Good Hustles versus Bad Hustles: Advice for Strippers and Customers

1/12/2012 12:00:00 AM

Strip Clubs are a business...and after having sampled many different clubs in different areas; you begin to easily see the "hustles" that are a daily part of strip club operations. Some of these "hustles" are just part of the experience, some of them are not. And you need to know the difference and strippers need to know the difference. 
 
First off, what is a "hustle"? A "hustle" is a practice by which the club or dancer is attempting to maxamize the amount of money you spend without offering additional services. "Hustles" exist in many businesses, not just strip clubs. Have you ever bought electronics and were asked for a 1-year warranty? Have you ever been to a fast food restuarant and had the cashier ask if you'd like something else that you didn't specifically mention? Or how bout the lines in stores having all the candy right there for the kids to beg for as the parents wait in line? 
 
Here is an example of a routine "hustle" at a strip club. "Buying Drinks for Dancers". Whenever a dancer goes to your table, the waitress seems to show up and always asks if you'd like to buy the lady a drink. Strippers can usually get drinks at the club they work at for free or a reduced price. But the establishment wants YOU to buy them so they can charge much more and the waitresses get another tip out of it. The dancers make their money with dances...the club makes it's money on drinks. 
 
That is an example of a "good hustle". Yes, it's annoying and it puts ya on the spot. And it's even more annoying when they order a $12 drink and then don't drink it. But it's $6-$12 that shows the dancer you're willing to treat her right and spend money. It's a necessary evil part of the overall experience. 
 
Here's an example of a "middle of the road hustle"...it's midway between "bad" and "good". Tipping the Bouncers. Some places will recommend you tip bouncers. Sometimes, this is a necessary part for them to "turn a blind eye" to you and the stripper having "relations" outside the rules of the club. Sometimes it's something you do to show the bouncer that you want to spend money and he assists you by sending the right girls your way. But sometimes, these "tips" are nothing more than just another way to scam you out of $10-$25. The key is, are you going to be able to "get" something from tipping the bouncers. If there's nothing that you "get", it's a hustle. 
 
Now, here's a "bad hustle": If you are getting a lap dance and the dancer negotiates "extras"...then either doesn't deliver or changes the rules or changes the prices or claims that she gave you something she didn't...that's a "bad hustle". And when I say "extras", this can be anything from the very legal lap dance where she expects a large tip even though she gave you a very poor lap dance...all the way to the very illegal full on sex where the stripper says a good time in the VIP/Champaigne room runs $200 but after paying to get in there, she wants even more money to actually perform the services. 
 
Now, the important message there for customers is: 
 
1) If you want to have a good time at a strip club...you can't be cheap. You have to expect that you're gonna get caught up in some "good hustles" as part of the experience. Don't get offended or upset...it's part of the business. 
 
2) Once you get to the point where you're negotiating for extras...be very clear about what you want and what you will pay. I know it "ruins the mood" and might make you appear "cheap"...but if you don't, you could find yourself involved in a "bad hustle". 
 
The important message for the dancers is: 
<ol>
<li>Bad hustles....are bad for your long term success. The clients willing to pay the extra money for extra services are the clients you want happy and coming back. You want them to remember that while they spent quite a bit of money, they were overall satisfied. If you hustle them out of a significant amount of cash and make the experience negative, even if they finally just agree to give it to you to shut you up...you've lost that customer for good and there's a decent chance word will get around.
<li>While you want to avoid giving "freebies" to the low ballers...because this is a business and you work to make money; it cannot be overstated how much more money you can realistically make from the high rollers if they feel that you are giving them more than you'd give the "average guy". I know from my experience...if a dancer is giving me a good dance and ends up giving me an extra couple songs or a break on some extras...the money she is passing up she WILL get back eventually either in better tips or a regular customer. Making a guy feel like he's "special"...is probably the most valuable skill a dancer can have in terms of making long term money.
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27 comments

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JohnBuford

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13 years ago

I don't mind at all buying a drink(s) for a dancer,provided the price I pay is the same as if the drink were for me.If however,she gets the most expensive drink in the joint, than that's it for her.I'll pay and walk away and not speak to her again.I have never tipped a bouncer.I have never been in a situation where I felt it necessary.I have never once felt I've been a victim of a "big hustle." I think that's more a reflection of the clubs I go to and not necessarily an indication of my prowess in detecting BS.

JackKash

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13 years ago

Agree with John about buying drinks - it's fine if it's what I would pay for myself anyway. I always ask the bartenders first to check. Very few girls have taken advantage and ordered an expensive drink. I always sit at the bar as in one club I went to the drink price went up a dollar from the waitress (hustle). A couple more examples of "bad hustle," bottle service and VIP area inflated drink prices. I should have know better.

inno123

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13 years ago

I disagree. What you call a bad hustle I call a scam. Let's not sugar coat it.

And I regard the 'buy a girl a drink' as a good hustle either. If I didn't come to pay for somebody else to drink then pushing me to spend money on it will never, by definition, make me a satisfied customer.. If that is what the club needs to make money then the club needs to reorient its business model.

A good hustle is one in which what I want to spend money on is the same thing that the dancer wants me to spend money on and the club wants me to spend money on.

JacksonEsskay

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13 years ago

Good article. I've never tipped a bouncer (or floorman as the clubs I frequent insist on calling them), but I can see where it could be a useful tool if you are not familiar with the club/area.

jackslash

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13 years ago

The shot girls are hustling you. At my regular club the shot girls are independent contractors who have to buy the shots from the club and then sell them to the customers. So the shot girls are very motivated and very pushy. They ask you to buy shots for everybody, including themselves and the dancers. When a shot girl asks a dancer if she wants a shot, the dancer has to say yes--if she doesn't, she gets fined. The shots that the shot girls and dancers drink are low alcohol or no alcohol. There is always the suggestion that shots will make the dancers wilder, but don't believe it. The only thing that makes the dancers wilder is more money.

JackKash

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13 years ago

Can't stand Shot Girls. Drinks I've bought dancers have been, a glass of white wine, red bull and vodka, a shot of tequila, cosmopolitan or other colorful vodka martini. We're sitting at the bar and I'm watching the bartender because they are also poring my drink - I haven't seen any of them make anything with less alcohol for dancer than they gave me. Tipped some "floormen" in my time - waste of money. Tipped a DJ once when the dancer I was with got him to play some music I requested. Always tip the Bartenders and waitresses - doesn't always get you anything extra but it certainly gets me faster service and they watch the drinks when I'm off for an LD.

JGoose

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13 years ago

All you have to say to a waitress that is asking about dancer drinks is "No thank you." It's really not difficult.

I've tipped the DJ, when he puts my ATF into the VIP status so she isn't called up to the stage, and I've tipped waitresses, but that's as a far as I'm going with tips. I'm there for lap dances and nothing else.

JohnBuford

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13 years ago

Ugh.Shot girls are the worst.Little more than dressed up street urchins from third world countries who beg for money.I don't give them a dime and my tone is such that I'm not asked again.

Joe from NJ

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13 years ago

Excellent and correct article.

canny

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13 years ago

I know one dancer whose VIP dances are much more fun when she's drunk than when she's sober. She's currently working at a BYOB club and the last time I went there I took a flask of her favorite drink with me and we split it before going in to the VIP. It was probably the best dance I've ever gotten from her and was well worth the effort of finding an 18 oz flask.

pleaseno

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13 years ago

That's about the only advantage of the drink hustle - getting them looser. Problem is 1) I always suspect there's a very small amount of liquor if any at all and 2) they have a high tolerance if they're drinking every night. Other than getting them to potentially relax a little more, I hate the drink hustle. Don't want to seem like a tight wad, but don't like paying $15 per drink for what usually results in little reward.

ajvet

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13 years ago

I certainly don't mind buying a drink for the girl I am with. One of my favorite clubs in Tampa is notorious for that. However, I do agree that it shows the girls you want to spend money on them. I do agree with the bad hustles as well. And for the record, I am like Leonard. I do not go to strip club for extras. I never ask for them, and I have turned them down in the past, and will in the future. It is about the fantasy, the conversation, and the lap dance

JGoose

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13 years ago

How does it show the dancers that you wanna spend money on them?

Now maybe if I had options other than Deja Vu clubs, I might find it worth while, but a $10 drink just gives them $5 off of their rent(and a $20 drink $10 off their rent), if I get a $20 dance from them, then they get $20.

If I wanted to show that I wanted to spend money on them, I would tip them on stage so that they get their money, and not the club getting the money.

uscue13

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13 years ago

Regarding the drinks, dancers need to definitely ask before assuming you're buying her a drink. I was sitting by myself and had a dancer come up. She asked if I wanted a LD. I told her (honestly) that I was just settling in and wanted to check out the action first while letting my first drink get me loose. She then asks if I want company while I drink. Not one to brush someone off so early in my visit, I said sure. To me - that meant sure you can sit down, we can talk and see if she's going to be my first dance. To her - that meant sure you can sit down and ask the waitress to bring over two drinks that I will be paying for. When the waitress returned with the drinks and I realized what happened, I bit the bullet and paid for her drinks that I wasn't asked to buy, ignored her for a few sets until she excused herself, then spent $200 on dances while she watched me keep going back to the couch room.

Moral of the story: if you make a customer feel conned or cheated (even for something as measly as $8 drinks), you can lose out on a lot of business. Be fair to me and I'll take care of you.

Bishop4224

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13 years ago

I completely agree on drinks. I have no problem buying a gal her drink, but only if I'm interested in getting dances from her, and even then, if I feel like she's taking advantage of my goodwill, I'll spend my money on the other girls.

Yesterday, a dancer put it to me best, "I approach and sit to talk with those who made the effort to get up and sit at the stage and tip my stage show, because if they're tipping me for my stage show, they're likely interested in a private show". I'm not sure if clubs push their dancers to get guys to buy them drinks, but ladies, I'd rather see my money going into your purse than the owner's ledgers.

JGoose

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13 years ago

At the Seattle Deja Vu clubs, a dancer can not refuse a drink, so yes they are pushing them on those that think the drink will get them something more.

JuiceBox69

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13 years ago

Good read and yes I hate shot girls ! Hell in pp in greenville they will even try to sell you a shot dance lol that's a dance on the floor with the shot girl with her cloths on ! Fuck that !

Reddbehrens

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13 years ago

My least favorite scam is when a dancer thinks she can demand that you give her pieces of clothing or hats.
If I'm wearing a sports hat or shirt from my favorite band I'm not going to give them away.

Papi_Chulo

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13 years ago

I spend a lot of money at the club - and I want to spend it on what I like. Why would I let somebody else spend my hard earned money for me? If you go to a store and someone is trying to sell you something you don't want - you just say no thanks - you don't buy it because you feel "obligated" or it's part of the "hustle"?

I like to get a lot of lap-dances from a lot of different girls - that it what I like to spend my money on. If I buy a drink for every girl I get a dance from - I'll spend half my money on drinks for the girls and not on dances which is what I came in for. And if you get a drink for one girl - the next one will want one too!

Leonard313

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13 years ago

I think one common theme is that it's your money and you want to spend it on dances not drinks, etc...

Listen, I don't disagree. If we're being honest, we wouldn't be at a strip club if it weren't for the naked women and attention. I can get a much better, cheaper drink in a local tavern or my refrigerator if that's what I wanted. And to be honest, other than perhaps trying to "loosen them up"...we'd probably prefer to not even buy regular girls drinks if we could get away with it.

But...the point I was making is that some of those hustles are "part of the game". You pay cover, agree to buy a drink every hour, throw a girl a dollar or two when she's on stage, etc... because it's a means to an end. For some of us, even lap dances are simply a means to another end. To try and bypass the normal/smaller hustles and just "get down to business" isn't a very good strategy in my opinion.

It would be nice for the few dancers on the site to chime in on this, but I think there is some value to spreading a little money around to the wait staff, bouncers, other dancers, etc... I think if a woman is sitting with a guy and he won't pay a $1 tip to a waitress...it really doesn't matter that he's "saving that money for dances"...it's an indication to her that this guy is here to get grinded on till his $60 is exhausted...then he's scraping some change together to hit taco bell on the way home to his one bedroom apartment.

But if a guy is "cool"...and spreads the money around just a little...and aren't too "overly eager to cum in their pants"...women might feel a bit more comfortable with giving them a little more. And for me, that's what makes the experience better from one place to another...the feeling (or illusion) that I got a little something extra...that I made a "connection". Sure, I realize thats 98% illusion...and money trumps all else...but getting it to be 94% illusion versus 99%...that's what I like...that's when I have a "good time". At the end of the day, it's still $200 to get laid by a woman that gets laid by strangers for $200. I'm not stupid. But I like to at least feel like I got a little more for my $200 than the last guy...even if I had to spread $120 around to help build that illusion.

amarillobabes

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13 years ago

Nothing is harder than trying to teach headstrong dancers how to treat customers. In my clubs I give the girls 90% of the "Drink Hustle" and 10% goes to the house (I gotta buy the juices) A lot of times the "Drink Hustle" Is a way for me to keep a girl fed while we train her how to dance and take care of customers. It's easier for the inexperienced dancer to ask for a drink than it is to ask for a lapdance. It also keeps them from getting drunk since the drinks contain no alcohol. There is nothing uglier than a staggering drunk dancer. basically by giving them the money on it it gives them incentive not to drink alcohol and puts a little money in their pockets.

mandy4154

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12 years ago

I'm a dancer too! Sometimes when I start my shift I am not ready to be social, and will buy myself a drink to warm up. I think it's tacky to ask a customer to buy me a drink because they are so expensive. If they offer, which they usually do, that's great! I try to not drink that much, but sometimes (like last night) I get a little excited. I work at the Rhino in Vegas for reference. They don't serve watered down drinks at all! Also, the drinks are the same price for girls and customers. We also don't make commission for drink sales.

Leonard313

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12 years ago

Brandy...you're either naive or just plain wrong. I've bought dancers $10 drinks, they took one sip, and either left it at the table or in the lap dance area. Its a hustle. In many clubs....dancers have so many drinks guys have to buy for them or it comes out of the dancer's pocket. Its a hustle.

Trust me, I have NO problem drinking and buying drink after drink after drink for a dancer that wants to sit and hang out with me. And I buy dances and tip as well. But if I buy you a drink and you take one sip then excuse yourself....that's a slap in the face and why I don't routinely buy dancers drinks anymore. So don't blame me...blame your skank ass rude fellow dancers that respond to kindness with rudeness.

Leonard313

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12 years ago

Shannon....I don't know where to go with that. Granted guys at strip clubs aren't gentlemen...but strippers ain't ladies either, so let's not throw stones.

Extras are part of strip clubs. As lon as women are willing to get naked and degrade themselves to make more money than they can at a real job, women are going to blur the line as to what they will or won't do for the right price. But don't get pissed because the guy spending $200 to stare at your twat might actually desire to touch it. Your beef should be with your coworkers for setting the bar lower than you want it to be. And escorts (hookers) aren't cleaner nor safer.

You problem is, you assume men enjoy spending $1000 to stare at a pretty girl nd buy her drinks...because that's what you want them to do. And if they get grabby or want extras, they are perverts. You work in a strip club...you take your clothes off for strangers, lay on your back with your legs spread, while guys throw dollar bills at you. And then you have the clueless audacity to think guys that "actually wanna fuk ya" are wrong?

Many clubs I go to...extras don't factor in. Some clubs I've been to, its the whole point. But regardless, the girls giving extras will be annoyed at the guys just stage tipping and not spending the big money and the girls not willing to do extras will be pissed that guys pay good money for extras but nothing much for standard stage dancing.

pascogirlieone

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12 years ago

if im sitting w/sumbody for a half hour to an hour or two, then I do expect the customer to buy me drinks. they r very strong and one to twos dollars more than customer drinks. u r not allowed to refuse a drink and it is illegal to sell a drink w/no alcohol in it and claim that it does indeed have alcohol. in most states it is illegal for a dancer to ask a customer to buy her a drink. I don't care if people stage tip but don't do dances. theyre still spending money. sum people don't tip buy dances or drinks. if ur making a special song request u shud throw the dj a few bucks, but also tip the girl dancing to ur song. several times people have requested songs that I wud not normally dance to and then not tipped me. that's kinda rude. an extra ten or twenty to the manager or bouncer to turn a blind eye is one thing but I have worked at clubs where there is a bouncer or attendant every 5 feet w/a tip jar and they expect a tip from the customer and dancer for every interaction. I rarely work at those places for more than a few weeks. if sumbody buys me a drink I always drink it with them and chill for at least then minutes, even if I know they wont b buying any dances. its courtesy and a sign of respect. a girl who slams her drink or walks away after two sips is thinking in very short terms and not to building a loyal clientele

Scluver714

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9 years ago

I know this is from waaaay back but I'll chime in I personally think the real problem here is the dancers pushing for drinks and then take off after getting the drink. This is what I personally do when I hit a club as a newbie and I ended up liking the club i'll make sure not to get any dances I'll interact with everyone and I'll buy everyone a drink once and tip the ones I like on stage cause this way everyone will know you and they will sit with you and spend time with you in the future this has worked for me for the past Gotdamn years I've been clubbin.

HoustonTexansfan

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8 years ago

I feel like the shittier the club is, the more worthless the drink hustle is, like at this one club where I live (no not Houston) it's literally $40 for their cheapest drink and the girls drain it in like 5 mins and then you seem like an asshole from not spending another $40 on them, oh then the best part, whenever the waitress is having a bad night, she will corner you into buy an expensive ass drink (like $120) so she can keep on with her drug habit. Then like you go to the local VIP club where there is no drink hustle, as long as you buy a dance at least once or twice an hour, girls will sit with you and make your experience better.

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