Dancer Archive

Dancers are the lowest-paid profession in the game, and most of the punters just take their healing and run. I don't see anything wrong in the occasional reminder that tips are appreciated (especially on a very stingy night). It happens in the real world, so why not here? If anything, it shows how realistic the game is in this regard. Dancers have to get money somehow, and unless dancing starts payingMUCH more in the game, dancers are going to ask for tips. Besides, the /tip feature exists to be used - if dancers didn't remind folks, they would probably get nothing at all.

Asking for tips is part of the business. Deal with it!

People asking for tips don't bother me, people afk don't bother me, live and let live.

I went to watch a street performer RL once. He had an interesting collection of instruments, from herdy gerdys (Both the string instruments and a barrel organ) as well as different types of bagpipes, and he knew how to play them all. I sat and watched him go through them all demonstrating them and playing various tunes.

Not once did I hear him say "I hope you're enjoying the show, don't forget to tip your entertainer." Yet, he was getting tips.

In game, I have never seen begging for tips improve a slow tip night.

"I went to watch a street performer RL once. Not once did I hear him say "I hope you're enjoying the show, don't forget to tip your entertainer." Yet, he was getting tips."

Hehe, boy you chose the WRONG person to tell that story to. I was a street performer for 3 years. The fact is, street performers DO ask for tips - if they don't, they don't get paid. There's usually a container of some kind, opened up, AND PRIMED with a few dollars as a non-verbal request (sometimes with the word 'THANKS' underneath in big letters. Trust me, if you don't have a container, and if it's not clear that tips go in there, you won't get any money. I know because the first few times I performed, I got nothing. Then someone told me to get a bowl and put a dollar and change in it. After that I made lots ofmoney. Sure, there's no verbal request, but the container does the asking. It's less obtrusive than a vocal request, but it amounts to the exact same thing. Until there are tipping jars on the cantinabar with a notice encouraging tipping (or until a 15% service charge is included with every heal) I'm going to continue to remind customers to tip. I don't badger them, and tipping is completely voluntary, but a little reminder every now and then is a good thing considering how little we entertainers are paid.

"if you don't have a container, and if it's not clear that tips go in there, you won't get any money."

... and if you don't empty the pot when it gets too full, the money will dry up too. There's a psychology behind getting punters to part with their money. If they think the pot is too full, they won't contribute, and if they don't know where to put the $$ they'll walk by without tipping. There is an actual amount that works best to prime the pot. If you put too big of a note in the pot, you won't get as much money. If you put too few types of coins in, you won't get as much. You have to leave a precise amount - one or two low-denomination bills, and a range of coins.

Yeah but there is no way to set up a "tip jar" in the game. /tip automatically goes right into your inventory (or bank if they use an automatic bank deposit).

Putting a tip jar out that says "THANKS" is one thing. It's not beating the customer over the head. It's, if you will, subtle(-ish). I put tips into tip cups, and I tip waitresses at restaurants, etc.

But I guarantee if during your street act, every five minutes you stopped and said, "Tip me please," people would roll there eyes and give you zilch. I sure would, I know that.

Personally, I think verbally asking the audience for a tip is tacky, and my little Twi'lek dancer is never going to do it. Maybe she won't make as many tips, but she, at least, sees it as the difference between accepting a voluntarily offered payment, and being a beggar. Not saying anyone else has to see it that way... Not sure exactly how I see it myself (other than being tacky), but given her in-character background, she sees it that way, so she will never ask... And she tends to leave groups where the performers ask too much. She does not want to be judged a beggar because she is in the same group as they are.

To Dejah, she is an artist. Her dancing is artistry. As such she is in it for that, not for money. She has said this more than once. Know what? Maybe it is just a coincidence but so far every time she has said it, someone watching has given her a nice, big, FAT tip.

C

I agree with the repliers in this post.

Spamming asking for tips is tacky, I tell will let you in on a secret. You can ask for tips without actually asking for them.

Be attentive to your audience, joke with them, roleplay with them. Ask how their hunting is going, if a bounty hunter walks in ask him about his latest mark etc.

I assure you if you get involved with your patrons online life they will WANT to tip you. People love to talk about themselves its a fact. And moreso online then anywhere else. Talking about that bad trip to Yavin, or that victory over some evil on Corellia.

I here dancers and musicians whine so often about tips, let me ask you a question.

If you went to a restaurant, and the waitress gave you very poor service, never said much to you, didnt smile or anything like that would you give a good tip? I know i wouldnt.

On the other hand, if i get outstanding service with a smile, a bit of small talk etc i will tip HUGE, i am talking 40 or 50% of the check most times for "Outstanding" service.

I have found the true to be the same of this profession. Ask yourself.

Am i being the best "Entertainer" i can be to this person. If your tips are suffering perhaps the problem is not with the patrons, but with your delivery.

Now i realize that some people are just cheapskates and won't tip no matter how many times they come in with full black bars and 1000 battle fatigue. BUT Do not be rude and ask them for a tip, If you treat them the same as your tipping customers, they may just bring in "friends" of theirs to come meet you because they had fun watching or listening to you who WILL tip.

If you can't bring in a decent income my guess is the problem is you.

I have a large loyal customer base, they come in almost everyday. Sometimes two or three times a day, they all tip me everytime, they bring their friends to meet me and fawn all over me. Sometimes the other dancers are jealous because i will have a circle of people around me. I won't tell you how much i make in tips a night, some of you would blow a gasket. Lets just say its less then 100k but more then 20k and not just money, i get clothes, i get jewelry, heck i even had an architect give me a medium house for a tip!

Asking for tips is tacky, be a good "Entertainer" and the tips will line your pockets. If you fail to "Entertain" then you may as well be one of the macroing afk Entertainers i send to the corner everynight

SYl

I just don't have much potential for getting tips. I'm a guy. Sad but true fact. So with that in mind, I have a side source of income and do dancing for fun. There are several ways to make money in this game, and not all of them involve killing things. In fact, most my money is probably two or three steps away from killing things if not more.

That said, I've found that sometimes the smaller cantinas can be good for those without much "tip potential". I made around 4-5k in tips in a couple hours last night in Keren.

As far as watching a street performer play...how many people were there with him? Go into Theed on a weekday/weeknight and see how many people are there. Sometimes you just have to ask so maybe in some slim chance someone will tip you over the afk dancer, or the girl just dancing.

I for one know when I ask for tips it's straight up asking for the entertainers to be tipped and I'll admit I havn't noticed an influx when it comes to asking for tips versus not asking for tips. To each their own though.

"Putting a tip jar out that says "THANKS" is one thing. It's not beating the customer over the head. It's, if you will, subtle(-ish). I put tips into tip cups, and I tip waitresses at restaurants, etc. "

The problem is that in this game, dancers' only access to the kind of money that other professions get is through tipping, and if we don't ask, we don't get tips. It's as simple as that. The occasional punter will tip, but most don't seem to think it's important unless they're cajoled into it. Now I'm all for a 15% service charge being added to heals, but I'd prefer people to simply show a bit of generosity to performers who are always there for others, and whospend manyhours working on a profession that never really pays any real money.

"If you went to a restaurant, and the waitress gave you very poor service, never said much to you, didnt smile or anything like that would you give a good tip? I know i wouldnt."

Having worked in the industry, and knowing that many waitresses ONLY make tip money, I think it's a customer'sduty to tip the standard amount. These folks are people - not automatons - they have good days and bad, just like you and me, but they get stiffed by folks like youif they're having a bad day, which makesa bad dayeven worse. Some of the conditions that these people are working under are atrocious, and the hours are inconvenient to say the least. It's a wonder that some ofthem can smile at all. The notion that a food server should be 'expected' to smile is deeply troubling to me. These folks are giving you food - that's all. It shouldn't be part of their job to pretend to enjoy it. It's a kind of prostitution that you seem to be expecting of them- you seem to want them to sell you their good mood, whether they're in a good mood or not.

In a restaurant you should be tipping for the speed of service and the quality of the food - not the mood of the server. If you're basing your tip on the server's attitude or mood, you're paying for the wrong service. The server's smile you get for free, and if it's missing, that should be none of your concern (unless you want to console him/her).

Come to think of it - it should be the same in the game. You should tip based on how eager the dancer is to flourish. The more he/she flourishes, the faster you heal, and the more likely you should be to tip (you're tipping for the service, not the attitude). What clothes they're wearing, whether they smile, or whether they talk to you should be irrelevant. Those things are at the performer's own discretion and are done out of friendship and a sense of community- you shouldn't be basing your appreciation on those optional extras. Demanding that we present you witha friendly smile is asdisrespectfulas it would be forus todemand that you tip us.