Will that is exactly what BD does... They only pay the entertainer on the rare occasion that they have a slow night and don't make a whopping $15 an hour in tips!

Will - I'm curious. Is this company by any chance the one profiled in Twisted: A Balloonamentary?

Rev, I believe it is.

$15 an hour in tips???

If I don't make ATLEAST $50 an hour in pay/tips I am out of there!

Quote]
On 2010-05-31 04:01, KeirRoyale wrote:
Wes I agree with you, however I am not as worried about anyone stealing my gigs as I am worried about the image these "balloon twisters" project.

Somehow I feel that if you BD wannabees knew what quality looked like, and what quality can charge ($$$), you might rethink what you are doing. Try to recognize that pimping is pimping.

After turning them down back in May I had another call from another representative of the company a couple of days ago. They are getting very persistent about getting someone to work in my area. I know of at least 4 other magician~twisters that have turned them down. I'm guessing they will eventually find someone around here that thinks this kind of money sounds good.

Yeah, I'm done with them myself.

I had been going through some tough times and have worked a few gigs for them, but I'm done with them. It disgusts me that some restaurant owners opt for the cheapness over quality, but oh well. Those are the types that care more for the bottom line than the customer experience. These are the type of places that I don't want to work at anymore. Yes, unfortunately, I had to take a step back due to the crappy economy here in South Florida. But, since things are looking up, I can finally stop filling gig for them. They were relentless trying to recruit me and a few others that I know in my area. I know for a fact that they have stolen a few gigs from a few friends of mine, and those managers are regretting it. They tried to get them to come back, and those friends refused to return. The customers really don't like being shaken down for tips, either. But for some reason, these companies that should be more about the customer experience and customer retention, are more about the bottom line.

It gets worse. The people that are in the running for regional director in Miami are the worst form of human being around. These are the type that give Capitalism a bad name. Talk about exploitation! I found out that they charge $90 to $100 per hour for a private party, and only pay the artist $15.00 per hour. This is the worst kind of human being out there. Making money without working. Seriously, that $15.00 in tips per hour that they supposedly make turns out to be less than minimum wage after expenses. They are predators taking advantage of our youth and it has got to stop. But then again, the youth see that $15.00 per hour that they will supposedly make and they think that is great.

Another question:
I had the chance to take a look into (two of) their insturcional DVDs (don't know if there are more).

Some of the material is really nice. Mr. Fudge shows many models and I really love some of them. So how is Mr. Fudge involved in BD?

Thanks for the heads up. I'm not purchasing anything related to this individual now. A five second google search reveals that he's a head trainer for them.

I believe he was the as you say "head trainer" but not any more.

I'm pretty sure there is a "not to be named" seller on ebay that has been peddling bootleg Balloon Distractions DVDs for quite some time now.

Oh go on name them, seems a bit ironic though that those that were under charging are now having their product under charged.

We've discussed this seller quite a bit on Magic Café. He sells a ton of bootleg stuff copied from a number of other balloon twisting DVDs. If you search for balloon twisting DVD on ebay, you can't miss it - he sells A LOT of stuff.

Wow. I kind of feel bad for Mr. Fudge after a little more digging I found where he posted the following. Look at the link, post number 25:
http://www.clown-forum.com/clown-forum/1......m-3.html

I'd like to know who they too because I don't want to buy from them. Its bad enough that they are trying to steal our business and I don't want to contribute to them in any way.