Check this out,

A few years ago I was working in a restaurant. It was later in the evening, around 9:45 p.m. I'd say. There had been a long wait earlier in the night (about 45 minutes) for a table. Suffice to say they had been very BUSY.

I was doing a Jerry Mentzer version of cups and balls using 3 Jumbo cards with the final loads being 3 jumbo coins (from close up cavalcade). I had been doing it for weeks and was very happy with the reactions. I approach a table with my mat and ask them if they'd like to see some magic. They say sure. I pick up a beer (which had just been brought out from the kitchen in a hot glass straight from the dishwasher) to move it. THE WHOLE FRIGGEN BOTTOM ON THE BEER MUG FALLS OFF!! I mean, the 1/2 thick solid mug bottom, just broke and came off. I poured beer ALL over this guy in a nice Italian wool suit. He was P.O.ed!!! I decided after that I wouldn't touch anything on the tables again. I've never looked back.

Ted

I had the bottom of a pub glass break on me recently while I was pouring water into it. Those things can happen, it's why I always would rather kindly ask them to make room/move something rather than touch it.

Tough break, too bad you couldn't blame your mental powers for the incodent, oh well.

He should of said he had super powers.

Man, Ted, your life is better than fiction!

You could probably do that same thing a thousand times and it never happen again but it's a bite when it happens.

Meh, I've had worse.

You end up paying for the suit?

Also the restaurant im working at on saturday nights at the moment the wait is usually about 1 hour and a half, and the "Pizza" can fit all up about . . . 300 people i'd say

No I didn't have to pay for anything. The manager comped a few meals for him and calmed him down. He was pretty hot for about 15 minutes.

Ted

Few remarks/questions.
You actually do Cups and Balls in a restaurant + Close up mat? that's just asking for trouble.
I personally do not touch or move anything on their table, it just causes irritation and just troubles the service.
Anyway, you have bad luck Ted:P

Wait wait wait, you're giving "advice" and actually claiming you have performed in a restaurant setting... YET in a whole different topic you ask this Amatuer question:



Something aint adding up.

LoL these are some of the reasons I have performers insurance. Affordable, and your covered for anything that might go wrong.

I think this is a first but I agree with DTC, something ain't adding up.

Ok, I've been doing restaurant magic for almost two months, in the restaurant Im performing, it isn't possible to bring a close up mat(without moving plates,glasses and such).

I approached tables at various times, and I was WONDERING when would be the best time? I know it also says first time, but that is of course the first time that evening.

If I haven't been doing it as long as you why should that affect my advice?
I mean, you did learn not to touch/move anything on a table right?

Experience does affect your advice, thinking it doesnt is ignorant and arrogant.
Did I learn anything from you? No, no I didnt. You're also wrong, I have moved and touched items on the table with no problem. You just have to know what you are doing.

If you dont/didnt know the answer to your question you shouldnt have been performing. Thats one of the first things you should know before performing.

So you still have a lot to learn and should probably stop performing till you learn more.

If you are expecting everyone to be "master" magician before they perform I think you are living in a fantasy world. I personally don't think you can attain mastery without performance. On one of Oz Pearlman's latest video blogs he states that he will practice a trick until proficient and then learns to refine and master it during his restaurant shows. I have heard several similar statements from Aaron Fisher and other big name magicians.

If you examine his original question he was asking what is the "Best" time to approach a table. He did not ask what is a "good" time to approach a table. To use a baseball analogy he is not asking "How do I hit the ball?" he is asking, "How do I turn a hit into a home run?" Most home run hitters hit their prime in their late twenties and early thirties...after an average of 6-10 years in the big leagues. Should Babe Ruth have been kept in the minor leagues until he was 26?

Telling a guy who has two months experience in restaurant work that he has no business offering Ted advice is a valid point. Telling a guy that he shouldn't be performing at a restaurant at all because he hasn't "Mastered" restaurant magic is an unrealistic expectation.

Thank you, couldn't have said it better, my advice may appear to be a ego boost of some sort but it most certainly isn't, it has logic to it: If you don't move glasses, you can't break them.
I'm not saying you can't move anything on a table but I, personally , think it would be wiser to ask them to move it. Now this advice can not be weakened by my experience because it's logic, plain and simple.