Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Tips on Booking a Male Stripper (or Female)

There are the right ways and wrong ways to go about booking a stripper (male or female) for your private party. Many customers often go about doing things the wrong way, and I feel bad for them. But most of these mistakes CAN be avoided.

First, let's go over what NOT to do:

1) Do NOT settle for the first company that pops up on a google search. 

It might be a horrible company. Explore your options first.

Very few of my customers can ever recite the name of the company they used when they booked me. That's pretty bad considering they have given their credit card information, name, and address to a company they did little to no research on. Although it's difficult to find actual reviews on these companies, you can always ask key questions (see #3 below), or find a company that accepts cash only, which is to be paid to the dancer upon his or her arrival.

Keep in mind that almost every company out there will tell you that they have a dancer available (even if they don't) just to get your credit card information. If they don't have the dancer, they'll call a company who does, and both companies will take a good cut of the money, passing all of the extra costs to the consumer (you). The dancer only gets a fraction of this money, too.

Unfortunately, the dancer has no say in this matter and is often ignorant of it. As a result, you'll probably be less likely to leave a good tip because the bulk of your money is spent paying both of these companies.


2) Do NOT try to book a stripper at the last minute.

Well... You can try, but you may not succeed.

I cannot tell you how many bachelorette parties call and expect me to show up within an hour. Here's a reality check: I don't sit by my phone all day waiting for bachelorette parties to book me. Most of the time when I get a call, I might be working my full-time job, running errands, or even hanging out with my family or friends.

Strippers are not like taxi cabs -- ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. You cannot call and simply expect one to show up at your door within 15 to 30 minutes. It takes time for a stripper to prepare for your party, which may include showering, shaving, costume preparation, etc. Then there's the commute, which often takes at least an hour or more (my average commute is 1 hour and 45 minutes).

That's why most companies prefer if you book your stripper at least a week or even a month in advance. The company and the stripper can schedule you in and prepare accordingly. Remember that other customers book us too. First come, first serve.

So don't call a company at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, and expect them to get one of their dancers to drop everything he's doing in order to be at your party within 30 minutes. It's not going to happen.


3) Do NOT expect the dancer from the website.

Most companies pull the ole "bait and switch" routine. That means they'll promise you whichever person you pick from their website and send you someone else.
You may book this guy...

Unfortunately, this happens ALL THE TIME, and it's the dancers who pay for it. I can't tell you how times I have shown up to a party and the girls look quite surprised that I'm not the guy they ordered from the website. All of a sudden, I'm doing damage control because the company lied to them to make a quick sale.

The truth is, most of those pictures on those websites are probably not employees. Even if they are, they won't travel across the nation to work your party for a few hundred dollars. Remember, most of these companies will lie to get your credit card information and make a quick sale.
...But get this guy instead.

Not all companies are liars, though.

A few companies are more upfront, especially the smaller and more local ones. Some of them will even text you pictures of the EXACT guy who's showing up. The company on the previous post does this, along with a few others I have yet to mention. This is a good way to determine whether they are lying about who's showing up or not.

When it comes to options, the only real option you have comes down to ethnicity. I know that most companies ask bachelorette parties whether they want a black or white guy. Some areas such as California or South Florida may add a Hispanic option to that list.

Even then, they'll still send whoever is available. I know this firsthand, because I've walked into several parties who demanded a black guy or a blonde guy, and they looked rather surprised when I showed up.


4) Negotiate on the Price

Believe it or not, you can haggle for a better price. You may not always get it, but you can try.

Most people don't negotiate and pay the first quote they get, which is often too much.

Keep in mind that there are several factors that affect price negotiation. First, there's the dancer's commute. If he or she is driving a long way, then you may not be able to ask for a cheaper rate. In fact, you may have to pay more than usual. The second is availability. The more demand there is from other customers, the more likely a company can shrug you off as a customer.

When in doubt, shop around. Just don't take too long doing so. Remember that the demand for these private party dancers often exceeds the supply, so sometimes you have to hurry and get them before they're all booked out.








Monday, November 21, 2016

Fall and Winter = Dead Seasons

After October, work starts slowing down for male strippers. Women rarely plan their bachelorette parties in November and December with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner. The majority of people spend this time with their families, not planning a girls-night-out in another town.

Now there's an exception for touring groups like the Chippendales. I'm sure they draw a crowd whichever city they happen to be in at the time. But for private party strippers like myself, we can kick back, relax, and enjoy the weekends that we missed out on during the spring and summer months.

That's why it's important to have a career not related to stripping. The dead seasons would starve your average male stripper, unless he managed to pull a large sum of cash with plenty of extra to last him through the winter months.

I'll be using this extra time to write again.