When I do restaurant gigs I am never sure if I should or shouldn't take tips. What is your oppinion? Also when doing street magic should I leave something like a hat on the ground for people to put the money in or should I Just put it in my pocket when they give it to me?

-Dave

When offered a tip in a restaurant accept it graciously.


My understanding is that traditionally you set out a hat for tips when performing on the street.

HI,
I suppose it depends on what country you are in?

Here in the Uk I would take a tip from the Client that booked me. but not from their guests.
Phillip

Table-hopping in a restaurant, you are being paid by the management.
Therefore, the best thing to do would be to refuse a tip from a customer the first time, with the explanation that the magic is complimentary, courtesy of the restaurant.
If the customer insists, then take the tip; it is his/her way of saying "thanks" and you don't want to insult him or her.
As for the street, the hat is very definitely a part of the gig.
Street performing is essentially busking (never mind the nonsense that Blaine does), and is totally reliant on tips.
Therefore, make sure you have a VERY clear place to put them and make it VERY clear to your audience what they are expected to do.
Finally, when doing street work, don't forget to check local regulations; it will save you a lot of headaches.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

I agree with Phillip and Peter.

Regarding the hat in the street, I know someone (who would prefer to remain nameless) who tried magic on the street once and left a hat down. As is normal he himself had put some coins in the hat so people realise what it is for. When he finished his set and turned around, someone had stolen his hat!!! lol.

Paul.

I'm not sure I understand the logic behind refusing tips. I agree that in a situation (as in a restaurant) where you are being paid by an employer that you should make it clear that the spectator is neither obligated nor expected to pay for the performance. Such an explanation is much different from a refusal, however. When a spectator offers a tip he is underscoring the sincerity of his appreciation. To refuse the tip strikes me as rude.

I'd take the tips if I was working. Magicians don't get paid much from what I can tell so just like hairdressers you need tips to survive if you do it full time

People tip hairdressers?

I do.

Tipping seems to be more of an American convention. When performing in a restaurant, as opposed to busking on a street, the best idea is to let them know that your performance is courtesy of the restaurant (assuming you did the right thing and get paid for your work). Gratuities should be graciously accepted, but not expected. There has been much discussion over the past 30 years about whether the acceptance of tips in the restaurant interferes with your ability to book private performances at higher fees for the same patrons. In my opinion, it is polite to thank them and accept the tip when it's being pressed into your hand. Shilling or hustling for tips, because the restaurant isn't paying you, is not appreciated by restaurant guests.

On the street, by observation, it is a different story. The performer has to assertively request donations at key times during his/her performance, or starve. And setting out a hat or "tip jar" is an invitation for someone to steal it.

Peter...what is "busking"? I could not find it in the dictionary. Is it one of those Canadian terms we Yanks don't know about? I've never heard Shatner use it and he's one of your boys.

I also tip the lady who cuts my hair, but she is kind enough to trim my ears when necessary...ahh life over 40.

Regarding tips given in restaurants I usually accept them but I do not encourage them. I also discuss the matter with the person who hires me before I ever start.

I have heard of instances where tip money is put in a community tip jar, but I have never had to deal with that.

Remember what tips stands for...T.o I.nsure P.roper S.ervice. If your work has some how touched someone and they feel compelled to show their appreciation in the form of money then by all means do not insult them by refusing, as long the wait staff and the management do not disapprove.

At private parties I would not fell comfortable taking a tip from someone unless they insisted.

At any rate it is important not to make an issue out of it if they do insist.

In all the years that I worked in restaurants, I never accepted tips for several reasons. First of all I was paid very well by the establishment and as such did not need the tips. To accept a couple of dollars as a tip says that is what your little act was worth to them. Unless they start handing you $100 bills, then....I think you see my point.

When they really wanted to give me a tip I merely explained that the establishment paid me very well to be there to be an extra addition to their enjoyable time and if they really wanted to show their gratification, then they should do so with their server. This helped in several aspects, the main one being that ALL the serving staff (all the staff period as they all benefited from tips) LOVED me. They did not resent me for stealing some of the money that they felt they should be receiving. They do need their tips to make a living, I didn;t and if they felt that my performing was diminishing what they were taking home, there would be resentment. When they knew I didn't accept tips, (and I turned away a lot) they had no such resentment and appreciated that I was improving their tips.

They also recommended me to the tables and were always telling the management how much the tables were loving my performances, another reason that I was there so long and a great justification for the $$$ they were in fact paying me. And since I did not accept tips and since nobody but management knew what I was actually making, cutomers that called me up to book me for their own private gigs never balked at my fees when I quoted them, something they might do if they knew you worked for $5 tips.

Better to look like a class act all around and have everyone like you.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat
http://www.stores.ebay.ca/abstagecraft

Quote:
'Im not sure I understand the logic behind refusing tips.

Hi,
I think if you read Pauls post above you will start to see, why some of us will not take tips. It is about how you are percieved to your clients.As I said on a post on sidewalk shuffle Here in the UK Buskers
(street performers that work for tips, Bottling/passing the hat) except in certain places like Covent Garden where it is a kind of tradition. Are for the most part/ by most people considered to be Beggers or very near anyway. we do not tip waitresses here as a matter of routine. Tipping is not heavy in our culture. Therefore to accept tips from guests or even at a restaurant would lower SOME peoples opinions of you. Particularly the more upmarket clients.
You may think that in your country this does not apply. But to me the very fact that some of your own countrymen have reservations about taking tips to me means that some of your CLIENTS will also have a similar opinion/ reservations about tip taking.
Just a few thoughts
Phillip

There is a good discussion about this in the Jim Sisti section of the Freezer.

J R Thomas writes: "Peter...what is "busking"? I could not find it in the dictionary. Is it one of those Canadian terms we Yanks don't know about? I've never heard Shatner use it and he's one of your boys."

Oh, sure; remind us again about him! That's a bit like us reminding you that we burned your White House in the War of 1812!

Meanwhile, back to busking:
It's more common in Europe, especially Britain, than here but, still, there are many busking festivals in the U.S. and Canada each year.
A busker is a street performer who, originally, would seek out places where people were gathered, usually waiting for entertainment -- like line-ups outside theatres, for example.
The busker would then perform and pass the hat.
The busker has slowly evolved into today's street performer, where the busker IS the entertainment.
But the hat remains, as the only way a busker has of making money.
(Well, not quite true; as I said earlier, there are many busking festivals around and they usually pay the performers a retainer -- substantial, in most cases -- and arrange accommodation. What the performer makes from the hat is "gravy". But that, too, can be substantial.)
In fact, I just got back this week from performing as a busker at a weekend festival that drew more than 30,000 people.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

S2000 writes: "I'm not sure I understand the logic behind refusing tips."

It's very much a cultural thing; tipping is more accepted in North America than in Europe, for example.

But, in a lot of minds, it's still equated with begging, directly or indirectly.

If someone insists on giving a tip, after it has been politely refused the first time, then accept it rather than insult the customer; it's his or her way of saying "thanks".

Personally, I turn them down when table hopping because my accepting them would equate me and my payment by the management with the wait staff, who are usually paid the minimum wage and rely on tips to supplement their income.

This is just my view: I find tips demeaning; if you want to beg, then be honest about it and get a tin cup and some pencils and stand on a street corner.

But, as I said, that is just my view.

cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

These two statements are incongruous and the second is downright insulting.

I never advocated soliciting tips, nor would I; nobody here did. The question was whether to accept unsolicited tips. To equate this with begging is uncalled-for.

While the practice of offering tips is certainly cultural, I don't believe that accepting them is (or should be). A spectator in Cardiff, Toronto, or New Delhi can be just as sincere as one in New York or Los Angeles in offering a tip; indeed, where tips are culturally rare I would argue that someone offering a tip is more sincere, and might be more insulted if it were refused. ("I risked embarassment by offering him a tip and the blighter slapped me in the face!")

In a restaurant I like the suggestion of sharing the tips with the wait staff. Anything you can do to build comaraderie will be to your benefit.

Hi S2000magician,
I do not know if you read my previous post,
But I kind of agree with Peter, I think the point is not how you appear to the person doing the tipping, but to the other people that see it going on, even over there in the US I doubt for example tipping, Doctors, soliciters acountants ext is common place.
Why?

Possibly because people hold them/their servises in high regard and consider that they must be well paid.

This is what I want my clients to think of me too. If you where a booker and you where paying an entertainer what you considered to be a large fee for their servises. how would you then feel if you saw the magician accepting tip. further more others may see the tipping and feel obligated to tip (keeping up with the jones's and all that)
Now to the booker it looks like you are hustling tips.

If anyone offers me a tip even if I am working streets for a local authority
I say something like
"Thank you very much thats very kind of you to offer. However, I am a profesional entertainer and I am paid very well indeed by
............ to be here today. It would be rather unproffesional on my part to accept tips.
To be honest if you really enjoyed the performance as much as you seemed to I would much rather that you told ..........(the booker) How much you enjoyed my entertainment. then perhaps he will book me again in the future"

I have never had any trouble refusing drinks or tips wih the above type of responce.
Phillip

Whats the big deal??
If you are being paid by Say, a restaurant,
it is a given that you do NOT solicit...
But if you are offered a tip... By all means!
TAKE IT! If you need the money, put it in your pocket, if you do not, then give it to the srever of that table...

I for one, would be embarrased if I offered a tip and it was refused. If I were the spectator,I would feel like a moron that got his wallet out in appreciation of the excellent performance and unknowingly broke some kind of unwritten rule. I would feel
stupid for offering it to the magician..
Is this the kind of feeling you would want to give your spectators?

Also, if you are performing well enough that you are getting tips thrown at you, you are probably getting paid well... So give the tip to the Waitress/server for that table, who is probably being severely under-paid,
and increase your relationship with the restaurant employees... I have heard that the server/magician relationship can be the deciding factor on a repeat performance or
a "C-YA"...
Just my $.02
Tom

Dear Phillip:

I did read your previous post. Clearly your experience is different from mine; living in Southern California I'm immersed in a culture where tipping is de rigueur. I have been offered tips at restaurants (although my experience there is sparse), at fundraising events, and at private parties.
What I've seen is:

1. Getting a tip at one table has never seemed to prompt it at another; i.e., no keeping-up-with-the-Jonses effect.

2. Getting a tip from one group has never seemed to make another believe that I'm soliciting tips; to the contrary, I've had people comment that I must have done something very special to get a tip from so-and-so.

3. Getting a tip from a guest has never seemed to make the host feel that I was hustling for more money; I've even had hosts who have included sizable tips with my cheque at the end of the evening.

Trying to compare your services to those of a lawyer or physician to illustrate whether tips should be accepted is a bit off-the-mark. Most people would rather not engage the services of a lawyer or a physician if they don't absolutely have to, so they would be disinclined to offer a tip which might encourage a repeat performance. Entertainment is clearly different--and perceived differently by the consumer--than drawing up a lawsuit or having one's internal organs probed. That said, if someone offered a tip to their lawyer or their physician, I would advocate that it be graciously accepted as well.

If you read my posts you'll know that I make it clear to my audience that a tip is neither required nor expected. When that is clearly understood, I stand by my statement that tips should be accepted graciously.

Bill