A Rant.....

Having a good, positive attitude is so very important. In the industry in which I work, it's imperative. Staff members or Entertainers with bad attitudes can spread their negativity like a cancer and throw everything off kilter. We are in the business of customer service and when that cancer begins to spread, it trickles on down the line and before you know it, the customers sense it. Once this happens, everyone feels it in their collective pockets. Customers simply do not tip well when faced with oppressive negativity from everyone around them. Those of us on the Management Team fight this battle with our Staff on a daily basis.

A bouncer and a bartender with bad attitudes were the main topic in our Thursday night Manager Meeting this week.

Matt*, the bouncer, is a good guy and personally, I like him, but boy, oh boy does his attitude suck. He's been with us for several years and is suffering from an acute case of the strip club disease called "Entitlement." This is common and career killing. People who've been with us for a while suddenly get it into their heads that they are entitled to get any damn thing they want. Be it choosing specific shifts for themselves, titles proclaiming their self-importance, demanding higher "tip-outs" and feeling like they can do a better job than any of us on the Management Team. Don't get me wrong, we love people who take initiative and work hard and we reward them appropriately. It's the ones who think they've "paid their dues" and no longer feel the need to work as hard as everyone else, that piss us off.

Matt* cornered Bryan*, our day shift manager, on Thursday just before shift change and gave him a piece of his mind on everything from the other bouncers, to the DJs, the Bar Staff and CeCe*, another manager. You might remember CeCe from a previous post in which I described my friendship with her. CeCe is an awesome person and a kick-ass manager, and I was pissed off to all hell when I found out that not only had Matt talked shit about her to Bryan, he had been slamming her to other staff members, as well. Matt is a grown man, why on earth would he think it was okay to speak disrespectfully about one of his superiors in such a manner that would get right back to all of us? This is not Corporate America, with bitter, disgruntled cubicle surfers busting ass for a measly paycheck that gets eaten up from taxes. This is a strip club, you make as much money as you set your mind to make. Good customer service means everything, and how friendly and attentive you are determines how much money you'll go home with at the end of a shift. It's not rocket science, not by a long shot.

It was decided that Bryan and Greg*, our GM, would have a sit down meeting with Matt and let him know that his attitude is unacceptable and since he felt that no one is doing their job as they should, we would now be holding him accountable for doing his job as he should. They also planned on reminding him that we have a stack of applications about 2 feet high in our offices, of people who would like nothing more than to have his job. We absolutely abhor having to take such a hard line but sometimes it's necessary to get people back on track again.

Our other bad attitude, problem child is Holly*, a bartender. She's been with us for about 2 years, she started as a waitress and was promoted and trained as a bartender 1 year ago. We never hire bartenders off the street, we only promote from within from our waitress staff. Holly was an awesome waitress, she always busted her ass every shift, in hopes that someday she would get her chance to move up in the ranks to bartender. We noticed, for sure, and felt confident in our decision to promote her. It didn't take long for Holly to become a power hungry, bar diva. They are the worst. They get back behind the bar, start making more money than they've ever made in their lives and it changes them. They are mean to the waitresses and they get it into their heads that the club could not function without them. We've seen this too many times to count and it's baffling. One thing we tell these young women in their training as a bartender is to never, ever forget where you came from. Holly has been disciplined in the past about her attitude, giving away free drinks, (HUGE no-no) and yelling at the waitresses when they don't call out their orders they way she thinks they should. As a result of her previous write-ups, she now works at least one waitressing shift per week in addition to her 3 busy bar shifts.

We have a huge Mardi Gras party every year, it's our biggest theme party of the year and it's tonight. Every year, it's standing room only and absolutely crazy. Through the rumor grapevine, we heard that Holly was telling other staff members last week, that if she was not scheduled to work the main bar position for the party, that she was going to quit. She told people that she felt like she deserved it over anyone else. Well, she is not scheduled to work any bar position for the party. CeCe, with 13 years bartending under her belt, will be the main bartender and Keri*, with 4 years experience, will be working the 2nd bar position. Holly wasn't scheduled because she simply isn't fast enough and she's still too green to work a party of that magnitude. If I wasn't laid up with this crippling back pain, I would have been behind the bar tonight right next to CeCe. Between the two of us, we have over 30 years experience behind a bar, 22 of those years mine. Not to brag but to state the facts, CeCe and I are experts in the field, with none of the other bartenders we have even coming close. We have to schedule accordingly on certain shifts, with only the best interests of the club in mind. Our young "bar divas" just don't get that, they take it personally and that's exactly what Holly did when she found out she would be the Champagne Hostess tonight instead of bartending. Our Champagne Hostesses have the ability to make more money than just about anyone in the club, but to Holly that doesn't matter, it's all about image and power to her.

Will she show up for work tonight? I don't honestly know, but I hope she does. I like Holly and would hate it if we lost her over something so petty and stupid. She has it in her to be a highly skilled bartender someday, if that's what she chooses to do.

As I review what I've written tonight, I'm not entirely happy with the content I'm putting out there. This has been a rant on my part, more than anything. Oh well, it is what it is. I wish I was there tonight with all my comrades in arms against the masses, this pain once again taking away from me something I love. I love the thrill of a massively busy shift and the feeling of accomplishment at the end of the night. The decision was made collectively that it was more important for me to stay home and rest tonight so I'd be able to get through my Sunday double tomorrow. I know it was the right decision but it still sucks.

Okay, I'm done ranting and I apologize to anyone who came here to read about another funny/weird story of My Life in a Strip Club. I won't let you down next time, though as I'm sure KiKi's Wild and Wacky Weekends will be in full effect tomorrow night. Till next time, ciao.