Karaoke Forums

How do you deal with the regular who constantly begs to sing more
even though you've told them time and again they have to wait their turn.

For the most part I've learned to deal with this as part of the job, but last night I had
every bad whiner that has ever come in to my bar.

at one point I saw one of them making their way to the left hand of the stage and I
rushed off the stage in the other direction to avoid another confrontation. Some drunks don't take no for an answer.

I was laughing to myself that it had come to this. Now I'm hiding like a little kid.

I thought maybe there was a magic saying that would make them stop.

Please if you have something that works for good let me know.

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

Sorry Babs, no secrets I can offer.  A firm no and its not fair to the others.  Sadly we live in a world where EVERYONE is important, at least in their own view.  I was once offered a $100 tip to allow someone to sneak into the rotation when I 35 singers one night.  I said no, frankly I felt like I was being treated as a prostitute...

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Despite the internet rumor, Karaoke is not Japanese for "drunk buffoon with microphone."  However, "rotation," is Japanese for wait your damn turn!

Check out knightshow's "BUMP ME UP" form and then adapt it to yourself.  If nothing else, it will do two things.

1.  It will get the whiner away from you for a few minutes while they are filling out the form.  

2. It is entertaining as hell to watch them fill the thing out knowing that when they get to the part about money, they will most likely quit and throw it away or if they are too drunk to realize what you are doing to them you get another laugh explaining it to them.  

Most nights my shows run 15-20 singers in rotation, so I have 2 options for the "bumpers."  $50 will get them one song away, and $100 will get them up next.  I've only had one person shell out the $100 so far, and with that money I bought a drink for everyone in queue for their inconvenience and I still had a couple bucks left over for me.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

I suppose sometimes dealing with fool's in a bar can be like babysitting, or teaching Kindergartener's..  You need to be redundant as all hell, and just keep saying "Sorry I have to be fair to everyone, NEXT"..  It's annoying, yet to do anything else might be considered rude depending on owner's perspective.  Drunk's are customers too  :shock:  It's really not unlike dealing with oversized toddlers... Some drunk's are BIG babies that have reverted back to their "terrible Two's".. (some of us that are sober have as well, yet you people don't have to deal with dry drunks... cept for times like now)...


You find obnoxious behaviour abounds (as the entertainer) when you supply entertainment in any venue where people are drinking.  Groupies weren't alway's attractive, they weren't always the type of people you welcome to "oogle" at you, and get in your space...dropping ashes on you, and spittting pretzel's with each attempted word (they think) they are forming.  What's worse, they weren't always the opposite sex  :(    There's a whole psychology when dealing with drunks.  I seriously doubt I have the composure to do it at this point in life after being away from it for so long...

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

It depends who they are....if they happen to be an attractive female, I promptly stop the show, and give them a good spanking to the beat of the roar of applause which accompanys this manuver......I only have to do this once.....if it's some big dude....well.......I hope he gets tired of singing after awhile......this only works about half the time.......if it's an ugly chick, or a guy I think I can wup with no problem, they don't get to sing the rest of the night.......this usually works all the time in the latter case.....hope this helps........jj

 LMAO ...


I can tell Johnny's over 50..   I too confuse Tuesday night at the bar, with the Sunday morning OTK BDSM fetish gathering at the local church (on occassion).  I was starting to like New Advent catholicism

(or did I end up at the wrong place)  :shock:

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

so that's what all the leather and statues were about......between the two, no wonder my knees were so sore....thank you Steven........everybody.....as to my previous post........"Never Mind"......jj

Ummm...what is OTK?  Sorry, but I REALLY don't know!  (I do know what BDSM is--I won't go there)

I appreciate the work you KJ's do to make sure we all have fun!  But I don't think I'd want to be a KJ.  I'm not very good at knowing how to deal with people.  I don't ask to be bumped up in the rotation.  But I do ask, if they're short on time, "Is there going to be time for me to sing another song?", just so I'll know whether I should go ahead and pick out another one out or not.  Last night I asked that to the KJ a few times and I said something like, "I'm sorry I keep asking that," and he said, "That's ok.  Everybody does."  See, I usually pick out my songs one at a time.  I decide what I want to sing first, then I do that, then I go pick out another song, and so on.

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I love being a mom!

It's a religious term for "Over the Knee".  Sort've like BDSM   (Blessed Day of Spiritual Mentoring)


Night everyone, long day and I have to be up early for church..  

Thing's to do list:

Bring Kneeling pad's to church...



PS.  Incidently Johnny,   I don't understand why the nun's are considered "easier going" in this "New Advent" stuff, just watch during church tomorrow morning, it's similar to other pious religions.   IOW, rather than "Yes Sister", in this religion they prefer to be adressed as "Mistress" ?  They get really quirky if you don't address them correctly too.. It's strange,  This is the first church I've ever belonged to where rather than a "Congregation", we are referred to as "Little slaves", I find that strange especially in our Politically Correct world today !  Yet there's still a draw, the same people return..even pay $$$...weird trend,  slaves have to pay  :headscratch: , and membership to the church is costly !! It's paradoxical as well how they call this newer "reformed" stuff...but they wear black, and cover their faces with black rubber masks sometimes too, additionally, they are so strict that they carry around equipment used for Corporal punishment, and use it at the weirdest times, in the strangest ways  (just like older school religion), yet some of the area's of the body that are exposed on these nuns  :shock: seem's bizarre.  I suppose it's got something to do with "Eden"   I wonder what the symbolism is...

Somehow,  I can identify with this religion though.  Can't really explain it..  Must be my spiritual side, I wake up looking forward to getting on my knee's, and fiddling with my rosary's... I guess I just needed to mature enough to appreciate the method's of how the flesh and Spiritual can bondage together even though they are of different realms.... Feel's pretty surrealistic...  Hallellujah...


[First off, My apologies to Bab's who as I vaguely recall is somewhat religious.  I'm also aware Bab's doesn't like sexual inuendo (no pun intended this time), I just couldn't help myself, Johnny's post was funny... anyway, I'll atone in church later, (It's just the new me).  I won't spam her thread with anymore posts of this nature either.... Sorry Bab's....  I've been naughty   ]

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I will ususally put up with this for a 2-3 trips to the booth then when I have had enough of this type of person I just politely say:

I'm sorry but only one song per rotation per singer. You will be hard pressed to find another bar that will let you do any different.

Unless you have something else to discuss I gotta get back to work.

If it gets too out of hand I will not hesitate pulling their slip and suggesting they find another venue to sing at for the evening.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Re: Steven' most recent post -  LMAO  LMAO  LMAO
Only you could combine the pious and the perverse in such a way that it actually sounds like it makes sense! Come to think of it ...

Re: Flippers post - Bravo. Tell 'em if they keep buggin' ya, you won't let 'em sing at all. I try to be nice about it, but that's what I do. I told one guy if he wanted to sing more, he should go buy a system and get his own show ... and he did! He didn't last long though. Just because you can sing, that doesn't make you a good Karaoke host.

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[highlight=purple]The Truth is out there. ... Way, way out there![/highlight]

I reworded the original post. The verbage came out wrong. I'm very diplomatic with problem customers.

I really try to deliver it in a non threatening way, yet get the point accross.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I'd be as polite as possible, but after the third or fourth time, I'd have to be honest. I'd ask them if they'd like it if others would get bumped in front of them for the same kind of frivelous and outrageous behavior as they're showing which stopped being acceptable in ELEMENTARY school!

"For the love of God above, act like an Adult and WAIT YOUR TURN just like the REST of the ADULTS in this ROOM!!"

by coddling these whiners, you're only adding to the problem.

Sorry too Bab's, though the last tip(not calling them up to sing anymore) is a real tried and true remedy.......and Steven, let me just say........You definetly have a gift.........jj

You have given me an idea. I love using the mic to get them to comply.
I think next time it happens I'll announce if you buy the bar a round of drinks
I will bump you up in rotation. It is only fair to compensate the people who have to wait their turn.

Usually I just deal with it like you guys do, but Friday night was rediculous. It just
wasn't one or 2 - it was like 5 of them. I thought I had my regulars trained.
There was an unusually long wait Friday that was part of the problem. I do announce
to people I appreciate their patient that we have a lot of singers and am sorry for the wait. That does help shut some of them up.

I love the idea of telling them they have to buy the whole bar a round of drinks or
at least buy all the people your bumping up in front of a drink.

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

Babs - for some reason I missed the words "Regular Customers" in your original post and in that case I would handle the situation differently. My regulars rarely ever pull this manuver on me as they know how my rotation runs. But if one did:

I would just take them off to the side put one arm around them and say something like. I just cant put you up before others in the rotation and being a regular you know that I run a fair rotation and would not consider bumping you up in front of the other regulars. I'm sorry but that is just the way it works.


The Idea about announcing for them to buy the bar a round of drinks to be bumped in the rotation is a great idea....that way it benefits all involved and is likely not to happen more than once in an evening.

Also if I  remember right you are running a computer. Have you considered a video program that will display the singer rotation on the screen in between each song?
This would help with the impatient ones.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Do you know you're looking down the barrel of a 44 magnum, the most powerful hand gun in the world and it can probably blow you head clean off?   In all this confusion I can't remember if you sang before so and so or after.    Now you have to ask youself one question.....


Do you feel lucky punk?    Well do you.....

 LMAO  :worship:

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

How about " If I bump you up then I have to bump everyone else up and you end up in the same spot your in now"

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ROBDOG *WOOF WOOF*

Good point.  Unanswerable logic.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.