Clever ways to reference your tip jar?

[muscmp]

assuming you aren't paid, just state that," we have a tip jar and would appreciate it if you add to it. thank you."

play music!

[joeguam]

Originally Posted by billyfamilyvide

I let the audience know that it is there in a joking manner.

Curious to know, how did you execute this?

[Wade Hampton]

After I wrote:

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton
Exactly. I always salted the till.

I remember once on this forum when we were discussing this topic, when I mentioned that it was a good idea to put a couple of bills in the jar to start with, somebody else on the forum just became enraged, and really jumped down my throat about it. My explanation that it was out of simple necessity enraged him further.

Dwasifar replied:

Originally Posted by dwasifar

I would love to read that. Can't find it searching though, because you're such a prolific poster. Do you happen to have a link to the thread?

Nah, I don't keep track of stuff like that. It was several years ago.

What it comes down to is that some folks simply dislike tipping performing musicians to begin with, and then if you mention the common technique of putting a couple of dollars in the jar beforehand, to them it's dishonest and manipulative. When they feel that way you're not going to change their minds by calmly explaining why it's necessary.

Then Al wrote:

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

After a customer stole money from my tip jar while I was on break I switched over to a large pastic sun tea jar with a screw on top. I cut a slot in the top big enough for money and too small for a hand. Has anyone else here had theft from their tip jar?

I've had a few try, both when I was a street musician and later when I was playing clubs. It's usually drunken young men who think they're being clever.

No, correction: it's ALWAYS been drunken young men who think they're being clever. If any women ever tried it, they must have been stealthier thieves than the guys were because I never caught any of them at it.


whm

[LSemmens]

Thanks for the explanation, Mike. I wonder how well it works. The intent, if guess correctly, is to provide incentive for service staff to provide good service. I guess that it works, not having had any experience of it. I must admit to being a little dubious of that, inasmuch, if every place is doing that, what is to differentiate the standard of service from one establishment over another? To me, it would seem to be better to put everyone on wages and then, allow customers to tip if they really like the service, rather than tip, just because you got served. Anyway, I'm not looking for an argument, I'm just trying to understand it.

I do see the advantages to tipping the entertainment, though.

[crikey]

I think it's like one of those things that some salesmen are blessed with: a special charisma that can catch you off guard and make you chuckle while opening up your wallet. For me, the unexpected quick/short story between songs about how they got a flat tire on the way to the gig, or their daughter just got accepted to the University, etc. (all with the same punchline of course), have worked on me. But I generally tip anyway. I particularly liked reading the Billy Joel one.

[MikeBmusic]

Originally Posted by LSemmens

Thanks for the explanation, Mike. I wonder how well it works. The intent, if guess correctly, is to provide incentive for service staff to provide good service. I guess that it works, not having had any experience of it. I must admit to being a little dubious of that, inasmuch, if every place is doing that, what is to differentiate the standard of service from one establishment over another? To me, it would seem to be better to put everyone on wages and then, allow customers to tip if they really like the service, rather than tip, just because you got served. Anyway, I'm not looking for an argument, I'm just trying to understand it.

I do see the advantages to tipping the entertainment, though.

Oh, I agree, the 'requirement' of tipping has gotten out of hand in the US, because of the low wage situation, you're expected to tip a minimum 15% even if you had lousy service.

[billyfamilyvide]

Originally Posted by joeguam

Curious to know, how did you execute this?

Verbally but not over the mic.

I've had the same gig for nearly 2 decades. It's pretty much known at this point where my jar is so luckily I don't even have to mention it anymore. It's more of an ironic joke if that makes sense.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by Al Acuff

I don't gig much these days but when I did I kept copies of my set lists by my tip jar. Customers could take one to their table and make requests off the "menu". When you play requests you make good tips

That's brilliant. If the OP has that option, you could reference the menu instead of the jar, then people will look for it.

[rmsstrider]

This post reminds me of a t shirt i saw the other day that struck me as kinda funny. "Will Play For Free, Will Stop For Money".

[Al Acuff]

That reminds me of a true story about a banjo player here in New Mexico. This guy had somehow managed to snag a gig as a solo entertainer in a bar that catered to a blue collar local crowd. To make it worse this guy was playing Indian ragas on the banjo. The audience took up a collection and raised about $50. He was offered all the money to stop playing and go home. He took the offer LOL

I swear by all that's holy that I didn't make this up. I worked as a musician at the same bar and heard the story from the bartender who saw it happen. If you think about it, it's kinda like when a farmer gets paid a subsidy not to grow a certain crop. Where do I sign up?

[Dondoh]

For those who worry about pilfering of their tip jar...

When I worked in a bar, we filled the tip jars with water.
The patrons loved it, and it made it almost impossible to put your hand in undetected. Running away with the jar is also difficult, though not impossible.

Sure, you have a bunch of wet money at the end of the night, but you do have the money after all.

Protip: Bring a baggie for the wet money and dry it on the back of a box fan at home. The wind pressure holds the bills to the grate on the back of the fan and they dry out really quickly.
Bonus: Even old bills are crisp after this treatment.

If I were to put out a tip jar, I would go with the fishbowl idea from earlier in the thread, but I'd add water and some fake fish.

Cheers!

[Timotao]

Years ago an older woman, the mother of one of our fans (and sometimes bass player), would always attend our Friday night gig. About halfway thru she would take a hat, and walk around the audience (on a porch with tables and chairs) and just put that hat on each table. Peer pressure really works. She moved to Tennessee and now our tips income is 1/10 of what it used to be! Not that we are the best in the business, but we could have been playing the worst music and we would still get great tips with her around! NOTHING works better to get tips than having a nice old lady pushing a tip hat in each and every face.

[ChrisE]

Originally Posted by Timotao

Years ago an older woman, the mother of one of our fans (and sometimes bass player), would always attend our Friday night gig. About halfway thru she would take a hat, and walk around the audience (on a porch with tables and chairs) and just put that hat on each table. Peer pressure really works. She moved to Tennessee and now our tips income is 1/10 of what it used to be! Not that we are the best in the business, but we could have been playing the worst music and we would still get great tips with her around! NOTHING works better to get tips than having a nice old lady pushing a tip hat in each and every face.

That's pretty much the approach I saw on Broadway in Nashville, except it was usually one of the more attractive/personable band members.

[Von Beerhofen]

Have you tried flashing LED spotlights?

Ludwig

[jaybones]

Generally I place a bucket (there's he Roundhouse Bar on Put-In-Bay that sells buckets of beer, they're red and have a white logo on them, very recognizable in this area) in front of me.

Always helps to throw in a couple bucks seed money, I've found if people see it empty they think "Well nobody else is tipping so I don't have to."

If they see a couple bucks in there, I'll even put one under the folded down handle sticking up and out so it looks more full than it is they'll usually dig into their wallets.

When I performed in Key West 6 afternoons a week at The Tree Bar the house had a pitcher with the sign TIP$ on it. Other players had added their signatures or stickers to it, and I signed my name as well. It was pretty cool, had some bills taped to it to make it look fuller than it was.

I've even heard people say something like "Requests are free. If you actually want me to play the request, that costs money."

Never felt fully comfortable with that, since if you pay me you expect me to play what you want to hear. And if I don't really know it, but try it anyway, you might be disappointed.

Then there's the drunken fool who screams FREEBIRD! between every song. If I had that policy he could put something in the jar and then I'd have to play it for him.