Things have been going well, but something came up in my restuarant work and I'm not sure how to handle it or how to perceive it.

At the one restaurant that is brand new (six weeks now), I do facepainting for one month, then the next month. balloon twisting, then the next month magic and other stuff, and then rotate back to facepainting.

Well, this month August is scheduled for the first round of balloon twisting. It is listed on my website and the restaurant announces it as much as possible. But a family called the restaurant the other day and asked if I could facepaint for a family birthday (there are only seven kids in the group). They still want the balloons and the magic, but they want facepainting too because they heard such great things about my work. Seven kids isn't a problem, but what happens if a whole soccer team walks in next time and wants what isn't scheduled? What about all the other families who are becoming regulars who will see this family get facepainting and not just balloons?

The owner wants me to facepaint in another room in the restaurant and if anyone asks, she is telling them that the guests hired me to facepaint, but even if they did (which they didn't) I still don't want to have to facepaint AND do balloons the same night. I wear a different costume and dont want paint on my balloon attire. I pack large and have too much FP and balloon stuff to carry to make this fun for me as well.

The restaurant owner asked if I would do this one time as a special favor, but I'm still annoyed that customers have the nerve to ask the restaurant to provide this when they know full well that I am NOT doing facepainting that night. I'm unsure how to handle this.

Should I shut up and do it? Afterall, the restaurant IS paying me to be there hourly, so I guess I should just suck it up and do both, but I also feel like this family is, in a way, taking advantage of me. I mean, isn't this a cheap way to get party entertainment without paying for it? Or is this the way restaurant work works?

I'm confused and unsure how to handle this.

It would seem to me that what the customers REALLY want is a private booking, which the restaurant ought to gratefully offer in their private room at another time than your usual weekly slot for your usual fee for such an event. Everyone really is asking too much of you here, and while you may just want to go along with the program "this one time" I would also make it clear to the owner that any future requests ought to be handled distinctly at a separately billed rate from your usual weekly scheduled work.

Well said Tim. Do you have a written contract with the restaurant? It could be written into that. I"m sure you didn't anticipate this happening when you first started this, but I would ask for future bookings at this establishment have this clause written in. No private parties without additional $$. If the owner of the restaurant is asking a favor this time then he better meet you half way and offer to pay a driver to assist with the extra inconveniences. Driving you and your stuff to and from you house and helping with loading and unloading, or anything else you need. I'm sure he has an extra person on staff. He can foot the bill to hire you an extra assistant. Or better yet hire your own and bill him for it. I don't think that is too much to ask. After all he is making money off that private party.
Sara K.

I rotate myself from month to month, and fortunately this has not happened for a group, I did however get asked to switch one month as the school that was meeting at the resturant requested face painting, but the manager just asked that I switch my routine, that way every one got the same thing. Does the manger/owner of the resturant realize that if he does this for one family others will request special attention also and this take away from your time with the others in the resturant, offering you as part of a party package in itself would not be bad, if you and he worked out an arrangement before hand. He could promote that service and you could be approp. compensated. Perhaps you could approach this way [that is if you interested in this.] and of course they would need to make a special booking for parties with you, beforehand.

I am not going to say go for it or not go for it. All I want to suggest is that if you do
deside to do it maybe you could have some sort of apron you could wear to make this work for you.
Spangle
But do remember what you do now you will probally be doing it again. And remember the restaurant is you customer and your door to reach many others,
Still Spangle

so just do face painting that night..... It would be best had the family hired you but still the owner knows they came there because of you and that is good for business. Hopefully the guys not a complete jerkoff and will tip you well for doing his kids party.

Who knows? Maybe they tip well!

I too am hoping the family will offer you some sort of additional compensation. That would only be fair.

StuartPid: Yeah. That would be nice to just do facepainting, but the problemo is that I've already sent out the message to other patrons that I'd be doing balloons. That wouldn't be fair to everyone who is expecting balloon entertainment.

I will let everyone know what happens, Will give an update Thursday evening.

Best of luck!!!

Artsy,
Can you wear your regular balloon costume and then wear a big apron (like those barbecue ones) over your regular costume when you face paint? I know that is one more thing to haul. Maybe the restaurant could lend you one from the kitchen? I can show you how to make a cheep chefs hat you could add to the look if you wish. I have a cute apron with pockets I use for teaching I wish I could lend it to you.:). Wishing you well.
Sara K.

Here's another thought I had. . .

Suck it up and do the face painting. . . Tell the party that you try very hard to make your customers happy, but it was -that- much more effort for you to satisfy their needs. Let them know that you pack big and what a schlep it was to bring your entire accouterment. I wouldn't be afraid to tell them how much more effort it was for you to do their party.

They are just out there to have a cheap party. . .
Just my two cents.

Thanks AZ. Yeah, I hear ya. I plan to take the "alpha" person aside from the party group to remind them that I am doing this as a special favor and in the future, they will have to hire me at $xxx. per party on another night other than Family Night, (so that they know that this isn't gonna happen again, and that a few dollars of a tip for all this effort would be an insult.) At the same time, I don't wanna rock the boat with this new restaurant but I also dont wanna be taken advantage of either. This restaurant is located in an upper income, highly educated area, so charity work in Poorville isn't the case. The bad economy doesn't seem to affect this affluent area, so we shall see how grateful they are.

And Sara,
yes I do wear a facepainting apron and I have another apron that I wear for balloons and pocket/table magic, so it's just another item *sigh* I have to drag with me. I wear an entirely different costume, although it is still "Artsy-like." And for some weird reason, I like wearing certain costumes for certain entertainment, even though I am still portraying "Artsy."

I try hard to edit my inventory list for a gig, but I can't figure out how to travel light without sacrificing my itinerary.

The restaurant owner told me to travel light and not to bring my whole FP setup, which is a relief. She also suggested that I bring just a few colors with me and not my tray of 35 colors. Yeah. Right. Like THAT's gonna happen. I can't bring just a few, because whatever colors I leave home will be the ones I'll need and won't have. LOL! My tray is setup and is in a color order in such an obsessive compulsive way, that I could close my eyes and still know where each color is. To just pull a few colors out and use them would throw me off. I guess I am not very flexible when it comes to changing things around after I figure out what works best for me.

Beat the alpha up!!!! Haha. . .best of luck. . .

The restaurant owner told me to travel light and not to bring my whole FP setup, which is a relief. She also suggested that I bring just a few colors with me and not my tray of 35 colors. Yeah. Right. Like THAT's gonna happen. I can't bring just a few, because whatever colors I leave home will be the ones I'll need and won't have. LOL! My tray is setup and is in a color order in such an obsessive compulsive way, that I could close my eyes and still know where each color is. To just pull a few colors out and use them would throw me off. I guess I am not very flexible when it comes to changing things around after I figure out what works best for me.

"You know, sir, that's a good idea. And in your kitchen that night, the cooks will be working with a limited set of ingredients, also, right?

Oh, sorry, that's not on the menu this evening!"

Get the clients number and contact them directly. Perhaps, you can convince them that the best thing is to reserve the room for a night other than the night you are twisting and then you can paint. I'm kinda leaning towards the cheap birthday party idea. I can understand that, and don't blame them; it's tight everywhere, but....doing both means that neither can be done well.

Yeah, Scruffy, you're right. In my "deer in the headlights" lack of a timely response, it is too late to call them. I did think about doing this the day the owner called me, but thought it might have been overstepping my boundary to ask the owner for the number to call the patrons directly. The owners are, afterall, paying me to be there, so I guess it's "their gig" that I answer to. They are really really nice people and they said on the second night I was there, that they "want me to be at their restaurant forever..." That's a great compliment!

I still dunno how to react to all of this. Sometimes I help myself fail miserably from too much "paralysis from analysis" and that's just as bad (but safer at times) than being impulsive and regretting poor choices.

The restaurant work is new for me, and I am navigating the waters as I go. I am leaning toward doing restaurant work and birthday parties exclusively and getting away from the outdoor festivals, fairs, summer camps, and vendor setups. It's wearing me out. I get a bee in my bonnet about this every ten years! LOL! So I suppose this is why I am treading the waters carefully because I want this line of work to be successful. Air conditioned indoor environment away from impending rainouts, humidity, and flying insects, with set hours and happy people with a hint of ice cream in the air for dessert... Yeah... that's a good thing to strive for.

Well, tomorrow is THE DAY, so I'm just gonna jump in and see what happens.

[quote=Artsy;109298]how to perceive it. ????????

...what happens if a whole soccer team walks in next time and wants what isn't scheduled?

What about all the other families who are becoming regulars who will see this family get facepainting and not just balloons?

...she is telling them that the guests hired me to facepaint...(which they didn't)

Should I shut up and do it? [quote]



HI ARTSY!

This makes me heart sick. Thank you for sharing your struggle with this dilemna. Before I share my thoughts I want to say that I do not do restaurant work and while I twist balloons on the side, by day I am a mild mannered government employee with a fair salary, health insurance and other benefits. The balloons don't pay my bills. So, I have the luxury of being able to do balloons on my terms, when, where and how I choose. If this were my livlihood, my opinions and advice on this might be very different. I am sure it adds a whole new dimension when this is your business. So, that being said, I may not be the best person to comment. I have no clue what I am talking about...

How should you perceive the situation? I would perceive this as someone who feels they have purchased your integrity. And, from the little I know about you from reading your posts here, I am quite certain it is not for sale.

The owner is asking you to give preferential treatment and help her deceive her customers. In this case, children! :cry:Someone who does business like that is not someone with whom I would want to do business. What might she think if you do give in to her request? Will she question your integrity in future interactions? Will she think you are someone who can be bought? Will she begin to manipulate and take advantage of you as she sees fit? If so, how will these things make you feel? Can you feel good about your business relationship with this person if you allow her to pressure you into doing something that you don't think is right?

As difficult as it would be, I would call her first thing in the morning and say something along the lines of...

Hello Ms. Pushy. I apologize for the last minute nature of this call. I have been preparing for your engagment this week and as I have really been stuggling with the idea of face painting for a single family at the expense of your other customers. I am concerned that this might create disappointment and misunderstanding for the children and their families who are coming for balloon twisting. I would feel much better if we could stick with the original plan and maybe talk about how I may be better able to accomodate special requests in the future.

If she is less than gracious and understanding this is not someone with whom you want to maintain a long term business relationship.

You are a talented woman of integrity. You have valuable skills and are doing your customers a HUGE favor. They compensate you for the privilege of experiencing your talent. You are not for sale.

Easy for me to say... I'm not the one who has to make the call. :(

it's too late now, I suspect, but yeah...I think I'd enter the special room with a bit extra 'flair for the heavy schlepping'...make the kids laugh, but make sure the adults get the point (eyes are wonderful for that sorta thing)... I realize you're stuck, as I would be (way too softie, am I)... and definitely tell the restaurant person that it's not happening again.

unknown whether you can snag some quick tattoos or something to hand the 'balloon only' kids, because, yeah, they'll see what's really going on...

or <evil grin> you could tell the restaurant owner, 'very well, so the family is hiring me - which means you, or they, are going to cough up the $$ that I charge for private parties' ...this repairs the otherwise lie, and gives pause to the next 'favor' request..

(and I love the line about the restaurant offering a reduced menu because they didn't stock certain ingredients!! hehehe!!)

and, amen on the integrity thing...

Realistically.. if this a new restaurant... no one cares what night is what.. Just switch to face painting that night and don't do balloons... why stress out and create such a fuss. I would not say anything about it to the owners or the patrons as there reaction will be similar to mine "so just face paint and get over it" The easier you are to work with and the more flexible you are the better. If it is THAT big of a deal tell them no and go find another restaurant.

JJ HIL's comment:
or <evil grin> you could tell the restaurant owner, 'very well, so the family is hiring me - which means you, or they, are going to cough up the $$ that I charge for private parties' ...this repairs the otherwise lie, and gives pause to the next 'favor' request..

Oooh! I LIKE that a lot! I would feel comfortable saying that.

I can say, "So since this is a birthday party booking, my party rates are $XXX. Will the restaurant or the patron be paying for this service, or will you split it? This way I am not succumbing to anything less than my standard rate. Thanks for your comment.

And StuartPid:

I don't mean to make this become such a fuss. I suppose part of this is due to my history of doing full-blown theatrical stage productions where everything has to be perfect and timely and in place. I guess it's still in my blood and I have to learn to relax. But on the other hand, I am simply asking for advice on the forum because this is what the forum is all about---asking, learning, and sharing ideas.

And unfortunately, as simple as it seems to "just do it and who cares what night I do what": I cannot change my entertainment on a whim when it is indeed advertised and posted with what I am doing each week. That would be false advertising and misleading.

SO HERE"S WHAT HAPPENED TONIGHT:
I just returned home from THE NIGHT and I am laughing as I write this because this party turned out to be THREE KIDS in the group! THREE!!!!! And one was the birthday girl! LOL! LOL! LOL!

I had no problem facepainting them in the blink of an eye in another room, and it hardly took any time away from Balloon Night. Other patrons were seated in the restaurant and didn't even notice the "special favor." The three kids got cheek art, whoopie! I was expecting to do full-fledged faces of elaborate detail designs and all they chose was simple cheek art! HAh! But the birthday girl was very very shy and spoke very little. She was adopted from a China orphanage and all she wanted was Artsy's facepainting. She didn't even really respond excitedly to her gorgeous birthday cake that was a Disney Princess Castle with all the Princesses surrounding the castle! And everyone sang Happy Birthday and she didn't bat an eye with any expression. Poor thing!

I made a pink and purple princess crown with metallic white pearls on top ahead of time without even knowing what the party theme was. There was a very frail elderly grandfather present who just got out of the hospital and it was his birthday too, and he asked for a yellow octopus! Luckily, I had a yellow smiley face balloon, so I used that and whipped out eight legs of 260s. Viola! Done! He was sooooooooooo happy to hold his octopus! Thank goodnes I knew how to make THAT! LOL!

So facepainting just three kids didn't put a dent in my time and as far as my tip from this party, I was tipped, not crazily generous, but more like above average for doing three facepaintings and balloon hats for four people.

The big party ended up being just another family gathering on Family Night, which is what tonight is all about. I'm satisfied with how everything turned out. The restaurant was jam packed with kids!

So bottom line is:

It's a learning experience. I now know what standards I must put in writing so that this doesn't occur again on a much larger scale, where it would have been detrimental.

And I do thank everyone who commented. I need lots of perspectives to find my own insight and comfrot zone and to find a balance with my sea legs when I'm on the high seas of uncertainty.

Awesome very well done roll with them punches

Thanks for letting us know how it turned out

Great job, Artsy!!!!!!!

Glad the mountain turned out to be a molehill this time. You sound prepared for next time. Glad it turned out O.K. but it was good you were getting prepared for the worst.
Sara K.

Glad the mountain turned out to be a molehill this time. You sound prepared for next time. Glad it turned out O.K. but it was good you were getting prepared for the worst.
Sara K.


Now I understand this saying even more now:

Plan for the worst

Hope for the best

Enjoy the rest.

I enjoy seeing mountains turn into molehills,

Smooth sailing is even better-- LOL!

Hi,
We do things a little differently. I and my "underlings" rotate on a weekly basis:balloons; face painting; and arts & crafts. We save the magic show for our private party bookings, which can be done throught the restaurant.
Yes, we have had some complaints from the management, but when they realized that their clients are more apt to come back if they have something new to look forward to they got the picture-if you give them everything at once, they have no reason to rush back-they already got it all. They also don't value your service. It becomes run of the mill.
We offer party packages with the restaurant-and set our price-the mngt pays us for the booking like if they had a private party. We offer:balloons, face paints, and our "themed to the restaurant" magic show. Good for the restaurant and good for us.
NEVER LET THEM THINK BECAUSE THEY PAY YOU AN HOURLY WAGE THEY OWN YOU!!! You are doing the restaurant as a way to advertise yourself-do you charge as little for parties???
You have a talent, and you should be compensated for your work. If you had an arrangement for 1 month this activity, next month alternate activity-stick to it, they will take advantage otherwise, and why would customers want you for a private party if they can get a meal and clean up too(and not have to pay you)???!!!

Congrats to you for a successful event Artsy! :applause:

So glad it worked out well and you were able to 'save face' :) Thanks for the update!!

Thanks also for the heads up - I'll consider myself forewarned if I set up recurring gigs... (at the moment, I'm just waiting for the daycare lady to call back, since she's the one who brought up the idea of hiring me...)

So - about this restaurant thing, how'd you go about getting started anyway? And, do any of you do multiple-booking days, or do you keep it to one job per dress-up/clean-up? I'm pondering wandering into a restaurant in full gear (as I've done after gigs when actually hungry), but it may be better to approach them as the human with a request to come back in uniform...?

I am going to respond to your question JJ about how to get started in the restaurants. I have two I am doing. One my mentor clown has been doing for a couple of years but he wanted to pick up another restaurant during the summer months an extra night a week so he handed the Friday night gig over to me for a while. The other one was booked permanently due to one of their employees seeing him at that restaurant and the night they wanted someone is on his overnight stay at work (he is a fireman and that day is Tues.) He has told me that we should start approaching some other places that offer a kids night on nights or days that we aren't already permanently booked. I saw a sign at a Village Inn so I think I might check with them. I would say approach in human and take as much information to them as you can like some photos or some kind of pamphlet you create. Should be easy to come up with some nice looking promotional ideas to hook them.

Thanks, Flutterz - I love your sig statement, by the way - so beautiful!!

Thanks JJ. I first heard that statement when I had gastric bypass in 2007 and it really signified the changes I was going through. That is how I fell in love with butterflies and ultimately decided on the name FLUTTERZ.

Glad it worked out for you. I alternate weekly between face painting and balloons and it works great for me, the customers and the restaurant. What do you do when you can't do the restaurant on a certain day? I'm going to the clown convention and can't find a replacement. I'd hate to miss a day of the convention but also don't want to mess up this restaurant gig. Any advice? Also how does the magic show work at the restaurant? Do you just do a continuous magic show and kids just come and go? Do you repeat magic tricks during the night? Thanks

I'm glad you had this topic posted Artsy, as an educational moment for us all to be prepared for. I think I would go for making it a private booking where you and the restaurant could make a special package deal or something. I would definitely make it a different night than the usual family night though so that you can give them the attention they paid extra for and maybe the restaurant's side of the deal is giving them the family night rate on their food or something while getting your restaurant hourly rate for one service (face paints or balloons or whatever) with an extra X% per extra service.

Just my thoughts, glad it worked out well for you.

On the nights I cannot be there, I will be making simple balloons that are holding my card that says "SORRY I MISSED YOU. See you next week! Love, Artsy" So that the kids arent disappointed.

I haven't done the magic yet, but an acquaintance of mine (who owns a magic store!) also does restaurant work and he goes from table to table. I usually go to his restaurant after a Saturday gig to eat and I also observe him working the tables, so I have a pretty good idea how I'll be doing my magic. Close up magic that is only art-related is what I have now, but will be incorporating some restaurant/food magic too as I go along, but all the tricks must be workable at close range AND VERY EASY TO DO as I am a klutz with trying to hide sponge balls and cards between my fingers!.

I made an apron similar to my facepainting one that has lots of pockets and i know which trick is in each pocket because the trick is color-coded to the pocket color. I will post a pic of it when I can--maybe tonight.


And thanks Perry--- and all others who posted similar comments-- I will definitely be offering birthday party entertainment on another night other than Family Night. It makes the most sense.

So tonight is another night of ballooning at the diner, so I'll update my post when I get home later.

For me the resturant sponsor's school nights for different Elem. schools, It a draw for both the school and the resturant.,
What do you do when you can't do the restaurant on a certain day? I'm going to the clown convention and can't find a replacement

We discussed this prior to my taking the job. I get paid a set amount/month. If for some reason I'm sick or unavailable we will work to agree to make up the time on another night.

Do you just do a continuous magic show and kids just come and go? Do you repeat magic tricks during the night?

When I do magic, I do small table magic, things I can carry in my pockets, or small ladybug bag, or with stuff available at the table. I don't want to interrupt people as they eat so, I tell them I'm doing small magic and ween they get through eating and want to see some just give me a signal,... usually the kids will gather around were I'm at, and I just kinda of move around the room. Howver space is limited so on nights I do facepainting or balloons I usually just stay put, and they come to me.

Thank you that makes sense with the magic tricks. At my restaurant gig, I stay stationary and the children come to me for both face painting and balloons. That is the way I have seen most restaurant gigs performed. That is why I was confused with the magic show. I like staying in one place and having the kids come to me.

Thank you that makes sense with the magic tricks. At my restaurant gig, I stay stationary and the children come to me for both face painting and balloons. That is the way I have seen most restaurant gigs performed. That is why I was confused with the magic show. I like staying in one place and having the kids come to me.

When I facepaint, they come to me but it draws a long line and interferes with getting the kids to sit down and eat.

I love going from table to table to do the balloons and I make their balloons and goof off with the families either while they are eating (and tell the kids that if they dont finish their meal, they have to give the balloon back to me---the parents love me saying that) or I wait until they are having dessert so that this is another "treat" for the kids to take home after their meal. Seems to be working out great.

I do have to be aware of the servers and their big trays of food so that I don't get in their way. Dodging the servers is the only obstacle for me.

FUNFACES: I had to be away from my night at two restaurants for TNT. I got some great advice on here and made some animal masks glued to a large popsicle craft stick. I made up a snack bag with three crayons in them with a note apologizing that I couldn't be there to make them a balloon and that I hoped to see them soon. I made labels with contact information for me and put one on the popsicle stick and one on the bag the crayons were in. I tied the bag to the stick with a piece of curling ribbon and left them for the cashier to hand out. I heard the kids loved them. I left a full week before that night so balloons wouldn't have worked although I really wanted to come up with something balloon like, this worked out ok. Coloring sheets would work too.

Flutterz, What a great idea. I'm going to present the offer to the restaurant. This way it gives the kids something fun to play with while I'm not there to entertain them and the added plus of giving out your business card. Thanks a million!

OKay, so last night's ballooning restaurant gig went great.

I almost fell over when a patron with three kids handed me a $20 tip! I made a tall ring toss game hat, one of Cricket's adorable muppet puppets on a stick, and a fishing hat. That generous tip made up for the tables who tipped me nothing. I suppose they think that it's free entertainment provide by the restaurant (well...it sorta is afterall). The restaurant offsets the difference in my tip to hourly rate ratio so I don't go home with just tips in my pocket. When the tips supersede my hourly rate, then I get tips only. I'm happy with that arrangement.

The only problem that I had last night was that I took only my ketchup bottle pump and left my floor pump at home to lighten my load. Big mistake. I missed that floor pump. And I had four balloons pop on me last night and I never had one pop with the floor pump. Coincidence, maybe...not sure...

The other slight problem is that there is one server who pounces on me as soon as I walk in the door. I'll take that as a compliment with kid-like enthusiasm for now, but he is on the borderline of greedy grabbiness when he wants me to make balloons for him to take home to his children. I bring ready-mades as emergency backups in case I get overwhelmed with a huge number of kids that walk in the door all at once. I rarely dip into the inventory so I always have many remaining at the end of the night and I let the restaurant owner's children get first dibs. This server grabs everything left over and still looks at me with sad puppy eyes for me to make more. But last night, I told him that there are plenty of ready-mades in the bag for him to choose from to take home and that I was done for the evening.

The restaurant saga to be continued next week...

That server sounds like one that I have at Perkins all the time. . . (I didn't work with him when I was there) but every time I eat there he tends to share too much information with us. . .about his kids, wife, how he walks through town without a shirt on to get his glow. . .you get the idea. Glad you had another successful night

I'd say, well, now I"m on MY time, so if you'd like a balloon or two to take home other than the premades, they cost $X.

Not to worry. If it's truly his kids who want the balloons, overwhelming them constantly like that will likely wear them out to the point that they aren't interested after long. Well, either that or they'll grow fascinated and ask you to teach them to twist.

Shaker is a good restaurant trick,mini coloring books or mini Whats My Job. Tons of little pocket magic like Magic Hatchery,penny to dime,ball and vase spoon bending etc.
T.Tip stuff. Any clowns with magic questions leave them on my page I won't miss it that way.

I noticed you said this restaurant catered to higher than average wealth customers. I have had retail experience where I have had to work in different stores of a chain. It always seemed to me the people that wanted more than they were paying for were in the more affluent communities. This does not mean that all wealthy people are mean or greedy, but I tend to find a few more in the crowd of the blessed who are difficult customers. I had to learn to be firm and have good boundaries with the customers in the higher rent district, because if I gave in to them I'd have to do it again and again.

I think I would make any staff of the restaurant wait until the end of the night and only take home the left overs. I would never make special balloons for them unless they were willing to pay me for them apart from the pay I was getting from the restaurant (even if it was a buck a balloon, which is what I charge to twist at fairs and the like). I wouldn't make an abundance of extras especially for this purpose either. I would make what I needed for customers. I would think the owner would want you to take care of their customers first. You shouldn't be there as a part of the employees benefit package.

I had someone ask to book me for a charity benefit next May. He said he would pay me $100 to do the event. I told him if it was more than an hour or so, I couldn't do it for that. He said, "Keep in mind this is for charity." Well, I am all for charity, but it costs me like $50 to walk out my door and drive to his venue if you consider make-up, time to apply the make-up, balloons, gas, drive time, supplies, etc. If he wants to pay me, I will consider donating to his charity, but I won't give away my time. This isn't because I am greedy, it is because if I do it once I will have to do it again and again and again and pretty soon I won't be able to afford to do it at all.

Actually Chester, I agree with you on the aggravation factor with upper clientele class, however, I have found it to be true in the opposite as well. And more noticeably difficult are the nonprofit groups.

The children at the restaurant are well educated and knowledgeable and ask me intelligent questions. At times, I am surprised at their queries.

Things like, "So if the facepaint that you use was not tested on animals, how WAS it tested?" And, "Do the larger balloon sculptures last just as long as the smaller ones or does the air inside them affect their decomposition rate?"

I'm thinking,,,,whoa....I gotta read up on this stuff just to come out here to twist! LOL!

But all in all, this affluent area is appreciative of my creative talents and they THANK ME. This means a lot to me. A thank you doesnt cost a thing, and everyone CAN afford to say it, no matter how much or little is in your piggy bank. Their tips are icing on the cake, but their thankyous are what I see as the difference.

But when I am doing gigs for nonprofits who do events for low income groups, the crowd is for the most part--demanding, nasty, and pushy. A get A FEW thank yous, but its rare. They don't ASK for things that are not on my sample board, they TELL me, and when I say no in a polite way, they mumble and grumble. Since it's "free" to them, they try to boss me around.

I decided last month that I am no longer doing any outdoor gigs. This conveniently eliminates the majority of nonprofit events and areas where I feel I am treated like crap. Done. On to greener pastures with comforting shade trees.

About the server who adores (covets) my balloons:
He came up to me while I was working a table and asked me right there on the spot for a turtle bracelet! I told him right in front of the patrons that he has to wait until all the kids in the restaurant received a balloon and then he can choose from the samples.

By the way, I stopped making a pile of balloons for crowd backup. I don't need them. I am doing great with my timing so it's not necessary. (This also eliminates him grabbing everything at the end of the night.) I twist only what I want to offer that evening, and the truth is, I twist them for my own "test" before I go out the door, just to make sure I haven't forgotten how to make each one! This twisting is new to me and my memory cells have all been taken up by years of teaching art and learning about art history. I need to defrag my brain! How everyone remembers all these twist combinations and measurements is baffling!

I am so disgusted with charities begging for free entertainment. There are other threads about this topic, but I do want to say one thing about them here: I'm starting to tell them right up front, "My rates are $xxx per hour with a three hour minimum. Then I ask them right away "What's in your budget and I'll work on an entertainment package around that." (Notice I didn't say I will lower the price, I said I'll do a package AROUND the amount). When they say they have no budget, then I apologize and say I have no packages that meet that amount. Period. I know I sound blunt here, but I don't say it to them in a harsh way.

I think what's misleading the public is that there are entertainers who accept and offer to do free work because they have "real" jobs that afford them the ability to do charity work for free or they do it "just for fun", and then there are entertainers who do this AS real jobs who require payment.

Keep in mind that I also get people who ask me, "In your spare time, can you do an (oil portrait/other painting/other artwork) for me? I need it next week." Uh...yeah....right... And when they say 'in your spare time,' what they're saying is that they are expecting this to be free because it isn't during my "normal studio hours." After YEARS of this, the tune is getting old.

I suppose I am getting callused from the abuse of all these years being "nice" and accommodating all these requests. This is nature's way of protecting a person. Just like getting a blister on your foot, then a hard callus, it is formed to protect your foot from further injury.

I suppose my life lesson is to get tough enough to deal with stuff that comes my way and stop being a softy pushover. :applause:

Everyone is a charity at some point.... I'm almost ready to say, I'll donate to your charity when you donate to the charity of "Feed MY Kids."

We are getting ready to do a charity event. It will be we take donations and spilt 50/50. As we are both a charity groups.

I know that the gigs my alley schedules are all volunteer gigs. I don't know if the alley charges charities for gigs, but I somehow don't think so. I'd direct any charties looking for free clowns to see if there is a Clown Alley somewhere nearby that would be willing to see if any of their members would be willing to volunteer. Non profit Organizations wanting free service should utilize other non profit organizations; folks wanting party clowns, or are willing to pay the clowns can go to individuals or clown businesses.

In other words, any scheduled free stuff I do will be through my Alley. If you come to ME rather than my alley, I'll expect reasonable compensation. There ARE instances where I may just show up at a local carnival/festival in clown, but I may bring a tip jar and biz cards just in case. If I get tips, cool; if not, that's what i get for crashing the party. :)

Artsy,
We do some charitable "gigs" for childrens groups like "Walk Now For Autism Speaks" and other local charities. I have 5 little imps and I need for them to see it is possible to make a difference, even doing what you do best(in our case clowning), and I always remind them it gets them out of cleaning their room for the day, LOL.
I give my staff the option of coming out for these "gigs", but remind everyone it is a wonderful way to advertise yourself(plus I take 'em out somehwere nice to nosh afterwards, LOL-o.k. I bribe them). Yup, we've had some geat leads from charitable events, I can't deny it. We don't go anywhere without our advertising materials, banners, and tent(if we are outdoors). I also ask coordinators to make sure my peeps have water!!! and BR breaks. A good 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled end of an event we also put out the end of the line markers.
Yup, we have had some grumps, some line cutters, and bizzare people(even compared to me!!!) but you'll get that with anything, from birthday parties to kid's night-just give them a really full 260 balloon and let them have at it(don't forget to cover your ears)...LOL, You have a skill that's easy to recognise, so just smile and wait for the loud pop(earth shattering kaboom, whatever), then say, "next in line" ;)
Depending on the function we either:charge participants, charge a set fee(like any other gig), or if its a matter that touches our hearts we just donate our time in exchange for pictures and Smiles!!!
I know it can get a bit nuts out there, but their are people just trying to do the right thing, and you can't let the odd grump ruin it. You can always ask someone to tape you working and doing your thing and put it on you-tube or your website as advertising for yourself.
Think globably, act locally ;) and Have Fun