Yes I know this has been brought up before but I do want to get this out. I did not write this but a friend of mine did. Hope these comments help.

Paddy

I have been a restaurant magician for many years, and have owned a trendy restaurant for many years as well. So, you get my opinion from the viewpoint of the magician, the restaurant's management, and the paton...

You are hired to do a job. You may think that your job is to make friends for the restaurant, help the time go by on nights when it is taking forever for orders to come out, to keep people entertained in the waiting area so they don't leave, etc., etc.

The truth is, you are there to help the restaurant make a PROFIT and help the waitstaff get better tips. If you fail in either of these areas, you will not have your job very long (unless the restaurant has really poor management or absentee owners!)

Twenty minutes of magic? In the words of Donald Trump... YOU'RE FIRED!

As an owner, I need to "turn my tables" in order to make money and for my servers to make money. If you insist on doing tricks for customers AFTER their meal... while my lobby is full of people waiting to be seated and spend their money, then I have NO use for you.

I need you right after the order is taken, and before the food arrives. I need your routines to be flexible enough that they can END at almost any point when we bring the food out. I need you to hit as many tables as you can so that you don't make other patrons mad that you didn't come to their table OR WORSE... make other patrons sit at their tables waiting on you (when I need them to LEAVE so that I can seat other folks!)

Part of your job is to find people who came for a good time, people who are on a first date, and people with children... and give them something fun to talk about. Do this EARLY in their visit to the restaurant, but AFTER the server has taken their order.

One very big piece of advice. Not everyone wants to see magic when they meet for dinner. Some of them are there to talk about their pending divorce, their child who is on drugs, or to figure out if they are going to have to file for bankrupcy. Some people just had a horribly stressful week and just want to sit and not have any "noise and distractions" and just want some peace and quiet.

A skilled performer must know how to recognize these situations and respect them. Its NOT ABOUT YOU...

I hope that even the most seasoned restaurant workers will appreciate my comments and will think about these things when working. I welcome your comments!

That is some great advice. I do not do Restaurant work, but if I ever do I will keep this advice for help. I think it is important to remember it is not about you. I met this magician through a friend from work and I invited him to come see a show I was doing. while I was about to perform my stage show, he was outside doing tricks for people. Even after the show as people were coming up to me, he was wanting to do tricks. After the show a few of us went out for dinner and guess what... he was steady wanting to do tricks and we were trying to eat. No matter how much you enjoy doing magic, at times it is not the right time to be performing. Thanks for sharing Paddy.

I want to know if the magician should approach the table and ask the guests if they are intrested in seeing some magic before their food comes. I asking this if it is difficult to recognize weather or not that is a table you want to approach?

THANKS IVAN

That comes with experience. You have to be able to read the body language of the people at the table. This is not the venue to teach non verbal communications so I won't try, but you should be able to look at how the people are inter-reacting with each other and know whether to approach or not. Err on the side of discretion.

Peter

Paddy's right, you'll be able to tell over time. I've actually been developing a keen sense of "who wants to be bothered" through my work as a waiter. Sometimes, people just want to eat and get out, or they just want a quiet discussion between the people at their table. Different restaurant books offer advice on this subject.

Wow! Thats some of the most usefull advice I've read in a long time.

Thanks for sharing.

usualy if some one seems quite or seems as they are not in a good mood..u might get them angry if you approch them...but then again ive approched people like that.. and some ignored me..but some were delighted to see "something unusual"..

-jerry

too many tricks to one audience can leave them in bordem or have them saying get away now do a few like the ultimate transpo and blaines 2 card monte if u perfect them in the performance wen u go to walk a way they will ask for u to be sent bak trust me

great friend u got there paddy

hm, i also think that if someone asks u to show him and his family more tricks, tell him to come again and u would be happy to. that way, the manager might know that u make more people to come again to the restaurant to eat and have a good time, and u also make more people knowing YOU and knowing about the great restaurant that has great food and a great magician.
i think that the costumers would think about the magic they saw as they eat, which is great, coz then they also enjoy their food, that way they would most likely tell their friends about the great food and the great magic they have participated in..
thats just another something i thought of, tell me if i'm wrong him paddy, since i don't do restaurant work (yet )

Tomer