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MacGyver Inner circle St. Louis, MO 1419 Posts |
Hey all, I just did my first table hopping gig on Tuesday night(first magic job actually), and I was wondering a couple things.
First off, what do you do when you have done all the table's and there is dead time? Find a booth and practice or stand around talking to waiters that aren't busy too? It was a Tuesday and while it wasn't dead, I definitely spent a lot of time standing around not sure what to do. Also, the place had very quick appetizer service and it seems a lot of people order the appetizer, and sometimes I could only get 1 effect in before food came, and the patrons still wanted to see more magic after the appetizers came. Now I feel the same as most that you shouldn't perform while they are eating, but they wanted me to continue and it felt wrong to stop, so I usually continued with one more effect(a closer)... How do you feel about appetizers and magic? Thanks for the responses |
Brian Haagen New user 91 Posts |
Hey, this is kinda how I feel about your situation. We have all heard of "not performing while they are eating." I personally, disregard the appetizers in this. It is not really a meal, just kinda snack food. If you never perform while they have their appetizer you are right that you'd be lucky to even get two tricks in. If they have an appetizer, I treat it just like they don't have any food on the table. They won't be very engaged in it anyhow.
When it comes to waiting around. Time management is just a big deal. Do longer routines, etc. Just be very smart with your time. Say for instance that you see only three tables that you'd be possibly able to perform for for the next 25 min. Maybe instead of hitting all three of them up very quickly, do one, then go and "analyze" the other set of the restaurant. Then "set up your deck" and do another table, etc. Just make sure the management DOES NOT see you staring at the window working on your flourishes. Make it look like you are constantly doing something either to prepare for your performance or performing by itself. I think all restaurant performers at one time have been in that "I hit every table up and have nothing to do stage," and then start trying to think of things to do. lol. Just be real productive with the time you've got and everything should fall into place. Best of luck! |
TheJames New user USA 24 Posts |
Whenever there seemed to be "down" time to perform magic, that normally meant there was downtime for the restuarant. So I would go and entertain the hostesses and people behind the scenes. They always like it
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ZachWaldman New user 67 Posts |
It's a big misconception that you must be working at
all times. There's nothing wrong with standing around waiting for a new table to come in. While you're standing there, you should still observe what's going on. Remember, it's your job to add to the restaurant's customer service. If you notice somebody trying to wave down his server, help him out. As people are leaving the restaurant thank them for coming by and tell them to have a great day. Think customer service. Let's look at not performing all of the time from a different point of view. Let's say the restaurant is busy instead of slow. You still may end up standing around for awhile before finding an appropriate table to approach. It's a very big mistake to approach everybody with your magic just to seem busy to the manager. You don't want to approach a guy and a girl holding hands that are gazing into each other's eyes. There are a lot of examples of people you shouldn't approach. The bottom line is that when somebody is new to the restaurant environment, they think they must be performing at all times. After you're more secure and have more experience, you'll realize that there are times that doing nothing is the best course of action. |
Scott F. Guinn Inner circle "Great Scott!" aka "Palms of Putty" & "Poof Daddy G" 6586 Posts |
I think performing for the staff while they are on the clock is a big mistake unless the manager specifically asks you to. I go around to tables and just chat with them, asking them how their food is and if everything is OK, etc. Just a few seconds at each table can kill several minutes. On slow nights, if a table has finished their meal and is waiting for the check, I'll go back and ask them if they'd like to see another trick or two.
You can stand around a little bit, but I try not to do it too much. Zach is right on about trying to help in other ways.
"Love God, laugh more, spend more time with the ones you love, play with children, do good to those in need, and eat more ice cream. There is more to life than magic tricks." - Scott F. Guinn
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-The Scot- Special user 726 Posts |
Quote:
First off, what do you do when you have done all the table's and there is dead time This shouldn't normally happen, as by the time you get to the other end of the restaurant, I'm sure a few more tables will be filled by new customers at the other side. Another possibility is to perform some different magic to the tables you have already been too, maybe say 'I did think you were genuinely interested in what I was doing, good news! I have some more' as a pleasant introduction. |
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