Here's the scenario:

You are booked for a show. You later find out that the buyer cancelled another performer to hire you. What do you do? Keep the gig?

What if the other act is a friend of yours?

It would depend almost entirely on WHY the buyer cancelled the first show and hired you.

Okay ... let's assume it was nothing the first guy did that was detrimental. Perhaps you are cheaper.

Still some unanswered questions:

Did you find out before or after you did the show?

How much cheaper? (Perhaps his price was way out of line and yours was about right for your area).

Was the other performer paid a cancellation fee?

Did the other performer get another gig for that day?

How far in advance were both of you notified?

How did you find out?

It happens all the time - sometimes (not often) the buyer lets it slip that she prefers me to someone she already booked. My attitude: "That's show biz."

More often, I get a call a few days after taking the order: "My sister already hired a magician" (Sure she did.) Or, "We decided to have a ballet party instead/" (Maybe/) Or just, "We have to cancel." My attitude: "That's show biz..."

Everybody talks about getting deposits . I book birthday parties between 1-2 weeks ahead, maybe less. There's little time to get a deposit, and I believe the requirement would result in a significant number of "deposit no-shows" that WOULD HAVE played and paid without a hitch (not to mention wasting time waiting for deposits that don't arrive). If I were doing corporate shows it would be a different matter, but Mrs. Housewife is going to think twice before sending a deposit, and maybe think enough to just never send it.

I don't like cancellations, especially when they're last-minute or when the work is going to someone else, but they don't happen often at all.

If I'm the guy who the customer wanted more, my conscience is clear. I didn't set out to bump someone else, I just did my regular selling job, and if it was that much better than the other guy's - well, then, my kids get to eat, I get a roof over our head for another (part of a) month, and the other guy needs to work on his business skills. Happens all the time to the grocer and the plumber. Why should entertainers be exempt? THAT'S SHOW BIZ!

I'd do it, Mark, simple and straight as that. However, I would too apply the "Peter Marucci criteria" in the matter.

The closest friends I have in kids entertaining I've met on this board, and we operate miles - even Continents - away from each other.

There is just one Punch and Judy man in my location that I am an acquaintance with. He works abroad a lot touring fairs and fetes, etc., in Europe, so we really are no business competition to each other. There were entertainers in our location who would 'stiff' us back in 1979. There are similar ones in 2005. It would be absolutely wonderful to have a business relationship with someone like Clive and Billy do in Devon, England, but this I believe is an exception to normality.

Tony.

I don't know about that, Tony. I have several very good friends in my area with whom I compete -- but we also share shows, do programs together, borrow props from one another, and so on.

Many years ago I had a show I booked go to a students of mine for the simple reason he was cheaper. He was just a kid -- maybe 16 years old -- and was really just barely getting to the level of deserving paid shows. After I found out, I naturally told him to do the show and knock them dead, but I also sent a nastygram to the lady who told me, "The event was canceled." I don't care if I burned THAT bridge. It made me feel good!

I had one a few years ago like that. When the second Harry Potter book was coming out, a local outlet of a national chain of bookstores called to ask if I would perform for the event. I gave them a price, and he said he'd get back to me. I called and left him a message a few times and eventually, he called back and left me a message saying that they decided not to use a magician after all. I've got my voice mail set up to call my cell when there's a message, and so I received it while my wife and I were out shopping.

Imagine my surprise when I stopped in at the store a couple hours later and saw a poster for the event advertising that a magician friend of mine would be performing. Frankly, he was just as good a choice as I was, and so I had no problem with that, but I hate being lied to. If I'm more expensive, or you think someone else is better, then just tell me, but don't lie to me.

Later that day, I called the guy back (he was the community relations coordinator) and left a message. I said, "Thanks for the call. I see that you've hired my friend, John Doe, for the event. He'll do a great job for you." I wanted to be polite, but also let the jerk know I knew he lied. What puzzles me is that this isn't that big a city, and I can't imagine how he expected I wouldn't find out. I guess he didn't care.

I've received a few calls from them over the years since, and I always ask if that gentleman is still there. He always has been, and so I've always refused the work. No one has ever asked me why, and I've never volunteered, but it's not too hard to figure that one out.

In my case, I was already booked! They just wanted to go with someone cheaper, so they told me it was a no-go. Still, they got what they paid for ...

Emazdad and I have been booked by the same person before. People don't always realise that we are mates and talk to each other. This person who booked both of us would have been about to cancel one of us, but we got in there first and both phoned her to say the show was canceled as she had booked the other. That made us feel better.

If you had no prior knowledge of the other booking, then her cancelling and booking you has nothing to do with you. If you deliberatly chased the show, knowing the other guy was booked then that's different.

She may have booked him, seen your show and decided you were better.

I hate to tell you this, mate, but I get hundreds of my shows this way. They see you, see me and decide I'm better. He he.

I have been dumped on by unethical performers in the past.

I have had guys go to the management of restaurants and other clients telling them they could do the job cheaper, better, whatever. In most cases, the clients are loyal, because they know they have loyalty in me. Once in awhile, some have taken the bait, and as Starrpower mentioned they get what they pay for. I usually get the call back the next time, and I have no trouble taking the work. It makes for a more well-trained client. lol.

There was one guy around here who was working a stage show in a club, and was doing, by accounts, a really poor show. At the end of the show, he said, If you like me, my name is ***** *****, if you didn't, my name is Michael Baker." Fortunately for him, I did not see this happen, but the incident was told to me on separate occassions by 2 separate people, who did not know each other.

Another unhappy episode happened once when I was hired to work an event, not by the client, but by the venue (a comedy club/dinner theater) who was organizing the entertainment as part of the package. The venue, BTW, is solid, and I have had a great working relationship with the owner for about 15 years.

The problem happened when the size of the party grew beyond the capacity of the location, literally at the last moment, like two days before. I had been booked for about a month. The client had no recourse but to find a larger venue, and the current venue really had no choice. The client however, worked to cover their own asse(t)s before informing the comedy club that they were pulling the event, so naturally, I was even a bit further down the information back road.

How did I find out? I got a call from a bottom-feeder hack that had no scruples and he first asked me, "You're scheduled for a Bar Mitzvah at the Comedy Club?"

I said, "Yeah, it's day after tomorrow."

He pompously said, "NOT ANYMORE!!!"

Apparently, he was called by the client as they were attempting to piece their event back together. Now I understand that he didn't actively try to steal the gig, but I DID NOT like having my nose shoved in it. That really ticked me off.

Well guess what? This guy got no more favors from me. I get a lot of calls for other variety talent for multi-performer events, and often I am in a position where I must pass a gig on to someone else when I am booked. This guy was now completely off my list, and after I talked to several more ethical performers, he was off their lists, too.

Sometimes these guys are too stupid to know not to sh*t in their own nests.

I don't do Birthday's any more, but if I did I think I would ask for a 1/3 deposit by credit card.

When they booked the show I would run the card and mail my confirmation information.

If they cancelled after finding someone cheaper I would think them for calling and inform them of the deposit being kept. That's what a de[osit is for to secure the time frame.

de·pos·it v
1. vt to pay money into a bank or other financial institution
2. vt to give a sum of money as part-payment or security

n
1. an act of placing money or a valuable item in a bank or other institution
2. an amount of money or a valuable item that is paid into or left in a bank or other institution
3. a partial payment or security on something you wish to buy

Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

I take a £25 deposit, It doesn't stop all the cancellations but it makes you feel better to know you've got some of their money.

The deposit is non refundable on cancellation but if it was a extreme genuine personal reason IE, Kids Hospital appointment clashing with party date, Parents suddenly made redundant and can't afford it etc, and they cancelled with plenty of notice I would consider returning it.

I haven't had the problem often enough with birthdays, so I don't get a deposit, but with larger shows, I do. I may consider asking for the deposit on all shows, partly because so many parents are asking me if they should send one. It makes me think that it's a very common policy with other entertainers.

The areas I've had more problems with are events that are coordinated by someone who doesn't really have the experience to do a good job. They book all the entertainment just to make sure they have it, and then try to figure how to fit the pieces into the puzzle they call a budget. Then when they realize that someone else from the committee has spent most of the funds on the caterer and decorations, they start eliminating until they can afford the remnants.

I've seen this happen many times, and mostly for the same types of events. For these, I always get a contract and a deposit and if I start to get a hunch they may be one of those, I shorten the time for the due date. This makes them face reality and I can quickly weed out those who are not serious players.

I used to ask for deposits from all jobs, then I found that in non birthday events often the person boking didn't hold the purse strings. this resulted in them having problems getting the deposit money. So now it's only private parties I take deposits from.

I do use a contract for all jobs. That way if I turn up to find another entertainer also booked I still get paid. It happened once before, the other guy left without geting paid as he had no contract, I did the show and got paid. If they'd let him do the show they would have had to pay both of us. One day it may happen with a guy who also has a contract. That would be interesting.

My last show for December was at 3:00 on the 23rd at a tavern. After the gig I went to a fellow magician's house for a BBQ. I mentioned I'd done my last gig at the tavern and he look surpised saying "Really? That tavern booked me at 2:00, I showed up, set up ON STAGE and was about to perform when someone from the tavern said 'oh no, we cancelled you, we have Santa coming at 2:00.' "

It turns out I had quoted $20 less and so they booked ME instead WITHOUT cancelling him.

I'd done nothing wrong but I still felt TERRIBLE.

OK. So here's my question to everyone. Do you take a booking from this customer again? Do you share "bad" customer information with your performing friends? If it wasn't you who got screwed, as in Nick's story, do you avoid this customer because they did it to someone else?

I would LOVE to have a local bad-customer blacklist! Unfortunately, I think it would get me into legal trouble, but wouldn't it be nice?

"I'll be very glad to work for you - just send my fee in advance in cash, plus the fee of my friend, who you stiffed last year, and I'll be there for sure!"