Why Should You Tip Us?
'Why should I tip in the club?'
Most customers are flabbergasted when strippers ask for tips in the UK. Granted, we don't have as much of a tipping culture compared to some other countries. However, I feel tipping your dancers (and any service people to be honest) should be normalised.
Why?
Other than the obvious reason: because you've enjoyed that dancer's show and they deserve further appreciation financially! Customers should be tipping dancers on top of the dance purchase due to simple maths.
On average, out of every £20 you pay for, us dancers only take home less than half of this. How did I get there? Let's break it down:
Most clubs take a commission on all dances sold. Average commission is between 30% and 50%. Some clubs take more (the highest I've heard is 75%)
We have to pay our taxes. 20% goes directly into the government's overflowing pockets.
We have to pay to work. Many clubs take a house fee from dancers; meaning we are working from a deficit. House fees can range from £20 up to £280 (this is the highest I've heard of).
Our outfits, heels, beauty regimes (i.e. make up) are expensive and essential for our work. We can't always expense all of it to get a tax break either. And even things we can expense, it's still money coming out of our account.
Other things to bear in mind:Most clubs take commission on tips as well (just be aware of this).
We are misclassified workers (please join SWU if you'd like to help in the fight to gain more worker rights).
We do not receive a base wage/minimum wage.
We do not get holiday pay.
We do not get sick pay (this disproportionately affects those of us with physical and mental health disabilities. But this job attracts so many of us because of the flexibility. The downswing to flexibility is precarity).
Most clubs continuously overbook dancers, meaning more of us are making less, if anything.
In a lot of clubs, you have to pay for your drinks, including soft drinks, like lemonade.
We have to abide by so many club rules that make us feel like employees, but without any of the benefits. For example, in many clubs, you must perform a free t0pless stage show. This is exploitative labour.
Failure to comply with club rules can result in fines or even a working ban/being fired.
Clubs are using dancers as an income stream and rely on this heavily during quieter nights. As well as taking a house fee from dancers and taking a hefty cut of earnings from dances sold, clubs also profit from a customer entry fee and overpriced drinks sold (which dancers rarely see any of). All venues will have a public accounts records on Companies House; it's disgusting to see the level of profit they are generally making while enforcing unethical business practices and worker exploitation. In short, the clubs aren't hurting for cash.
The socio-economic situation in the UK is dire: the industry is oversaturated with workers; there are less customers coming in than ever before; the ratio of dancers to customers is out of whack; the customers who are coming in are spending less and want more for it; clubs are aware of this and putting their charges up while feigning hardship.
‘What if I can’t afford to tip?’
I totally appreciate people with different budgets and lifestyles may not be able to afford to tip. We would absolutely rather you come in and buy a dance whether you can afford to tip or not. This is to explain why tips are super important to us and to break down the reality behind the numbers we work with in order to help you show up in the best way as a custie.
In summary
So next time you get a lap dance, please consider what dancers actually profit from in the interaction and remember the above context. In a £20 dance, if you feel your dancer was worth more than the tenner they profit, consider a tip to show your respect to us!
P.S top tipping tip: Tip your dancers in cash where possible and try to slip it to them so they have the option of trying to stash the tip to hide it from the club and keep it all to themselves!