Asked to delay your performance

[Fifi D. Clown]

I will stay and have a piece of cake only if offered and if I have the time. I stay in character, but joke, talk, and listen to the kids. It brings it down to a more personal level and the kids seem to love it. I have had nothing but good experiences with cake!

[pixcoco]

I don't like to accept food or drinks from clients but I understand with some people it is an insult if I don't. Sometimes it is cultural. I will still resist eating there. If I have to accept their offers I take a plate with me.
I don't want to insult anyone and I normally have to be on my way.

[Pickles]

This happened to me once, too, but it was such a sad, uncomfortable situation that I felt I needed to stay put. I was doing a birthday party for a boy in Kentucky. His entire class had been invited, and NOBODY showed up. This kid's mother and I were both hopeful that if I waited long enough to start my show, somebody would arrive, but it was not meant to be. Fortunately, there were some aunts and uncles there, so at least there were some adult guests. Nevertheless, I felt terrible for this boy, and I didn't mind hanging around a bit longer. We actually ended up having a pretty good time.

[milo]

Originally Posted by Pickles

This happened to me once, too, but it was such a sad, uncomfortable situation that I felt I needed to stay put. I was doing a birthday party for a boy in Kentucky. His entire class had been invited, and NOBODY showed up. This kid's mother and I were both hopeful that if I waited long enough to start my show, somebody would arrive, but it was not meant to be. Fortunately, there were some aunts and uncles there, so at least there were some adult guests. Nevertheless, I felt terrible for this boy, and I didn't mind hanging around a bit longer. We actually ended up having a pretty good time.

That’s sooooo sad! Did the parents of the other kids not confirm they were coming? As a dad I would feel so empty, what can you do to make that better? There is nothing worse than seeing your child upset and not be able to do anything to influence the people responsible – I would have been knocking doors (as a parent not a clown)!

At least there was a clown there to turn his frown upside-down!

[milo]

I’m new to clowning, but both my partner and I have always worked with legal documentation based upon terms of contracts.

At the end of the day, no self employed person should carry out any type of work without first agreeing on the terms of the contract – It doesn’t mater if you’re a builder, gardener or entertainer, you need to cover your back!

Contract is a bit of a scary word so I would call it a booking confirmation, but whatever you call it, it should clearly state what you have been contracted to do i.e. 45 minute show to include balloon modelling, face painting, song/dance and what ever it is you do.

There should also be an outline of what the client will do i.e. provide an adequate venue (if you are booked to do stilt walking and turn up to a find a caravan, you obviously can’t do your job), ensure everyone is there on time, control disruptive children etc. This is especially important if you work with disabled people who need to be supervised by their carers – I was reading another post on here where a clown did a gig in an old people’s home and one of the residents got hurt because the nurses were not there to supervise – Public Liability claim waiting to happen!

When you take an advanced booking, send out two copies of the booking confirmation, one is for them to keep and the other is for them to sign and return with a 10% deposit.

Advantages of a booking confirmation –

- You have a 10% non refundable deposit, so there should be less cancellations.
- Everybody knows what is required of them.
- You don’t need to discuss anything negative like waiting fees during your sales pitch. So long as it’s clearly highlighted on the BC they will be aware of additional charges/fees.
- Great opportunity to inform clients of upcoming events.
- Enclose proof of insurance.
- Enclose CRB check (don’t now what you guys call them, police security checks).
- It looks professional and helps to maintain a good company image

It would be nice to think that we live in a world where everyone is polite, reliable and respectful, but I‘m afraid there are a minority of “Bad Eggs” out there who spoil it for the rest of us, and if you’re in the business long enough, you will come across these people eventually.

There are obviously exceptions to the above, so you need to us your own judgment and do what you feel works bet for you. By all means provide a good customer service, be understanding and sympathetic, but don’t let them take advantage of you!

Milo (one step closer to) the Clown.

[Pickles]

Regarding the birthday boy with no guests: One of the boy's relatives told me she thought there was a big soccer game going on in town the day of the party, so it's possible some of the kids went to that instead of the birthday bash. (although I can't imagine all of them did.) Perhaps the invitation didn't request RSVPs. Although my experience with my own kids' parties is that children & their parents often don't let you know if they're coming or not. Now, every time I throw a party for one of my own kids, I get so paranoid that nobody will come!

[Sopey]

Living in a military town, it seems to me the only people who appreciate punctuation, uh, punctuality are those in the military. I have done parties where I began an hour after the party started, ran a little over, and still had people coming in expecting to see the performance!

All of the above suggestions are good but, unfortunetely, there is no solution that works in every situation. Only experience will teach you which response works best for what situation.

Another aspect of this is being asked to stay longer but that's a subject for another thread.

[boho64]

I do the same as Fitzwilly. I always ask my customers to have us arrive after the party starts so everyone arrives before we start.