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Stripped

Tales of the naked city, from a Las Vegas dancer.


July 18, 2008 · 2:49 PM

During the summer, we feel like Voltaire in a G-string

By Justice

Illustration: Justice

Business in the Las Vegas service industry takes a nosedive in the summer. The strip club world is no exception. Sales are at a fraction of what they were during the peak season. Desperate strippers who did not expect the reduction in income (even though it has happened, like clockwork, every year for the past 12 years of their stripping careers) are outnumbering customers. It’s a terrible cycle at work during these cruel summers. Many strippers will have bad nights and since they have bad nights, they cannot afford to take the next night off. So not only is there no client base to support the ones that would be there on their regular schedule, there are also tons more strippers hanging around being extra aggressive and making everyone’s piece of the pie a little smaller, leaving only unsubstantial crumbs that leave everyone starving. This would be a good time to take a vacation, I think.

This observation might just be my perception. There might not really be more strippers flooding the market. Maybe with all this down time, I’m just sitting around staring at the same stagnant group of dancers and I’m only now noticing how depressed everyone is. I sit around drinking a pint of vodka and I tap my pen on the bar, thinking of things that I need to observe and note. I look for things that I had not noticed before, in my many hours of sitting in the same spot on many other nights. It’s familiar but not comforting. “Irritating” I scribble on a bar napkin, as I smile at an irritating girl walking by me. I’m wearing only underwear and my butt is sweaty. Doesn’t my exorbitant work fee cover the extra cooling costs for the club? Perhaps I am just staying still long enough for the sweat to collect on the barstool and to hear everyone complaining. Everyone seems uglier, too. Even me. My grimace doesn’t help.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” I have time to wonder. Objectively, I am still exactly the same as I was a few months ago when I was pulling in big money. I might even be better than ever. On slow nights at the bar, however, you have time to sit and wonder about how awkward you are and about all your other faults, real or imagined. Maybe you think about how fat you are. You might wonder if there is any other job in the world that you could take besides this one. Some people panic about their distant futures (tomorrow morning) or their dirty laundry. Like Voltaire used to say, “Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.” I wonder if Voltaire ever spent time as a stripper.

The worse thing about this cycle of negative thoughts is that it stems from rejection by useless morons. These are people that I would barely be polite to in any other setting. Inside club walls, I give them the power to make me feel subhuman. It is easy to feel like you’re worth less because you earned less. I know that’s not the case.

We’re also on red alert for prostitution. Some girls need to offer extra to make the same money they made during busier seasons. Some girls drive the cost down by offering half-price dances or ridiculous deals. We typically don’t have camaraderie or unity or anything like that but it’s a witch hunt if someone is suspected of driving down the cost of a lap dance. There is no way that Las Vegas strippers could ever have a serious union but man, we ban together when it’s a matter of money. How about a safe work environment and health care? We’re not interested. What about an extra couple of bucks? Sign us up!

6 Comments So Far

It's managements fault! They must change their current business model and remove the bad apples from the barrel! You will never see an end to pushy, aggressive, deal cutting and back stabbing strippers as long as management believes these tactics are the best way to make money and allows it to go on. A club where ALL the girls are easy going, nice and maybe even played a little hard to get would be more profitable than the current business model of aggressively trying to nag the cash out of the customer! Management does little or nothing to curtail this behavior or even worse, encourages it. Thus, most clubs are a room full of greedy, pushy, grabastic strippers! How much fun is that for a customer? So what's the solution? I say first management must change their mood of thinking and embrace the old saying that you get more flies with honey than vinegar and second take the bad apples out of the barrel! If a girl is being too pushy or cutting deals on lap dance prices then give her the boot! The other girls then won't feel the stress of dirty, aggressive competition. They can feel comfortable being nicer and less pushy! The customers will be happier, patroning more often, and spending more money. In turn, management and the strippers will see profit increase.

Posted by: AnnLeaGirl on 7/21/08 at 5:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

>> A club where ALL the girls are easy going, nice and maybe even played a little hard to get would be more profitable than the current business model of aggressively trying to nag the cash out of the customer <<

I agree with this 100%. Nothing is more of a turn off than to have pushy, used-car-salesperson like behavior coming from someone who is supposed to be a fantasy woman. I have gotten up and left clubs where I felt the sales pressure was too high.

I know that such tactics might work for some (and may even be a major turn-on for submissive types!), but for myself and many men I know it is annoying and a turn-off and makes us want to go elsewhere.

I don't like high-pressure sales anywhere: Buying a car, or in a strip club!

Posted by: aardvark on 7/21/08 at 12:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have family members that work at Sapphires and they say the same thing: Too many girls and too few customers... AnnLeaGirl is right about management, all they do is have their hands out waiting for a tip from the girls and not providing any real service.
BTW this is the first time I ran across your blog and you are a very talented writer. Keep up the good work.

Posted by: chunkee on 7/21/08 at 2:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Woo Hoo! The masses have spoken (well 2 masses anyway, lol) Let the reign of sweet and nice strippers begin!!!! I think this new fantasy club should be called Pink Kitty! (I just know some sorry bastard will steal my club idea and I'm gonna be pissed later lol)

Posted by: AnnLeaGirl on 7/23/08 at 4:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

AnnLeaGirl,
Maybe we should open a strip club? Unfortunately, management generally doesn't give a rat's butt about happy customers and club owners only care about selling alcohol at exorbitantly high rates. They definitely care more about customer satisfaction than concerning themselves with a good work environment for the strippers though.

Aardvark,
Used car salesmen are people who didn't look good enough while naked to be strippers.

Chunkee,
Welcome!! Thank you. Keep on readin'

Posted by: Justice_4_all on 7/24/08 at 2:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I've been a dancer for 13 of the past 23 years and am sick of watching pushy, unprofessional dancers run off good customers.

I'm also sick of mgt/owners allowing *extras* or too many girls per shift so customers feel harassed and pressured while mgt lines their pockets with tipouts and owners collect exorbitant house fees.

Business is seasonal plus there's a recession, BUT much of the problem is due to greed and unprofessionally run clubs. Thanks for being another intelligent voice in this important conversation!

www.MyDancerDiary.com

Posted by: CaseyDancer on 5/13/09 at 5:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

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