Karaoke Forums

You have a successful karaoke show on Friday and Saturday nights- using 2 differrent companies. Your Saturday night show is a little slow, but doing OK. The one time you have your Friday night guy come in, the place is PACKED! You like to change things up once in a while to keep things fresh. What do you do?

That's right, you FIRE the Friday night guy. You tell him that even though the bar is doing good, making money, and there is a line of between 20-30 singers a week, that it is the same 20-30 singers. And you think the bar needs new people- not just the same ones buying the same drinks and food. Of course it is nothing personal, and we may want you to come back down the line.

HUH?????

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

when they ask you back (and they will) you may demand a higher price.

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All work and no play make Homer something something

That's the hazard of using different companies at one place.

Yep ask for more money, in the mean time keep in contact with the singers that come in for you & let them know where you are in the meantime.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I'm a bit confused here - The Friday night guy is you and everything was going fine and you were replaced?

If this is the case there is no logic taking place. Something is fishy.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Hopefully, they will ask you back and I agree that you should raise your price when they do. Your customers will complain about it. The other company probably just gave them a better price for the two days combined, but when they start to lose money, they will realize their mistake. Hang in there.

Bar owner logic...IS there such a thing? I think MANY (not all...we have been lucky many times) drink too much of their own profits, if ya know what I mean. We were scheduled for a show awhile back...it was supposed to start on an upcoming Monday. We took a poster in and checked out the set up on the Tuesday before it was to start. On Sunday, the bar owner calls us and says he doesn't think karaoke will work out there. We, of course, asked him why. He said because they were dead all weekend. We asked what that had to do with anything and he said (and I am NOT kidding), "I figured if you put the posters up, people would come in for karaoke and they didn't." ?????? We tried to explain to him that karaoke singers would probably only come in on a day when they actually HAVE karaoke, but he just said no...he didn't think it would work out and more people should have been there over the weekend. How's THAT for logic?

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Keep it legal!!!

My bar owner's logic is if we don't tell them there isn't going to be karaoke on Saturday night and bring in a band instead the karaoke people will show up and there will be twice the crowd.  :O

The karaoke crowd pulls in the parking lot sees there is a band and leaves mad. Then when I do have karaoke on Saturdays no one comes because they aren't sure if I'm going to be there or not, so my Saturday crowd dies.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

what's WORSE than that, Babs, is when the crowd finds another Saturday haunt, and finds out it's seven days a week... and suddenly you've lost regulars because of that! THey'll get used to the other host, and their specific rules.

This is a bar owner/manager logic I've never been able to fathom... oh it's just for tonight... they have NO clue how folks are!

I look at it this way. I'm going out for a steakburger. Steak N Shake, which I love by the way, isn't open due to management issues or reduced staff... so I go to a competitor of theirs a bit further away... hey, they have Diet Limeaides there... Wow, I just found me a new place to eat when I get that urge!

Yes, I'm only one customer... but I'm a fanatic on the steakburgers! Soon I start to tell other folks about this new place, and a spiral effect starts to happen.

It's the same thing in entertainment, such as bands or karaoke. You screw over your customers, they'll find it elsewhere, and MAY NOT return!!

Oh, and another wrinkle....

He tells me he doesn't want to hear a bunch of customers caling him bi&*hing about why he fired me. I wonder if he would be happy if I got a show down the road and took my "same old crowd" with me? After all, he wants only new people in there, right?

As for asking for more money, I have to say, he was one of the more generous owners out there as far as pay- paying $50-75 more than almost any other place around here.

And I spoke to the Saturday night guy- he is NOT taking over the Fridays, as he was put on notice as well. Apparantly this guy likes to change hosts every 6-8 months...

I believe my crowd is loyal, and if there is a chance of getting this gig back, how do I let them know I am not going to be there anymore, WITHOUT causing an uproar?

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

I wouldn't take the gig back at this point since he made that comment.  Obviously people were bitching to him, now he thinks it's your job to tell them to stop.  I would do exactly as you said, go down to the club next door or as close as possible.  Take the crowd he didn't want - since he already said he wants only new faces.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Are they still having Karaoke on Fridays?  Just someone new?
If thats the case and he was paying $75 a night more than average --I would lean towards a lower priced replacement as the reason - in which case you have 2 choices... offer to meet the lower price or GO down the road where I asuume the pay is lower anyway and work there ????

But he's already proven to be a disloyal boss.  Knowing that db brings in a crowd (and the other host as well - what was he being paid btw) & still dropped him the first chance a lesser pay comes in provided that's the case?  And THEN make the comment he doesn't want to hear about the customers bitching to him about why he got rid of the kj - which they obviously were doing - like db had control over it.
I would wash my hands to that club - more pay or not.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

He was paying both the Fri and Sat night guys the same (I know beause I substituted on a Saturday night a few weeks ago). He said that when he has changed hosts before he heard a lot of grief from the patrons, and didn't want to hear it this time, because, and I quote, "I am NOT firing you."....

I think since e gave me 2 weeks to finish out, I will not say anything to anyone this week. I will get as many cell #'s and emails over the next 2 weeks, and say goodbye at the end of the 2nd week.

This is a bar that has had karaoke for over 12 years. This owner has had the bar for about 7 years. He kept the original host for almot 4 years. After that he has been keeping them rotating.

Can anyone find the logic I am missing?

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

It sounds to me like the new KJ promised to bring a large crowd with them. The bar owner now thinks he will keep his old crowd and add new. He's got $ in his head. The problem he doesn't see is people are very very loyal to their KJs and will follow them where they go. He just hasn't learned his lesson yet.

Did the KJ that worked there for 4 yrs leave on his own accord or was he let go? I can see why the old crowd would have stuck around and he would have added a new crowd to them if that happened. If that's the case he has seen it work in his favor.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

What some owners see as STALE and in need of CHANGE (ie same KJ every week)
MOST patrons see as a comfort  factor that allows them (singer and non singers) to visit a bar week after week .......most people Don't Like CHANGE

If people are happy with the KJ already that is what keeps them coming back. They know that KJ knows their likes and dislikes. They know what to expect when they walk in the door. I much rather have a KJ that is familiar with my voice setting my sound. Plus being familiar with what song versions they have is nice.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I think this is about respect and business. He is only looking out for his business needs and isn't concerned or doesn't respect your Karaoke business as a true business. You have to do what is best for your business and I would let my regulars know that I was no longer going to be there as of "whatever the day is". You do not want to upset the majority of your customers to pamper an individual that doesn't care about you what so ever.

One day this "Logic" will backfire on him....just about the time he comes to the end of the available KJ's in the area. Once he has exhausted the supply his tactics will have to change. For now it only works for him, certainly not you or others.

My advice is to take your show and your loyal customers and find another venue. This guy has no respect for you or your regulars. In my opinion it is really stupid to have 2 different KJ's at the same venue, and the idea that he is mixing it up to keep things fresh.....that is pure B.S.

I have always avoided situations where there are multiple KJ's involved.

We had a bar here in Portland that would use KJ's to further his business by contacting them to do an audition for one weekend to show their skills then he would have 5 or 6 other KJ's do the same thing...so after 6 weeks he would pick the winner and they would get the job. Of course every KJ that would agree to do this would bring in their best singers and customers to really put on a great show. Then after the 6 week run he would announce that he was going to stay with the original KJ.

His logic here is the bar has rec'd maximum exposure and increased business in the process because his regulars would come in regardless, and then the KJ of the weekend would bring his folks in...so business was booming. Of coarse the auditioning KJ's would work their asses off only to be told that the original KJ prevails.  Both the original KJ and the others lost bigtime and the bar owner made out like a bandit.

I've seen this happen 3 times in 10 years here and each time the bar ends up going out of business within a year or two.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

The guy that was there for 4 years was eventually fired. Since then, it has been this carousel of hosts. I took the gig because I had been out of business for a while, and it was too good money to pass up.

I have spoken to a few of the other hosts in the area, and have yet to figure out who he has found to replace me. This past Saturday night I spoke to a few of my regulars, and I kinda let them know I was starting to feel like I was getting to my 'expiration date'. They were not surprised, and a few told me they had stopped coming for a long time because he did that stuff, and had just started coming back because they liked me. I now seem to have 5 or 6 people that told me they would start asking other places they know for me, because they like the show.

I know we all have some level of ego, or we wouldn't be here. I just can't imagine the reaction my replacement is going to get if these singers are all as loyal as they seem to be....

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

There is no doubt in my mind people will complain your gone. He was lucky enough to find you after being through so many hosts already. It is hard to find good KJs. It doesn't sound like he is very rational though especially if he already said to you he doesn't want to hear people b-tch-ng about it. He probably found a wannabe newbie with a bad system. Now why wouldn't people complain if that's the case.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

We started a show at a club that never had a KJ, worked the crowd every other Saturday for three months starting with three or four members singing the first night (A long long night) till we had twenty to twenty singers and a full bar. Then the club let us go and got a guy to come in and KJ for 75 bucks. I found out later that they have done this before to a DJ. We are now booked eight days a month and now they want us to come back. I don't think so!