tuscl

ATMs in Clubs

Scoops
Virginia
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 3:26 PM
I was reading the article about how strip clubs don't get it and wanted to add another aspect. I was in a club last week pondering ways clubs could do better. (Yes, I was not having a great time at this club, Tootsies in Miami but that is a subject for a review.) Anyway, I was thinking about the standard ATM ripoff. Most clubs have an ATM machine inside and usually charge $10 for each transaction, which is often limited to $100. I decided this was really stupid. Let me explain. The main goal of a strip club is to get you to spend as much money as possible, so you get a cover charge, high drink prices, VIP rooms which we gladly pay for the privilege of spending even more to have a sweet thing spend time with us (often on our lap). Therefore discouraging patrons from replenishing their cash supply at the ATM by the high fees seems unwise. They should be encouraging us to hit the ATM! I proposed maybe a coupon for a free lapdance to anyone showing an ATM receipt for more than $100, but rethought the economics of that. How about a free beer, drink or similar. I am certain many more guys would be hitting the ATM if not for the fee and verified this with a few dancers who said they felt they lost a lot of money because guys ran out and refused to use the ATM. So, if a club gets say $5 for every $20 or $25 lapdance, they would make $20 or $25 if a customer spent another $100 on lapdances, more if some of that went to the over priced drinks. Recognizing they would make this on top of the $10 fee anyway, what makes this more lucrative is if a larger number of customers are using the ATM without the fee. One of the smarter dancers I talked to got the idea to offer a free bucket of beer to guys to use the ATM herself, as she saw the benefit.

24 comments

  • samsung1
    •
    13 years ago
    Another option besides the ATM is using your credit card for cash advance or funny money. Of course none of these options are ideal!!! I know some clubs with no ATM (sinbad's in columbus) while others have more than one ATM inside (Kahoots).
  • deogol
    •
    13 years ago
    You should 1) Realize this is a very large math story problem and 2) not a whole lot of math in most club managers heads.
  • samsung1
    •
    13 years ago
    Besides ATM fees, also high cover charges can be a turn me away from clubs that I would otherwise be a regular at. The $20 cover charge seems to be working just fine though for Mons Venus so maybe I am in the minority with this opinion.
  • SuperDude
    •
    13 years ago
    The premise of the in-club ATM is simple: By the time you need to use it, you are in hot pursuit of a dancer and too drunk to care about the fee. The club has got you exactly where they want you--high, horny and careless. When you tell a dancer that you're out of cash, she will always remind of the in-club ATM. They are all working together to empty our wallets.
  • txtittyfan
    •
    13 years ago
    The apparent goal of SC management is to maximize their income. They charge high ATM fees just like they charge high drink prices, because the customers pay it. If you do not like the high ATM fees come prepared with sufficient cash. The fees do not bother me because my card rebates all fees back to me. I like the fact that drunks use the ATM. One time at St James, they left a $20 bill stuck in the slot before I used it. A nice bonus for me.
  • Digitech
    •
    13 years ago
    Dang, you had anal sex in a club and.. Wait, what?
  • Moose42
    •
    13 years ago
    Scores Baltimore had the ATM limited to $60 per transaction with a $6 fee. Hustler Club is $6 or 10% of the transaction, whichever is more. Or, I can go outside Hustler, down a block to the 7-11, and their ATM for a flat $2 fee.
  • vincemichaels
    •
    13 years ago
    I've never used a SC ATM and never will. These guys that do either have money to burn or are just too stupid.
  • CTQWERTY
    •
    13 years ago
    L O V E the 20% surcharge at the cash advance desk inside Flight Club. [C'mon guys -- how seriously do you have to suck at money management to take that gouging!!!]
  • jester214
    •
    13 years ago
    I've never used one just on principle. If I need more cash than I have on me, I shouldn't be there or I should leave. That said I don't think low fee or no fee would change much in the grand scheme of things... Maybe a few more guys use the machine, probably not to drink but to give to the women. Which you only get a percentage of? I'm skeptical...
  • samsung1
    •
    13 years ago
    CTQWERTY, at Christies cabaret cleveland it is a 15% surcharge and you don't get cash, you get funny money which has to be used in the same night. Biggest rip off yet! I have $80 left in funny money at Club X/Vanity. They claim it never expires but knowing my luck when I come in there to use it they will claim they changed the policy and it is expired LOL. Next time you run out of money, ask the stripper to loan you some so you can buy dances. You'll get a true understanding for how she feels about you! I wonder if strip clubs will ever get involved in that payday loan business that I see is becoming popular here in the USA.
  • shadowcat
    •
    13 years ago
    I don't even have an ATM card and my VISA credit card has a zero balance. I have always been and always will be a cash only customer in a strip club. PERIOD.
  • Clubber
    •
    13 years ago
    I personally find it a bit I ronic that we would quibble over a few dollars for am ATM when we are spending hundreds on naked women. I have used them at times, but the $5 it costs is just part of the ridiculous amounts charged in clubs! If I were concerned about the $5, I wouldn't be in the clubs paying $10 for a $5 drink, $6 for a $3 beer, etc...
  • CTQWERTY
    •
    13 years ago
    "Next time you run out of money, ask the stripper to loan you some so you can buy dances. You'll get a true understanding for how she feels about you!" I think I can guess what her feelings will be...
  • EarlTee
    •
    13 years ago
    I'm with Clubber. Parking fees, cover charges, tips to bouncers and waitstaff and men's room trolls, high drink prices, ATM fees... they're all pretty inconsequential in the big scheme of things. I am not rich but I gas up my car at the most convenient station... I don't drive around comparing prices.
  • 10inches
    •
    13 years ago
    would never use an ATM in a SC. to easy for skimmer to be attached. customer is probably drunk and it is dark enough in club for them not to notice device. personally would never use ATM that isn't at a bank (preferably a branch of the bank i use)
  • 10footmidget
    •
    13 years ago
    I'm with Shadowcat. NEVER use an ATM or credit card in a club.
  • GoVikings
    •
    13 years ago
    Great post, SuperDude. Very well said.
  • vincemichaels
    •
    13 years ago
    Clubber, I have to disagree with a few things. I don't find it to be "quibbling" on money management issues. I am retired as you know, so "money management" plays a role in my decisions. Strip club ATM fees can be exorbitant, I don't spend all my money in a club on dances as you know from our last few meetings down here in South Florida. I take in the cash I think I may spend when I visit a club. I'm just as happy to look at the babes and talk with them. I enjoy talking (as best I can with "G") So one wishes to throw away money on ATM fees, that's fine with me. I find it to be a foolish way to manage money.
  • Clubber
    •
    13 years ago
    vm, You are correct but you missed one thing... I said "...few dollars for am ATM..." and "...the $5 it costs...". I was very specific. You said, "Strip club ATM fees can be exorbitant,..." and yes they can. That is why I was specific. I don't use them regularly, but I have at times, was my point. Just a sometimes small part of the total club visit. As for "G", we talk, but don't use words. :) 10inches, Since I deal with ATM's daily, I know all the skimming tricks, so I will not get caught.
  • samsung1
    •
    13 years ago
    I don't care if other people are using ATMs in strip clubs with their own money that is their choice. Sometimes it is easier to pay the $5-10 fee at some ATMs rather than drive drunk to a bank ATM. What bothers me though is when people on welfare use their welfare ATM cards at strip clubs, which means our tax money is being spent on these stupid fees making the club owners richer.
  • Clubber
    •
    13 years ago
    ss1, AMEN!
  • sanitago
    •
    13 years ago
    the club figures that most of the customers are either going to be either a) too drunk, or b) too horny to worry about how much their account will get dinged by the club's ATM. have to admit, the fav club has an ATM and I've used it a few times, but they charge something like $1.50/transaction, and it doesn't list the club's name on the bank statement, so it's not too high a price for the convenience, and fairly anonymous to boot.
  • georgmicrodong
    •
    13 years ago
    sanitago: And yet, you had to chance it the first time you used the ATM, didn't you. You're a braver man than I am. :)
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