Karaoke Forums

Please, please, please keep this thread on topic!!

So, what to do with water and soda drinkers???? Ideas?

This is an offshoot of another thread I posted:

http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?p=99403

It's the bar's responsibility not yours.  If the bar is charging for water and pop then they are making more profit than they are on liquor.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I have to agree with Tim on this one.

I do promote the food and drink specials over the mic to encourage them to purchase from the menu etc.

If this is a problem at you venue you could encourage the owner to offer Virgin Drink Specials on Karaoke Nights. These drinks are about the same price or more than a regular drink and are highly profitable for the bar.

One of my bars offers free food at about 10:30pm and it is usually spicy in nature which gets them drinking more liquids. It costs the bar like $30 to feed the crowd and nets about $200-$300 in increased drink sales for the evening. The water and pop drinkers jump on the free stuff and then spend more to fan the flames from the food

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

That sounds like a great idea.  1 alcoholic drink per night is usually my limit; the rest of the night I just have water or Sprite or 7up or Mountain Dew (and I do tip the bartenders, even when it's free water).  One night I had a drink--I think it was a fuzzy navel--and then later I had a shot of Dekuyper Green Apple Pucker (I love that stuff, but man, is it potent).  I was fine driving home, but the next day I had a killer headache!

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I love being a mom!

You've come the right place! I gave up drinking many years ago (I don't even count--but when you find yourself drinking so much you need curbfeelers on your ankles, that's pretty bad).  Drinking just got pretty boring by and large for me, but...

I think we non-drinkers pretty much have our ways of not being "too apparent"--I really don't give a s---t what other people think anyway in this regard, but I usually will take a virgin bloody bloody mary.  Anothing thing you can do is put a lemon rind or cherry in their refreshments to spruce it up a bit.

You can't make people spend money if they aren't going to. The only
thing you can do is help promote the buying of water or non-alcoholic drinks.
If the bar owner isn't helping by making these things available it isn't your fault.
You can't kick these people out.
I personally don't drink and after reading the posts from the last thread talked to the owner about pushing the water more. He brought in Fruit 2 O along with just normal bottled water. I love the stuff. Fruit 2 O rocks. I now have noticed more people drinking it because they ask what I'm drinking.

I like the idea of a special for non-alcoholic drinks. I'm going to ask the owner to try that.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

This is a problem all over...   But looking at your posts, you want to tell everyone what to eat, drink and sing.    YOU have very, very little control over any of these things.   What you want to do, doesn't resemble karaoke as most of us know it.     They put the money in your pocket.    You don't do anything for them.

I drink Cola and it cost more than the beer. The bar makes more from me.

Now, can I get to sing more? and sing more slow songs?

And bottled water cost more than beer too and with an even bigger profit margin. That is my 'one for the road' drink.

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Here, only designated drivers get free drinks. As long as it's virgin. Even the bands end up paying for bottled water. Some places charge them, but it's just accepted that the people they are driving for pay their tab. Water from the tap is free, but you know what fish do in it. Ewww. And our filtration system here ain't great. So not many drink from the tap in the summer.
If the bars and cafes here allowed people to drink water for free, or sit and take up a table with out any purchases, many of them would, as we have a very large percentage of unemployed  welfare cases. It's the life style of choice for MANY here, not just economics. So the club owners mostly charge for everything. Therefor, we do end up with a lot of empty seats depending on the time of month. I would not be so strict on the slower bad time of the month, as those patrons, if given at least a little break, will come back when they do have money. Guess it's somewhat of an economics thing as to whether it's a good idea or bad to allow low cost water drinkers.
I personally will not pay more than $1.00 for a bottle of water, no matter where I am. Unless the water is absolutely undrinkable.

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"Real life doesn't start untill the music plays." LSK.

No entertainment is free, the last time I checked.   So who will pay for it?   The bar owner takes a pounding from the free water drinkers.    One free glass quickly turns into several gallons if they flush the toilet a few times.     Ice costs money to make.  Lemons aren't free.   The bartender doesn't work for free.  Electricity isn't free.   The glasses don't clean themselves.    The bands don't work for free.   Coolers don't run for free.   The Dj /Kj doesn't work for free.   But discs and equipment are free.  The sewage bill for the water used isn't free.   So where if this mythical land of "FREE"?    Everything just happens and no need for the exchange of money?

I woul prefer to pay for water myself. Why not? It will make me a paying customer. I don't loiter and I don't stay very long when I'm drinking alcohol. I can't have much caffeine so that cuts out soft drinks and coffee. I have not had a nonalcoholic beer that I like.

Charge me for water, I'll pay, no problem.

I like the idea of charging for water or soft drinks.  I think it's much easier to charge for water if it's bottled.  As long as the venue is fair and equitable about what it's doing I see no reason that anyone should complain.

Big Dog's point is right on.  This is a business and should be treated like one.  

                                                or

We could just shoot 'em.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

I agree to a point. It's the price I have a problem with. $4.00 for a small bottle of water is a little over the top. And a pop is pretty much the same price as a highball. Other than that, yes, it is nessasary to charge.

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"Real life doesn't start untill the music plays." LSK.

You're right $4 sounds a bit much for water.  I think it would be equitable to maintain the same profit margin on water and soda as on bottled beer.  As far as I am concered that would be fair.  But it's definitely not fair to a business owner to take advantage of the entertainment without buying something that's going to help pay for it.

                                      or

You could just shoot 'em.

Larry

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"Life is too short for diet soda and lite beer"

Our regular place provides free coffee, but only if you have been drinking. If coffee is your drink of choice for the evening, you buy it. (They actually have really, really good coffee, and make it fresh if it is more than an hour or so old.) Soft drinks are limited to what they use as mixers (no Dr. Pepper, which is a REAL downer in Texas) and I think they charge a little less. But OJ, grapefruit juice, pineapple juice, etc. etc. are all mixers, too, so that is a pretty good selection when you think about it. They don't have bottled water, and probably should. A few (okay...ten) years ago they had a problem with water drinkers taking up tables from paying customers. The club back then was pretty close to SRO seven nights a week, so it was a serious and legitimate concern. But bottled water didn't go over. It might now. However, the bar is so slow nowadays it might behoove them to let water drinkers drink free just to fill tables and make the place look more successful than it really is.

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[glow=darkorchid]Musica delenit bestiam feram[/glow]

I never mix soda and water.

Yes, supliers need to be paid, wages, entertainment, etc. But fair prices for goods served. It's not like these are 5 star hotels..

Soda and water? EEwwwww,. That's as bad as Scotch and water. What a waiste of perfectly good Scotch.

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"Real life doesn't start untill the music plays." LSK.

Off topic. excuse me, Pablo.

Not your responsibility, but if the bar is worried about it, have them charge everyone $5 at the door & give them a token redeemable for $5 in food or drink.  If they choose not to use it or drink anything, they already paid, if they were planning on drinking or eating, then it won't affect the ones that were already planning on paying.

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It's a good idea, but it will sound like a cover charge and everyone will flip out.   Have people stopped coming because of it?