Where'd You Go?
It kind of unnerves me when I go awhile without seeing some of my regulars. I’m at work at least 5 days a week, mostly nights. There’s a reason why people are called regulars. Same days, same nights, same time, same purchases.When they stop coming in, I can’t help but to wonder if they’re OK.
I understand why people frequent certain gas stations over others. Generally, it’s because they live or work near said station and it’s convenient for them. With this being said, perhaps the people that I’ve been missing lately found new jobs or new living quarters.
Still. If this is the case, why didn’t they tell me? I suppose that’s a little unreasonable of a request but, after months of hearing about these people’s personal lives and then not seeing them for weeks, I worry. So sue me.
Milk Lady and American Spirit Man are two of these examples.
American Spirit Man is definitely missing. He is in his mid-twenties and smokes, you guessed it, American Spirits. If nothing else, he comes in around 9 o’ clock on Monday nights, tells me about his job and his girlfriend, smokes a few cigarettes with me and then is on his merry little way. Sometimes, I’d see him Tuesday or Wednesday nights in addition to Mondays. It’s been a month or so since I’ve seen him. I sure do hope he’s doing alright.
Milk Lady is a different story. She is an older woman who just recently lost her elderly mother to cancer. She used to come in several times during the week, buy milk and ask for a bag for said purchase. More often than not, she would come in before 5 o’ clock. I usually work at 2 or 4 and have not seen her in a month either. Milk Lady really stresses me out because of her situation. Last time I saw her she was heartbroken and not doing the best. Then she all but disappeared. I hope the rest of her family is taking care of her. She’s a sweetheart. Strange but pleasant and kind hearted.
Other regulars have gone missing too but Milk Lady and American Spirit Man are definitely favorites of mine.
I hope whoever their new clerk is, treats them well.
The Marlboro Man
I realize that I have mentioned, in my few previous posts, my “regulars.” Yet, I never really seem to talk about any of them in particular. This store, like any other store, has a veritable plethora of interesting people that come in here on a weekly if not daily basis. I really should acquaint you all with them.
For instance. The Marlboro Man.
He’s anywhere between 50 and 100 years old. Full head of hair, albeit gray hair. Tall. Athletic. (If you can even use the term athletic to describe an older man) He is also freakishly tanned. Not orange. Like “old man who does yard work” kind of tanned without the tan lines. Astounding, really.
Basically, he’s a working man’s George Hamilton.
Which means, of course, that’s he attractive.
Which means, of course, though he’s at least 30 years older than me, I shamelessly flirt with him.
This doesn’t mean I “want” him in any sort of way. At all. I’m not used to seeing old men that are attractive. Besides Burt Reynolds but that’s another story for another day. It’s like seeing giraffes at a zoo. You know they exist. There’s a lot of them in this world but once you see one in person, you’re still mystified and awed.
He comes in twice a week. During the day. Drives an old Mustang. Typical retired old man, I’m guessing. All he ever buys is a carton of Marlboro Reds. In a box. Kings. Twice. A. Week.
This is part of my curiousity. He’s been smoking since a young teenager, or so he claims. He looks healthy and younger than what he probably is. He doesn’t have a raspy voice. How does he do it?!?!?!
At any rate, due to the combination of his looks and cigarette preference, he is my Marlboro Man.
Maybe, if I’m lucky, the day will come when he comes riding up to the station on a horse, wearing nothing but cowboy gear. Alas, the metal Mustang will have to do for now, I suppose.
Tumblr Isnt For Everyone
When I First Started Using Tubmlr I Was Somewhat Depressed. Life Was Hard And I Felt Misunderstood. I Made A Tumblr And FINALLY I Felt Accepted. I Felt Like I Wasnt The Only One. It Was A Place I Could Go When I Had A Hard Day And Be HAPPY ! But Now Regulars Are Making Tumblr And Taking Over. You Know The Simple-Minded, Non-Understanding, Judgmental People Are Making Tumblr. I Remember When I NEVER Got A Negative Anon Message Now I Get Them All The Time. I Miss That Tumblr. Tumblr Isnt For Everyone. I Hate When People Make Tumblrs And Say “Tumblr Sucks” “Tumblr Is Hard To Use” “Tumblr Is Like Myspace But Better” Im Like The Fuck Bruh ! Well I Just Hope Tumblr Doesnt Turn Into Another Social Website Like The Others. Tumblr Is The Social Website That Doesnt Want To Be Social.
Day Shift
Day shift in my club is from noon - 8 pm. Generally only 6-10 dancers get put on day shifts because its not busy enough during the day for more girls. As a result of less girls and less patrons than night shift, day shift is much more relaxed. Here are some of the benefits of working during day shift:
- Less competition as a result of less dancers.
- DJ is more flexible with music during the day. Rather than just requesting a certain genre, you maybe be able to request a specific set of songs as long as they aren’t too fast or too slow.
- Plenty of down time - Some days you just may not have enough energy to hustle hard, for whatever reason. That down time during the day comes in handy on those kind of days.
- Great time to practice pole tricks if there aren’t that many patrons in the club. I love to try new pole tricks but I won’t do it in a packed club out of fear I’ll mess up and it’ll be totally noticeable. Dancers in my club often practice pole tricks during 2-4-1’s on slow days and let me tell you, its so nice when other dancers help you out.
- Earning potential is sometimes greater than it would be during a night shift if you have a good regular (or multiple ones).
Let me now describe the kind of crowd (customer-wise) the club sees during the day. Generally it’s middle-aged to older middle-to-upper class gentlemen just getting off from work or taking a break during lunch. Sometimes its men who have no job and therefore really shouldn’t be spending what little they have in a strip club. A lot of the times, you’ll see the same patrons come in during the day and once you establish a good business relationship with them, you can start calling them regulars. The best way to make money during the day is to get regulars. You don’t have to have a lot because quality can easily outweigh quantity. I know some dancers that have customers come in a spend at least $1,000 on them. I have a day customer that I can count on to make at least 400-500 off of. The best thing about these regulars is that if you have a good enough relationship with them, you can text them to come in on a slow day. It’s not guaranteed that they’ll come in but if they like you enough and they’re not busy, they just might.
It’s also good for regulars to know your schedule in advanced so they know when to come in. Sometimes they might contact you to get you to come in on a day that you’re not scheduled for. I’d only recommend doing this if they’re going to spend some real money on you. You have to keep those house and DJ fees in mind. In my club, it’s $10 to the club and $20 to the DJ. If you make more than $200 on the books that shift, then you pay the DJ 10% of whatever you made on the books.
So day shift can either rock if you have good regulars or get lucky, but it can also suck if hardly anyone comes in. Sometimes you don’t mind those slow days because you’ve already made your quota for the week but if the club is your only job and you haven’t made your quota, it matters. If your club is slow enough that you can play cards with other dancers or management, play drinking games with the staff, tell the DJ your life story - you’re probably having fun, but you’re probably not making that much money. We all get those days sometimes but hopefully there are more good than bad. That pretty much sums up day shift.
Expiry Dates
So, for those of you who’re baby strippers, here’s something I didn’t know when I started working: Regulars come with an expiration date on the package. I’m not talking about dying; I mean there will eventually come a day, sooner or later, that your regular stops coming in (at all or for you, makes no matter really).
Now it seems like common sense to me, but then again ‘regulars’ in general remain something of a mystery to me even today. But back then, I didn’t understand. I didn’t know what a regular really was, how you got one, how you kept one—how you kept more than one. Then I started treating shifts like marketing networking seminars and got better at it (ha!).
So my question to all veteran strippers, active and otherwise: How do you keep your regulars coming back over time—extending the expiry date? Or is that impossible?
