Hello

I met this guy that owns a sitdown/all you can eat spaghetti house. He won't leave me alone. He wants me to come do some table hopping for him.

But here is what I'm not sure about. How do you go about working in a place that's all you can eat? There are tables that are eating off the menu. How do you work the "all you can eat tables?"

The guy wants me to work for "TIPS" and free food, The food sucks there and I just don't know how well "TIPS" will work out.
I didn't do his Grand Opening because he is a jerk. But this time he caught me out and about and I just couldn't tell him no.

Have any of you guys or gals ever had this happen to you ?

I just don't see how you can work an all you can eat place. Please Help

Thank you all very much

Working for tips is in my humble opinion ...crazy. At least in my part of the world. Tell him you are a professional and don't work for tips. Offer a fair wage and maybe that will get him off your back.

Some people really enjoy buffets. Usually after people have had some food and are not too hungry. Maybe before or during deserts. Sometimes you can perform for bored kids while the adults are eating.

Just give him a contract with your fee (set it high enough to where you will feel compensated for having to work for such a jerk) and then give it to him with instructions to mail / fax it back to you when signed.


Then he won't have an excuse.

It sounds like he is trying to bully you into working for free which really isn't a good idea.

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. It could do more harm than good. MacGyver's advice is good, but frankly, do you want to go to a place that you don't want to work in? Money is all very well, but how long would it be before it really got you down?
Price yourself out of his market and be done with him.

All the points made in the above posts are good ones.
Working for meals (even if they were good) and tips is akin to begging.
If you are, or aspire to be, a professional, then it requires being paid as one and not as someone who has fallen in off the street!

That is good advice.
This guy just wants a free ticket.
So what should I tell him now?
Tell him a dollar amount?
I know that if I work for tips now he will never pay me.
But if I blow him off, he may start to talk bad about me to people. What to do?
Well I thank you guys

People who go to an all you can eat restaurant, with bad food, just want the most food for the least money. I believe most go there expecting they won't have to tip due to serving themselves at the buffet.
This doesn't sound like a situation where people would tip very much, if at all.

Ask him if he'll prepare food, serve and bus tables for tips at your next table-hopping gig.

- Jared

Experience is experience. Don't work for tips alone, but I wouldn't get rid of the job. See if he takes a price you are comfortable with and work! You can leave anytime. The worst thing that could happen is you quitting in a month with some good experience with that kind of situation.

If he doesn't think your good enough to pay you, then find someone who does! Forget the jerk!

Do you have a friend who does this professionally? Ask him if he'd be willing to cold call the reasuarant, and offer his services at an inflated rate. If your jerk says yes, he's got a gig at a great price. If the jerk says no, then when you talk to him, you demand the same price. Tell him you can't ethically undercut the other guys in town.

Again, if he says yes, take the money, and if no, then fine.

What oblique said is very true.

Keven, listen to these guys. They know what they are talking about.

IF you don't have a friend, call up the owner and be honest, tell him it won't work out just working for tips. Explain that you are a professional entertainer and that it is a slap in your face to work for tips. Then give him your price $65 an hour.

Trust me, you'll be out of the running if you price it up that high. If he says you're crazy then be firm. If he tries to barter don't go below $50 and tell him you want 3 hours of pay for booking and scheduling fees. Then the first night still charge $50 an hour and work a 2 hour minimum.

If he is trying to get a free show he definitely won't pay $150 for booking and scheduling fees.

Chris

Run!
Run Like The Wind!!!!

When I work a restaurant, I hope that someone who sees me will hire me for other types of shows (banquets, parties, or whatever). I find that if I work a nice restaurant, the chances of being hired by someone else are better than if I'm working a cheap place. There are times when it's just better to turn down a show.

One night I worked a Pizza Hut during an "all you can eat" buffet (a favor for the manager who is one of my best friends). Several people asked if I did birthday parties, but when I gave them my price, they about died. The clientele that showed up on those nights were looking to save money and had no intention of putting out $50 or more on a birthday party (which ought to tell you how long ago that was).