Dancer Archive
Thread: How to make Mad Tips
1. Tip Reminders. if you have a macro reminding people to tip, turn it off. Don't bring up tipsin conversation, don't make commentary on tips or tipping outside of /g. You don't want people thinking about tipping - you just want them to tip. They start THINKING about it, they will start thinking that maybe they do not have enough, maybe you expect more, maybe you will be offended, maybe you have expectations that they cannot meet. Then they get pissed because they feel awkward, and then they start thinking it's unfair to be put into that position, then they think you're being demanding or whining. Not true! I've seen plenty of gently worded and even funny tip reminders - and they all drive tips away. I estimate that I make around a good third less of my usual tips when I have to try and earn them around someone else's reminders.
2. Greet Your Patrons Like They Are Norm. When a person enters a cantina, they want to feel like they are walking into their own personal Cheers. They want their own greeting-cry of "Norm!". The first time you see a patron enter the cantina, say hello. The second time yousee themtell them hi again and that you like their coat/boots/pants... blah blah blah... did they loot that or buy it? Really? Where?
3. You are Not a Special and Unique Snowflake. You do not dance better than anyone else, you have no clothes that haven't been seen before, you aren't the only one of your creed or colour. After a week in game,your averageplayer has seen every dance from Basic to Exotic and all the clothes a girl might dance in, and everything else that you can think of. This is terrible. It means that even if you make it to Master, get the most expensive clothes, see the best image designers... dude might still watch noobie in track pants... especially if noobie in track pants say... has character. THAT is the only thing you have that differentiates you from anyone else on the floor. Flourishes don't get tips, personality does.
4. You're Saying I Have to Act Like a Tart, Right? NO. You could, if you wanted to... it might work... but trust me, tart has been done to death in this game. It's not about "overt sexual conversation" and "lapdancing". It's about allowing a portion of your own personal character to show through your avatar, or, if you were tragically born without a personality, faking it. Your char in game is just a slight pixel variation on the dancer next to you - the person sitting at the keyboard is not. Nobody in Cheers made Norm think he was going to get some - they made him feel like he was amongst friends. Flirting or gettin' sexy ain't wrong or evil, but don't ever think that the reason you aren't making tips is because you aren't talking dirty enough - it's not that simple.
5. Have a Goal, and Share it. There isa common misconception in game that entertainers don't really need credits for anything but clothes. This is semi-true. I knew when I saw the exotic leotard that I wanted one. Not many chars had them. At first, I made the mistake of asking in /g if anyone knew who made them, where, and for how much. Nuthin. Then I realized that for all my /tells and /g's to girls wearing them and blithely ignoring my requests for info - I was, to the patrons, standing there like a log shuffling back and forth. So - I started asking the patrons. I would ask people of different PA's if their PA had a master tailor, for names... why? oh - well you see that zabraki girl with the amazing strappy outfit? I want one. I just have to know how much to save up, blah blah blah. And guess what - they tipped me. They tipped me not only because "they wanted to see me in something revealing" but because I engaged them, talked to them. Patrons listening to the conversation tipped me. Now - I have my wardrobe. I'm buying a PA Hall. I have a goal, something I want to build and create and I talk to my patrons about it. I tell them about the sort of things I want to do there - I share my aspiration with patrons and dancers alike. And because I'm not just standing there mute except for an occasional "Please Tip the Dancer!" impersonally asking for money they're not sure that they want to part with for purposes they don't think are particularly valid (feh!), I make tips. I make mad tips.
Very good points, Kif.
Something I would add to that:
Treat all tippers the same. JimBob tips me 5000 credits. I smile and beam and put on a little light show. JoeSchmoe tips me a measley 10 credits. I smile and beam and put on a little light show.
And if someone apologizes for giving me a small tip, I tell him to think nothing of it. I thank him for coming to watch the show.
A post-Norm comment, since it deals with people as they're ready to leave.
I think next time I dance in a cantina I'll call everyone who comes in 'Norm' just for the hell of it. 
And I'll tell them I like their hat, whether they're wearing one or not. 
You do not need to wear the 'brightest' clothing or the most revealing clothing to be noticed. A nicely put together outfit of even the most basic Artisan level clothing can look great if you put style over flash.
I have experimented, just dancing off to one side and paying no attention to people. No tips, generally, or at least very few. If you interact, the tips roll in. I consider fatigue healing to be a 'tip' as well, by the way. I consider a 'thank you for healing me' to be a tip, too. Appreciation in any form is a reward to me... even having said this, I've occasinally pulled in 10,000cr in a four hour session from credit-tips alone.
People hate being told to tip, but if you make them feel entertained, noticed, appreciated, they'll often throw a tip your way without any prompting at all.
I agree with everything you said, except, "it's about allowing a portion of your own personal character to show through your avatar."
This, I do not quite agree with. While it is perhaps OK if you do that, I would suggest that since this is a roleplaying game, it's about allowing your character's personality (whether that is similar to or different from your own) shine through as you roleplay.
I tend to play characters that are totally different from me. As a result, if I let too much of "myself" show through the character it won't come out right.
Now, not everyone is like this, but I think essentially you have to have the character act as the character would, in a given situation. That's what roleplaying is all about.
Other than that I think everything you said is on target.
C
Addendum to point 4 to reflect Chessack's quite valid point:
4.a. If you are in fact not interested in reflecting your own personal character, you may of course pretend to have someone else's character. As long as there is some character behind the character - even if it might only be a caricature of a character.
I would have to agree with Kif's point number 1. when someone has a macro going, i notice a DRASTIC reduction in tips AND heals. asking for tips isone way todiscourage patrons to tip. it doesn't only affect those who use the macro, but EVERY performer in thecantina suffers.
all the other points madewere very good too! thanks!
Aiweoce-Lowca
Nice addendum. Now I agree with you 100% instead of 98%. :-)
C