Dancer Archive
Thread: Why I won't buff
Arkaye wrote:
Oh geez.
Out of curisoty (even thou said behavior killed the cat) who was that for?
Beery's response to me about being a victim.
I personally also give the mind buffs for free, because when I am dancing, all I am doing is chatting with people anyways, if they want to pay me for it, then feel free, if they don't, then who cares.
I am sorry that you are feeling so low about it Beery, can't be fun to play then. And you did the right thing by dropping the healing trees in my opinion. I was about to do the same before, but now ended up as a 100% entertainer instead of the TK I was looking to get.
I buff people if they ask me for a buff, but I will ask for atleast 2k in tip to do it. My time is valuable to me. Oh and ofcourse, friends and family gets it for free 
There is still a minimum wage that the employer must pay their employees for gratuity based jobs, it is significantly lower than the general minimum wage however.
That said, if the employee's effective hourly wages (employer wage + tips / hr) doesn't clear the general minimum wage, the employer has to cover that difference.
Even with that said however, I'm sure there are a number of situations where that doesn't occur, from the employee/employer not knowing the minimum wage laws, to how difficult it is to prove, and just criminal/illegal neglect (for certain professions).
I like it, as a concept. I have no problem /setperform'ing for someone. However, if they are going to ask me to flourish non-stop with my highest dance for their benefit, I'll expect a tip. I probably won't ASK for one directly (much will depend on the circumstances) but if they don't give me one, their name goes "on my list" and then in the future the answer would be "no" or "only if you pay me first."
So far with only 1 tech box (at the time, now I have 2) I have buffed 1 person. The night after the patch I explained to a group of fighters how /setperform works and they said, "Let's try it." So the leader knelt down and watched me and I flourished nonstop for 8 minutes on exotic. I had a medic friend heal me up. I wasn't looking for tips... we just wanted to see if it worked.
When it was all done I had increased his Mind bar by 20% (800 to 960) which isn't bad but it was nowhere near the 2x that we had been talking about. Note, I had WARNED him I only had one tech box, and afterwards I said, "Well it makes sense... I am 20% of the way to master on the tech side and you got 20% of the buff." I suggested that if I went longer it might go higher but they were ready to go hunt.
Now, he could easily have said, "You didn't double my mind bar so no money for you," but he didn't. He thanked me and tipped me 2000 cr. I sent him a tell saying that wasn't necessary since it wasn't much of a buff, but he said, "Hey, an extra 160 is a couple of nice rifle shots for me, which can mean life or death."
At any rate, most people I have met in my cantina (Keren) have been perfectly nice and friendly, and I have no reason NOT to buff them should they ask. I probably won't go around offering it, or haunting PVP havens like Moenia the way a friend of mine does (she made 27K in one afternoon as a Master Dancer offering a 2x mind buff). But since MOST people have been nice to me, I would happily buff MOST of them.
Again -- because it is a bit of an inconvenience for me to make sure I non-stop flourish and interrupts relaxed RP, I will expect some compensation for it. But other than that I have no problem with it and I will happily do it.
And you know what? Since I love to RP more than anything else, I might buff people just in exchange for some RP, if they are willing.
C
A lot of dancers on Flurryprobably wont care much for me, but anytime I notice someone watching me I start applying the buff. If they get up to leave, I inform them of what I have been doing, request they stay a few minutes longer then stop watching. If asked how much I charge, I reply that I never set a price/charge for my services. I dont imply that they have to tip at all. I dance for my own fun and enjoyment. I certainly dont view it as a job in real life. After all this is a game I play for my own enjoyment. If I am not enjoying dancing then I simply do not dance and find something else to do for awhile that I will enjoy.
I find that if I expect nothing, let the patron know I expect nothing, then most are more than generous. Those that are not as generous get no lesser treatment or respect than those that have been. I do not charge nor accept tips from guildmates at any time or groupmates if I happened to be hunting with them. One of my most regular patrons tips 100 credits each time he visits (can be several times a day), yet he recieves no less service than the person thats tipped me 9000 credits. Why? Well, the main reason, I just enjoy playing a character that is able to help others and expect nothing in return. But I alsoknow that he solos much of the time and does not get very high paying missions. I assume this to be true of many casual players.
Most days spent dancing turn out to be quite profitable, with me earning 11k to 15k in just a few hours. Of course, this is not my take home profit, I always tip the healers that spend more then a half hour in the cantina healing dancers a minimum of 1k a piece. And if I am performing with another player I will split my tips in half with them.
Again my motto is, Expect nothing, and you will never be disappointed, but often pleased.
I wonder if your attitude has anything to do with the amount of tips you make?
nah...couldn't be.
No, not really. I've always played with this attitude, even before reaching master dancer, which is when the profession began to be profitable. I still had just as much fun dancing and playing and was often surprised when I was tipped. I've always danced in the busier cantinas the majority of the time, as I like the atmosphere and socialization, and very rarely am I the only master dancer in the cantina, and certainly when I was still working my way up the tree, there were always a master or two in the cantina.
Oh and one other thing I have noticed. Tips seem to decrease if there are afk macro'ers asking for tips or reminding people to not forget to tip the entertainers. Just an observation, I've never said anything to the afk'ers about it. I just go on doing my thing.
I didn't cut and paste so can't remember word for word. But Someone said that the fact that she got tipped well, was the reason she had a great attitude about Not demanding, or expecting tips.
You Put the card before the Horse, I am a Master Image Designer, I also Have novice dancer. I have NO set Prices for ID, I spend as Much time with the client, and do any change they ask for and make suggestions if I feel they will help, I have gotten 500 credits for a Breast Enhamcement, and I have gotten 15k for heaistyle, and eyebrow change. I Thank Everyone regardless of change, I Love what I do, I do it because I enjoy it. And I am comfortable. I apply the same to dancing, I dance In theed cantina, On naritus server, sometimes with 6 other dancers, some who say " Never come to theed expecting tips, this is for the xp, go elsewhere for tips." But I always get tipps. And I split My tip Money, with the medics that Heal me.
It has been My experience that if you love what you do, if you interact with the customers, and have conversations with them, take a real Interest In their day, welcome them back when you see them again. They will generally tip you, and tip you well .
The attitude comes first, the customer senses that you love what you do, and it becomes contagious. On average before they leave they will tip. I have never had a Night where I was Not tipped for dancing. Even after discounting Money for Image design I have made good Money, Just from the dancing, And I am Not a master Dancer yet, But will be. Love your craft, perform it for Love of the art, treat the customer, Like you want Nothinmg More than fun conversation and flirt, he he, and the tips WILL come.
Another opinion from a customer...
I went back and read the second page of posts for this thread. Someone mentioned that they charged 2K and often got 3K. Just to offer my perspective, I think 2K is an upper limit, and here is why:
First, if you charge it up front, I as a customer dont even know for sure the buffs will take. There ARE circumstances in the game that will prevent the buffs from occurring, and you don't know until you try (I say this from personal experience). So unless you're going to give SOME of the up-front price back you can't charge too much up front.
Second, we don't always have a guarantee how long the buffs will last (though I admit that if the buffs do stick, the entertainer should have a pretty good idea by now).
Third, we get buffs because we are going into dangerous situations. Dangerous situations usually mean you have the chance of dying fairly soon. Unfortunately, unlike some others, my funds are limited and I have to watch expenses. I can't afford to pay too much only to go out and lose the buffs 15 minutes later in battle.
Fourth, keep in mind that Master Doctors usually charge 4-5K for their HA buffs, but they buff 6 bars for that price. I had a Master Doctor try to charge me 9K for HA buffs one time. I just laughed and walked away.
Fifth, For a FULL mind buff Ialso have to pay a Master Musician something.
Obviously,any service is worth exactly what you can get for it. I just wanted to let you know that 1-2K is a range I consider fair. Once again, this is just one rifleman's opinion.
I will charge 2k, mostly to get back on all the buffstealers that never tipped before. We got this targeted buff from the heavens, and some dancers KEEP giving it up for free... It is beyond me..
Ofcourse I will buff medics and friends and the ones I know have always given me tips before for free, but to randomly splutter out buffs on people for free, I wouldn't do that.
