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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
I received a phone call today from a daycare operator asking about my show; the client wanted to be sure that the rabbit will be the ending as advertised in my website and she was adamant that no balloons be blown up or in any manner given out to any child.
I explained how I perform my show using large colorful tricks designed especially for children’s magic shows; that I never use balloons because of the danger of swallowing the material if they burst and giving out balloons to children and not constantly monitor the children is too dangerous. She was very happy to hear about my performance and that balloons will not be a part of my show and she hired me on the phone. Not only has performing using a rabbit booked a show, but being asked to not use balloons cinched the deal. What has your experience been? |
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
She's probably experienced the horrors of balloon sword warfare from an army of 5 year olds. I've never had your experience, but like you, I also don't do balloons. Never found any reason.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
A balloon sword is the only thing I can make with balloons.
I never asked her why she asked me not to use balloons, we were on the same page of not using balloons and it was not necessary to rock the boat before I booked her. |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
My experience, as you well know, is that the use of a rabbit is illegal in much of my territory, and is frowned upon by many over here. Why revive this stupid topic, unless to be a troll?
As for balloons, some clients do not want them. A wildlife park here is concerned about animals swallowing them. One party mother had a kid who was scared of balloons. A fundamentalist christian objected to them being used as weapons. Some schools hate the noise. Most clients love them as an add-on. No lessons to be learned except some clients like them and others don't.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
Tony;
The point of this thread is that rabbits may be a concern to some clients because of the allergic reaction some children may experience, but my client was not concerned about the reaction of fur; my client was concerned about a latex allergy and a choking hazard. Why would you consider this thread to be a "stupid Topic" unless you just "troll" threads to be argumentative. It may, or may not be illegal to use a rabbit in your towns, but nowhere in the United States is it illegal to use rabbits in a magic show. Every objection you mention is not sensible. A wildlife park in Ireland is concerned about animals swallowing balloons and choking, but mom's in in Ireland are not concerned about children swallowing balloons and choking? Are animals more revered in Ireland?... If a fundamentalist Christian objected to balloons being used as weapons, then don't make any weapons with balloons. ONE party mother had a kid who was scared of balloons, so no one gets any balloons? Before one of my shows I had one mother that hired me say to me before the party when I was checking on any child experiencing allergies to my rabbit, I was told that one child had a fur allergy and that child was not invited to the party because she wanted the rabbit. |
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Howie, we had a pointless and futile discussion on this topic that went no place, and now you are bringing it up again just a week later. You are doing it to be vexatious. There is no other purpose to this thread. And we all know that, despite what you may think.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 29, 2015, Howie Diddot wrote: Quote:
On Oct 29, 2015, Howie Diddot wrote: Actually, that is why YOU don't do balloons. That's not why SHE didn't want balloons. You also said that your client didn't say her reasons, nor did you ask her. So, you don't know if your client's reasons are latex allergy or a choking hazard, or maybe someone just doesn't like balloons because sometimes they squeak too much, or something else entirely. Speaking for me personally, I don't assume a customer's reasons unless I ask them. - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
P.S. I once did a free show for the daycare at my church as an act of kindness (I was charging my other daycares, birthday customers, schools, etc. my regular fee... so, I wasn't a beginner). The condition was that they were supposed to write me a reference letter after my show. In the reference letter I received, there was a complaint! (Not much of a reference letter, in that case.) The contact person said that maybe I shouldn't have done balloons in my show.
I called to ask why. She didn't like that I only gave balloons to some of the children at the daycare, during the show. "It wasn't fair to everyone." Usually, I give them to all of the children at most daycare shows (because some children might get upset, when they are young). But I didn't provide balloons for all in this case, because it was a larger audience and because I was donating the show. She didn't realize that, or I would have clarified her expectations when booking the show. Needless to say, I didn't use their reference letter, and I'll no longer donate shows to the daycare at my church. But the lesson I learned most of all is, when dealing with a daycare or preschool customer: (1) either plan to give balloons to every child at a daycare show ("to be fair to all of the children"), or (2) if you only give balloons to a few select "on stage" volunteers, then ask the child to give the balloon to the teacher right away, so they can "Put the balloon up for all to see and enjoy" (make it a present to their "community", instead of an individual). So, her objections to balloon twisting had nothing to do with allergies, choking hazard, popping, etc. You don't know their reasons until you ask. - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 29, 2015, Donald Dunphy wrote: Donald; You are correct, I did not specifically ask this client why she did not want balloons. In my reply, I was pointing out to Tony my reason for initiating the thread since he asked, I was including in this discussion reasons from past discussions with clients why they had not wanted balloons and I was projecting my thoughts and not clear about the distinction when I wrote my post; I should have written; "but my client was not concerned about the reaction of fur because I asked her; my client was PROBABLY concerned about a latex allergy or a choking hazard which we had not discussed". What is clear is, my client wanted a rabbit to end the show, but made it quite clear that she did not want balloons. The point of this thread was I am interested in finding out and discussing what other members of the Café experiences have been. So Donald returning to the point of my thread, have you experienced the rabbit VS the balloon conflict? |
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
Quote:
On Oct 29, 2015, Donald Dunphy wrote: Donald; I wanted to answer this post because I didn't want you to think I'm ignoring you. Sometimes no matter what I do, a problem comes up. I performed a show at a home did a great job, was complimented by everyone and I later received a 4 star feedback rather the normal 5 star feedback on the booking website. I contacted the mom and asked what was wrong, she told me she was disturbed because I asked her to please move her car to the center of the driveway to prevent me from scratching the car as I carry my props into her home; the car was very close to the very narrow walkway and I thought I was being extra cautious in preventing an accident. I never know what will upset a client, but I move forward and don't let little things bother me |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
I don't have any rabbits or doves in my shows. I've only been asked if I had a rabbit in my show a handful of times, and I don't ever recall it costing me a show. If it did cost me a show booking, that's fine with me. I can't be all things to all people. I also won't dress up as a wizard or special character for their theme. And there are some other things I've been asked to do, that I don't offer.
Because I offer balloon twisting, with some customers it's a part of their package (example - my birthday shows or daycare shows include balloons for all of the children). And with some other customers, it's an add-on. For example, as of this point, 3 of my upcoming customers for Christmas 2015 have hired me to do an hour of balloon twisting in addition to having my magic show at their Christmas party. And one of my festival customers this past summer hired me to do a magic show and 2 hours of strolling balloons (with a break between each hour-long balloon twisting session). I've only ever had one birthday customer ask me not to do balloons, and it was because of an allergy. That was a customer who I personally knew, who was a doctor, and they were having their party in a rented room in a special hospital. I simply adapted my show to not include balloons as giveaways or prizes. - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
I am of the opinion that when a mom decides to have a magician perform for her child’s party, the mom has no idea of what type of magician she wants so during the Internet search ideas are formulated.
As a magician, what you advertise is what the customer will respond to. You advertise balloon twisting and mom’s that want a balloon twister will call you for information. I advertise a rabbit in my show, so mom’s that want a rabbit will call me for information; they may ask for additional services, for instance they call you to provide balloons, they may ask if you have a rabbit and when you tell her you don’t there is no push back because they want balloons. I am asked if I provide balloons and because she called for a magician that has a rabbit I have never lost a show because I don’t provide balloons. Balloon twisting is an art, if you are an artist. The results are beautiful. I would like to learn balloon twisting, but my fear of latex reactions or choking hazards prevent me from offering balloons; additionally, balloon twisting requires many hours of practice to become an artist. Donald, you consider yourself a magician and your standards require you to not wear costumes; you pick and choose your shows based on your image. I consider myself an entertainer and if the client has a party theme that requires a wardrobe to complete the scene, I’m all in. I feel I would look foolish if every other person in the room is dressed in a wizard costume and I’m in a suit & tie, I am being paid to perform and as an entertainer if the performance requires a period dress, I see no reason not to join in and participate. The guests are dressed in costume, in certain instances the guest have paid to attend the party, I’m also attending, listening to the music, chatting with the guests; enjoying the evening; performing illusions and sharing my craft; the only difference is I’m getting paid a decent fee to be there; I don’t pay for drinks (Coke or Pepsi) and dinner is included, so if the client requests that I wear a wizard costume to play my part, I will not ruin the ambiance. |
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jamiedoyle Special user Lafayette, IN 619 Posts |
I was once asked to not do balloons because of an allergy to the latex with one of the children.
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Karen Climer Veteran user Orlando, Florida 324 Posts |
When I get calls, they always want balloons and have never once asked me if I have a rabbit. Why? Because I promote that all of my shows have balloons and say nothing in my marketing about a rabbit.
I'm assuming that Howie promotes the heck out of his rabbit so that's why they call him. So if a daycare called me and said "Bring balloons, leave the rabbit at home," could we use that an inconclusive proof that people love balloons and have no interest in a rabbit? Of course not. I'd say that the only conclusion we can draw from this booking is that the daycare knew what they wanted and hired the person who could provide that. Whatever you use in your show that makes you unique whether it is a rabbit, balloons, or dressing as a wizard, can be a huge benefit and a huge detriment depending on what the customer wants. |
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Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 5, 2015, Karen Climer wrote: Yes, he does. http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......art=30#3 - Donald
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
I don't remember ever being asked not to use balloons. One time in a restaurant I was asked not to, but never for a show. Personally, I think people overreact based upon false information. Buzz, how many kids have REALLY choked on balloons a magicians gave them? It sounds a little like a made-up sales pitch (which I am not at all opposed to, since you did not lie, just raised the issue).
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TonyB2009 Inner circle 5006 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 5, 2015, Starrpower wrote: Zero. This has been debated to death here.
Check out Tony's new thriller Dead or Alive http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alive-Varrick-Bo......n+carson
http://www.PartyMagic.ie |
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MichaelCGM Inner circle Oklahoma City 2286 Posts |
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Karen Climer Veteran user Orlando, Florida 324 Posts |
MichaelCGM, there is no record of a child choking on a 260 or similar twisting balloon, which is what a magician would likely give a child. The article you referenced refers to round balloons. I'm not trying to be contradictory, I'm just pointing out why your information is different from what Tony said.
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Howie Diddot Inner circle San Francisco & Los Angeles California 3288 Posts |
Quote:
On Nov 5, 2015, Karen Climer wrote: Quote:
On Nov 5, 2015, Donald Dunphy wrote: Donald, you didn't dig deep enough http://kids-magic.com/rabbit.php |
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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The little darlings » » Bring My Rabbit, but Leave The Balloons In My Car. (81 Likes) | ||||||||||
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