i am starting to do restaurant walk around stuff but there is one problem.

I dont know how many tricks i should do for one table.
what i usually start off with is walking up to a table holding a stealth pen or b2 bomber and then stabbing a bill and ripping it down the side and the restore. it gets good reactions and they want to see more but i dont know how many tricks to do.

here is a list of a few i might do.


-b2 bomber/stealth pen

-Chicago opener

-color changing deck. (leading this into the Chicago opener)

-any triumph trick

-biddle

-clutch

-out of this world

-autograph by justin miller

-ACR


those are some tricks i will do in a restaurant, but for each table how many tricks should i limit it down to. i dont want to get annoying and not walk away, but i dont want to walk away when they want to see like some more.

what would u suggest.

Limit it down to how ever long you feel. Also, make sure your not still performing when the food arrives. I wouldn't perform for longer then 6-10 minutes.

would it be bad to perform the exact same thing to a few tables down. should i have a different routine for every table

I don't have a limit. Last weekend I was doing my walk around gig at a bar in town and stayed with one group for around 20 minutes just because they were having so much fun. I've done other tables and groups for only 2 minutes, just because they weren't into it.

I think you should have one well-rehearsed routine.

I agree with X on a whole. However he has much more experience then me. so I what I have made is 3 solid sets that I will do but if I'm up to it I have lots of other things I can add in (or take out).

So I suggest you made 2 - 3 solid sets, and then when your comfortable enough, jazz is up, just like X said.

Having about three gives each table to see somthing different (when they are looking over at the table you are performing at), so they will not know what is going to happen - and also they wont hear you make the same gags. I don't really like the idea of only having one set - then doing that exact same one again to a table who have just been watching everything.

yeh i get what your saying but what if someone comes back to the restaurant and you many times and you don't know what to perform. lets say this happens with a lot of people, they keep coming back. if they say they saw me perform should i ask them what they saw so i can do a different routine of tricks.

one more thing, should i have some backup routines so if someone comes to the restaurant insanely a lot.

I've been doing mostly weddings lately, so depends on how many tables are full (people not dancing, looking bored). You have to spread your time out so that each table is covered, plus the new guys that just sat down.

LOL

I have 10 sets, so if people call me back or i see them again and again it always seems i have somehting new

I have about 4 tricks to a set

and as for time they are about 1 - 3 minute tricks, so i can leave if food arrives, or i will leave if they have no reaction and see out of it and not bothered.

Restaurant table-hopping and wedding/banquet/etc. table-hopping are two very different scenarios, and the rate of movement appropriate for one might not necessarily be appropriate for the other.

In event-based table-hopping, you are being paid to perform for the maximum number of tables possible in the time allotted. The guests are expecting to be entertained, and those whose table is not visited by the magician will likely be disappointed. In fact, some clients will take the position that if you do not perform for every table, you have failed.

In restaurants, you are not necessarily expected to hit every table and perform for every patron. Some will not want to be entertained; some will not need to be entertained; part of the required skill set for restaurant work is being able to determine which tables to hit and which to avoid. Being able to guage how long you need to spend at each table is also a crucial skill; you can't simply set a "four-minute per table" limit as you can (and might have to) for a banquet. You should, though, be careful not to spend too much time at a table since your client (i.e., the manager) might feel that you are neglecting other tables. You need to watch the room, watch the patrons, watch the staff... you need to go where you need to be when you need to be there for as long as you need to be there.

This is basic knowledge you should know before you even consider "starting to do restaurant walkaround stuff." If you have already taken a restaurant job but haven't read core texts like the Restaurant Workers' Handbook or The Complete Guide to Restaurant and Walkaround Magic, you are setting yourself up for failure (do NOT read The Magic Menu before reading those two books; The Magic Menu is for experienced restaurant workers; it is not a how-to manual for beginners). If you have not taken a restaurant job, then you are not "just starting to do restaurant walkaround stuff"; rather, you are just starting to learn how to do restaurant walkaround stuff.

If you mean you are just starting to explore restaurant walkaround style material, you really should read the relevant theory first before learning a bunch of tricks you might never perform.

2-3 seperate sets with 3 tricks each that link together.. Of course if people are loving it and stick around and do more...

How much stuff for each table?

That depends a little bit on the restaurant. At the On The Border Cafe's I worked in there were enough seats for about 400 people. Most of the time I spent entertaining the wait line Thursday - Saturday nights. One of your main jobs is to keep them happy while they wait.

At all Brinker International restaurants (OTB, macaroni Grill, Chilis) they try not to have more than 12 minutes from the time people order food to the time it hits the table. That means even if you are at the table right after the server takes the order, you shouldn't plan on more time than that. What ever you are doing, stop if the food arrives and tell them you'll come back later. If you are in the middle of an effect say something like, "and now the real magic, your food is here". They will laugh and it gives you a good out. People are usually hungry and want to eat. Don't linger, just get out of the way and excuse yourself.

In general I try to move around the restaurant a lot. (Not staying in one section all the time). Your job is to make people want to come back to the restaurant, that is the bottom line.

Good luck
Ted

ok, thanks. i will apply that to my walk around stuff. i just have one question. do you perform cap in bottle tricks with like bear bottles and stuff. i think that would be great for walk around. if you do, what would you recommend. i already have Prohibition but i am really interested in captured and a few others.

I've never worked in a restaurant, but I've read a couple of books on the subject since I'm planning on working at restaurants, but another good thing about moving around the restaurant a lot is that the manager hear applause all around the restaurant right?