talkmagic.co.uk

If you are Canada or the States there are huge debates about taking tips. I never took a tip. Or if it was insisted by the customer, (some are insulted if you refuse) I would give it right to the wait staff. You should be making more an hour then the waitstaff, considerably more. They really do work for tips and if you take their tips you may well be taking up a sizeable part of thier income. I make it a point to the customers and to the waitstaff that I don't work for tips. It does two things. One keeps the staff on my side, two makes the customer relax and they are not all tense wondering how much 'extra' this is going to cost them.

If the restaurant is not paying enough that I would have to rely on tips I would not take the job.

How old do you have to be to work in restaurants and is it worth it if i just want to practice magic rather than earn a living?

If it's just for practice, why not start somewhere less well, stressful? is that the word?

Like just a nursing home or someting.

It's a little unfair to say that Brits are "rubbish tippers". It's just that Britain is not a tipping culture. (Australia even less so.)

Even in the US, where everybody seems to tip for everything all the time, it would still be crashingly rude to say you want their money. The hotel porter with his hand out is a figure of ridicule for a reason.

I would agree that, if anything, the restaurant patrons are likely to be apprehensive about paying extra if you come rolling up to the table. (I know I would be.) You're likely to get a better reaction if you can say up front that it won't cost them anything and you're not looking for tips.

But yes, as K88 says, if all you want is practice and don't really care about the money, why not offer your time to local places like hospitals, hospices, and retirement homes? They're likely to need more cheering up than restaurant diners. You'll be doing a good deed and getting practice at the same time.

dimabbq wrote:How old do you have to be to work in restaurants and is it worth it if i just want to practice magic rather than earn a living?

Don't even bother to entertain the idea of working in a restaurant just so you can practice your magic. Restaurants are professional environments where people are (hopefully) employed because they are good at their job. Someone hopping between tables, practicing his magic and hoping for tips would be as welcome as a hole in the head. A professional close-up entertainer employed by the establishment is also about as welcome as a hole in the head usually, but he at least has the advantage of being paid to be there.

well, im not that good at close-up since i have not performed for a while. And haven't had as much practice as my stage stuff.
And working in that restaurant at the moment is going to be impossible. They just opened it up not too long ago and are running into a lot of situations.

I read the threads and its true, I may have practiced closeup a lot, but probably not enough to be making money for it. And then the customers would need to tip twice. Which is unfair for the waiters.

so, maybe this might not be such a good idea. As of now.
I will try to contact the manager when the restaurant starts going into business more.