[Dixielandjazz] TIPS

[Jazzjerry at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/3/03 4:07:42 AM, barbonestreet at earthlink.net writes:

<< There would be no OKOM in England if management had to
pay a decent wage to all those Dixieland Bands working in clubs. >>

Steve,

The implication here is that the running of the large number of jazz clubs in 
the UK is a professional activity on the part of the promoters and this is 
certainly not the case. a very large number of the jazz venues in the UK are 
clubs run by amatuers, often committees, who put on jazz events in local pubs 
and other venues because of their love of the music and certainly not to make 
any money. The musicians get paid, not always large sums of money, but these 
promoters generally get nothing at all and usually have to take the risk if 
the audience fails to materialise. I'm sure that the great majority of jazz 
club organisers pay the bands as much as they can manage but it all depends 
on the size of the venue, and some are very small, what the audience is 
prepared to pay, what can be raised through a raffle and if the pub landlord 
is prepared to cough up a contribution towards the band. The jazz punters in 
the UK expect their jazz to be cheap and will resist higher entrance prices 
by simply not attending. 

There is also the strange situation where under British licensing laws you 
are not allowed to charge admission to a public bar in a pub!

This does not only apply to traditional jazz gigs but also to more modern 
styles. 

Cheers

Jerry
Norwich,
U.K.

P.S. I always thought that the American employment and tax laws were strange 
but after seeing Rob's explanation I see they are completely mad! When I use 
a restaurant any tip is based on the overall quality of the service I receive 
not simply that from the waiter or waitress. Is the meal good? Is is of the 
required temperature? Is the place clean and tidy? Are the loos clean and 
tidy? 

Whilst in New York the week before last I had breakfast in the hotel and the 
menu stated that a gratuity of 15% would be automatically added to the bill. 
When I was brought the bill to sign I noticed that the 'tip' was added as 
they stated but there was also a space for me to add a further tip for the 
waiter and another for the man in a suit who showed us to our table. You've 
got to be joking! I just paid for the meal, the sales tax and the added 
gratuity.