 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    the old club i worked got to be that way, when money's down the club owners see it too, they have to make sure they still get paid which really sucks!

  9. #9
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Phoenix is home, work in Upper Midwest Boonies
    Posts
    3,274
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 107 Times in 61 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Vixen, if you're working in a club where the good nights were only $100, obviously the club where you are at has never been worth a shit. You should be averaging after tip outs at least in the $150-$250 range to even justify dancing.

    $10 house fees and $10, or $10 to the DJ is NOTHING. That's only $20 minimum. If you guys can't afford that on a regular basis that's terrible.

    Plus you say only 4 dancers work. In a major city NO customers are going to want to visit a club with only 4 dancers and the competition has 20+.

    If you are going to continue to live in Richmond VA, you obviously are going to have to work in the "popular" clubs and go with the flow, or move to another city and work in the popular clubs.

    If you are not working in the popular clubs, how can you expect to make money?

    By continuing to work at this "dive" club that is not keeping up with the competition, you have no one to blame but yourself for being broke.

  10. #10
    God/dess Paris's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    6,345
    Thanks
    168
    Thanked 801 Times in 419 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    If yours is the only no contact club in a city where contact is allowed, I can see why you aren't making anything. I feel that the fees in your club are very reasonable. However the dancers aren't the only ones going broke, it sounds like.

    I don't know about your area, but in the west a call center job pays anywhere from $9-12 and hour. So let's just say for the sake of simplicity that you are making $400 a week working a call center. You will probably have at least some benefits, and you don't have to deal with all the crap that goes along with being a dancer. Wal-Mart out here pays similiarly. Fast Food is a little less, but being a waitress in a nicer place could net you $30 in tips, plus the paycheck easily. Bartending/cocktailing should make you some nice coin as well.

    I guess what I'm saying is if you can't relocate to another market, then leave the dancing for greener pastures. A dancer shouldn't be below the poverty line, considering what we have to go through to earn a living.


    Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!


  11. #11
    God/dess NinaDaisy's Avatar
    Joined
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Manhattan
    Posts
    3,432
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Most dancer would LOVE to work in a place with a $20 fee. When I danced in DC, we had quite a few girls from Richmond come up there to dance. The money in DC isn't great either, but $200 a shift for slightly less than $20 in fees is way better than $30 a shift.

    Sadly, a lot of clubs are making up for lower revenues by hiking up fees for dancers.
    "She has written so well, and marvellously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer...But this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers"

    Ernest Hemingway on writer, aviation pioneer and horse trainer Beryl Markham


  12. #12
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Bridgette
    I'd just move to a better market. There's LOTS of places not so far from VA where you can make a hell of lot more than 30 bucks a night!
    We actually have girls come from Virginia Beach to work here because they have very strict laws there-like no thongs so I can't imagine it would be worth driving there. And I really don't want to move from at this time in my life - maybe in a few years.

  13. #13
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Alexis81
    What about calling code enforcement? I have no idea how it works, but they did come into my club to inspect a few weeks ago. This may have something to do with the fact the owner of my club renovated receintly but it may be worth checking into... Personally I would switch clubs or consider travelling a few days a week... You sound like you prefer giving air dances as opposed to contact dances, but in reality a vast majority of cutsys do prefer contact so you might want to give it a thought.
    We actually don't make our money from chair dances because we are on stage every 20 minutes for a 20 minute set (20 up/20 down=repeat four times that's your shift)- no one does more than a couple dances a shift and many times we don't even do any on a shift-it's not really a hustle club like that.

  14. #14
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Polo Girl
    I make $30 a day. $6.75 x 6 hours at fast food place. $30 after taxes. U need to quit that club.

    xoxoxo

    Polo Girl
    Actually our shift is 2 hours and 20 min. long

  15. #15
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Tina
    Big Green is in Richmond VA, and says his club's dancers make big money. I can't vouch for that.

    You're in a major city. What are the three best clubs there? Have you attempted to get hired there. It sounds like you work in a dive if the AC doesn't work and the building is run down.

    Why are you not working in the better clubs?????
    I actually have worked in other clubs as do several of the girls I work with - and those clubs put way too many dancers on a shift so you rarely get on stage and/or they charge even higher house fees for making less money. Richmond really isn't a hustle town as the chair dances are pretty tame. The clubs I haven't worked at have long shifts = 8hrs as opposed to 2 and half and/or have lecherous owners who tell you that you can't work at any other club and/or drug-abusing, theiving, drama-queen girls as well as even higher house tip-outs and are fee crazy in general.

  16. #16
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Tina
    Vixen, if you're working in a club where the good nights were only $100, obviously the club where you are at has never been worth a shit. You should be averaging after tip outs at least in the $150-$250 range to even justify dancing.

    $10 house fees and $10, or $10 to the DJ is NOTHING. That's only $20 minimum. If you guys can't afford that on a regular basis that's terrible.

    Plus you say only 4 dancers work. In a major city NO customers are going to want to visit a club with only 4 dancers and the competition has 20+.

    If you are going to continue to live in Richmond VA, you obviously are going to have to work in the "popular" clubs and go with the flow, or move to another city and work in the popular clubs.

    If you are not working in the popular clubs, how can you expect to make money?

    By continuing to work at this "dive" club that is not keeping up with the competition, you have no one to blame but yourself for being broke.
    The club is working class and used to make good money-girls were not allowed to work more than four shifts and they made plenty of money. I have been there 6 years. The whole strip club industry in Richmond has taken a hit though. $20 tip out was nothing when the economy is good but now that extra hundred a week could bring me closer to 4 or 5 hundred dollars a week instead of $350.
    Our shifts are very short so that we can give four girls their four 20 minute sets - more girls would mean even less stage time and money for those working -we used to always have two girls on stage at a time but lately as soon as we get the option from the DJ -usually 10 minutes into a set we get down so that the girl coming up can have a solo - its just not worth to stay on stage. I wouldn't say any club is more popular than the others -each has its good and bad points. Although there are few that are more "skanky" with questionable girls working there.

  17. #17
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Quote Originally Posted by Paris
    If yours is the only no contact club in a city where contact is allowed, I can see why you aren't making anything. I feel that the fees in your club are very reasonable. However the dancers aren't the only ones going broke, it sounds like.

    I don't know about your area, but in the west a call center job pays anywhere from $9-12 and hour. So let's just say for the sake of simplicity that you are making $400 a week working a call center. You will probably have at least some benefits, and you don't have to deal with all the crap that goes along with being a dancer. Wal-Mart out here pays similiarly. Fast Food is a little less, but being a waitress in a nicer place could net you $30 in tips, plus the paycheck easily. Bartending/cocktailing should make you some nice coin as well.

    I guess what I'm saying is if you can't relocate to another market, then leave the dancing for greener pastures. A dancer shouldn't be below the poverty line, considering what we have to go through to earn a living.
    The one plus is that the shifts are only 2 and half hours long- even contact clubs don't make alot of money and you must compete with more girls and pay higher house fees usually. Thanks for your input!

  18. #18
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Phoenix is home, work in Upper Midwest Boonies
    Posts
    3,274
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 107 Times in 61 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Only 2 and 1/2 hour shifts? I've never heard of that. Do guys not like lap dances there, or are the laws really strict about contact?

  19. #19
    Senior Member Lexy9804's Avatar
    Joined
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Kansas
    Posts
    115
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    $100 on a good night?? What kind of club are you working in...I feel like I'm getting naked for free if I dont take home atleast $150-250 on a slow night...you seriously need to look into dancing somewhere else...
    "The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up."
    ~Marilyn Monroe

  20. #20
    Banned
    Joined
    May 2004
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    1,725
    Thanks
    92
    Thanked 395 Times in 244 Posts
    My Mood
    Angry

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Vixen

    I have worked in Richmond. I was wondering which club you are referring to ..Maybe Richard's Rendezvous on Broad St. ? When I worked there I did like the club and management/bar managers. I am still not sure if this is the club you are referring to or not..If you are I'm sorry to hear about the current conditions. All areas in Va are suffering right now. I used to pull a couple hundred every Fri and Sat night...Last week I made $37 on a Sat night.(granted we're only talking a one and a half hour shift). But thats all the work I could get fill-wise in my area. Right now I cant even afford my own apt. This lack of income is like an insult, like a blow to the face. Its so hard to keep up confidence when customers stare and dont even tip a dollar. I will keep moving forward though. Theres not much I can really do except bite the bullet and work more for less. It really does suck.

  21. #21
    God/dess
    Joined
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Phoenix is home, work in Upper Midwest Boonies
    Posts
    3,274
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 107 Times in 61 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Why are the shifts so short in Richmond? Why are table dances not pushed instead of the stage? The money in this business comes from dances. It is hard to make money if one doesn't work at least 5 hours and make a combination of stage tips and dance money.

    What is causing this slow business? Do you guys ever sit with customers? Do you build regulars who come in to buy dances from their favorites?

    We all have slow days, but slow days for me involve working a 7-9 hour shift, selling maybe only 5 dances at $20 each, and walking with $70-$120. But I work 6 days, and if I have 2 nights like that, the other 4 will be in the $200-$400 range.

    I feel bad that things are so bad for you guys there. Richmond VA clubs are obviously not set up to be lucrative for dancers.

  22. #22
    Banned
    Joined
    May 2004
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    1,725
    Thanks
    92
    Thanked 395 Times in 244 Posts
    My Mood
    Angry

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Tina

    In Va, things are unlike anywhere else. Here, be it in Va Beach or Richmond us dancers work mainly in bikini bars. Now Richmond has a few lap dancing bars, and then there is Richards which is a paistie bar. In these bars you do build regulars sit with them etc..Although there are chair dances..most of the money is made on the runway. The customers are used to tipping on the runway and back when I started in Richmond I could easily make bet $40-75 a set. Each set is 20 mins xs 4 sets per booking. So I used to make $150-200 in almost 2 1/2 hours. This was the way things work. Here in Va we're used to a lower nightly amt earned because its stage dancing--completely different then the dancing I did in Vegas for example. Its actually easier...you dont have to hustle just be sweet and pleasant to the customers and many times you can make money from just sitting and smiling..not even having to really "work" for the money. However things have changed some and it is harder to make money now.
    Also this particualr club has 1 designated chair for dances there arent table dances. Also at quite a few clubs in Va youhave to be booked in a particular time slot. A dancer cant just come in and work when she wants at many clubs here.

  23. #23
    Senior Member FL Dancer's Avatar
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    183
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Vixen,

    If you are unable or unwilling to move or change clubs then I would really suggest taking a break from dancing. The situation you describe is nothing short of explotation.

  24. #24
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    The lap dances are pretty strict and the city almost banned even the strictist chair dance which involved fully clothed dancers staying 6-12 inches away and only touching fromt he shoulders up and the knees down. There is a loophole which clubs are using where if you have a separate room without alcohol then you may get a little friskier dance. I am not sure about the ABC rules and I think they get bent in certain clubs more than others.

  25. #25
    Newbie
    Joined
    Sep 2005
    Posts
    13
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Default Re: The money has deteriorated but the fees have gone up

    Lexy its like that all over Richmond and in other clubs you may have to pay even more and compete with more girls for stage time.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Funny money fees
    By chris91 in forum Industry Insight
    Replies: 16
    Last Post: 06-07-2009, 08:47 PM
  2. Fees?
    By TheTempest in forum Dollar Den
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 12-27-2007, 09:17 AM
  3. funny money fees
    By SexBomb in forum Club Chat
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 10-19-2007, 07:27 AM
  4. Fees?
    By RedNailPolish in forum The Lounge
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-14-2005, 05:51 PM
  5. Replies: 44
    Last Post: 03-27-2003, 01:46 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •