A little bit of everything (GPS, ROB and a good time)

I stopped by Flight Club on a Friday afternoon. Mandatory valet ($8) to park but no cover charge in the afternoon. Ordered an overpriced bottle of water ($10!) and watched the show. I would estimate that 20 or more dancers were working. It was a mixed bag. A few were older dancers, a few had a more stocky build, but most of the dancers were slender and reasonably attractive. The ethnic mix was about 60% white with several black dancers and a scattering of Asian and Hispanic dancers.

As it typical of the Flight Club, three dancers were on stage at a time, rotating between the two stations on the main stage (near the stairs and then near the bar) and the satellite stage. The dancers are on stage for probably 10-15 minute and then they are free to scout out the room for private dance customers. The stage performances are OK; all of the dancers go topless on stage but I see very few "performances" on stage, mostly some swaying to the music and making eye contact with customers. Stage tipping is somewhat limited and seems to function primarily as an opportunity to chat with the dancer and invite her to join you after she finished her stage routine.

I tipped a few dancers and invited them to join me at the bar. A few dancers quoted astronomical fees for a private dance, as in $400 for fun. Eventually, I had a nice chat with Carmella, a slender Black women who was dancing for the first time at FC, but she had danced previously at the Cricket (a Dearborn club about 5 miles east on Michigan Avenue). After a bit of mild teasing at the bar, we chatted about private dances. She was unusually vague about what she offered in private dances. That is not typical for FC dancers; but this was her first day working at FC. I decided to take her upstairs for a private dance. The toll to get access to the private dance facilities is now $20. Her dance was nothing special so I declined a second dance and paid her $30. She insisted that I pay her for two dances. I suggested that we talk to the attendant, who keeps track of the number of dances. He confirmed that we had only done a single dance. Later, I went for a private dance with a different dancer and I stopped on the way out to thank the attendant for being honest with his count of dances. I also told him that it was a good move to protect the reputation of FC. He mentioned that he'd keep his eye out for other customer complaints about this dancer and noted that the club fires dancers who try to overcharge customers. I mention this because it is refreshing to see management doing a good job mediating disputes between customers and dancers. So, this is an advisory to fellow customers to be sure that you get a correct dance count with Carmella.