buzzbomb
29th August 2010, 02:46
For the past 15 months we've listened to nightclub owners and managers bitch and moan about how their venues are struggling , how profit margins are down , how numbers are not there anymore and not hitting the same targets they used to. I agree the good times are over but unless clubs are prepared to fight their corner and work harder then were all f***ed but its not just down to the recession.
A typical example of why clubs should'nt just blame the current finincial climate came tonight .
8 lovely girls, well dressed , well mannered, well spoken and all within the age required were turned away from 6 venues in Dublin tonight by doormen who havn't got the required intelligence or kop on to spot a poitential regular new customer because of their bad manners and usless judgement .
Club owners are very quick to blame a dj for falling numbers , instead of looking at other reasons as to why nobody wants to visit their club or bar .
For years ive seen bad doormen ruin clubs by not letting decent people past their doors because they dont want to & are generally just thugs . Its basically down to ignorance but most importantly of all, employing somebody who is not qualified to do that job, nothing more , it's like asking a plumber to do a service on a car.
Irish nightclubs for years have rode their luck , during the good times they became dictators on our social scene, bullys, chancers, glorfied bankers who had a licence to print money and employed the wrong people , especially doormen , one of the reasons clubs became empty.
After the horror stories i heard tonight I cant see our industry gettin better or improving because unless a club operator /owner has the kop on to stand on a door every night and watch what is happening then he or she has no chance of running a successful club/bar.
The bottom line here is, Doormen are a HUGE part of the reason our industry is where it is , and unless owners address this very soon , then i cant see clubs surviving .
Another problem our industry is facing is the dreaded 19 or 21 year old new club promoter . You know , the answer to every clubs prayers , the new hot shot wannabee tosser who went to Ibiza this year then all of a sudden becomes an expert and then gets a job in a club in Ireland .
He's the guy who wants to turn a mainstream/commercial club into the new El Divino or Pacha but forgets he's in Ireland . I mean god f***ing help us when he arrives at our venue and wants funky house and cool uplifting beats with a hint of progressive house and old skool chill in a club that depends on chart music, mainstream dance , r&b and 25 miniutes of Party music.
If the reciever moves into a club they generally are walking into a business they dont know a lot about so where do they get their advice from ? YES Accountants ' Accountants are in charge and are making the finincial decisions but they are taking their advice from the wrong source, usually a spotty faced college graduate who claims to have done a bit of ' Event management ' . My advice to these people is , talk to the dj's that have the experience and know-how , the heart of the industry , the people who own the dancefloor and have the experience to understand a crowd and the music policy required instead of listening to some stupid jumped up barman or doorman who have their own required taste in music .
As a dj I hope i can call this on every dj's behalf . Were not experts , nobody is, were not in a position to come up with the magical answer , but what i will say is, we know a lot more about the in's and out's of a music policy in certain venues , we can see the mistakes a mile off and have more qualifications than anybody to improve a club or bar , its called experience , not expertise .
My final note on this , if clubs wants to survive then its very important to choose your doormen carefully & if your a club or bar owner , you need to put the time in and YOU need to choose your clientel or get a qualified person to do that , not your doorman , he's there to make sure your customers are safe and if thers a problem , he 's there to sort it out , nothing more and without any fuss . Listen to your dj a lot more , ask his advice and trust his ability .
A typical example of why clubs should'nt just blame the current finincial climate came tonight .
8 lovely girls, well dressed , well mannered, well spoken and all within the age required were turned away from 6 venues in Dublin tonight by doormen who havn't got the required intelligence or kop on to spot a poitential regular new customer because of their bad manners and usless judgement .
Club owners are very quick to blame a dj for falling numbers , instead of looking at other reasons as to why nobody wants to visit their club or bar .
For years ive seen bad doormen ruin clubs by not letting decent people past their doors because they dont want to & are generally just thugs . Its basically down to ignorance but most importantly of all, employing somebody who is not qualified to do that job, nothing more , it's like asking a plumber to do a service on a car.
Irish nightclubs for years have rode their luck , during the good times they became dictators on our social scene, bullys, chancers, glorfied bankers who had a licence to print money and employed the wrong people , especially doormen , one of the reasons clubs became empty.
After the horror stories i heard tonight I cant see our industry gettin better or improving because unless a club operator /owner has the kop on to stand on a door every night and watch what is happening then he or she has no chance of running a successful club/bar.
The bottom line here is, Doormen are a HUGE part of the reason our industry is where it is , and unless owners address this very soon , then i cant see clubs surviving .
Another problem our industry is facing is the dreaded 19 or 21 year old new club promoter . You know , the answer to every clubs prayers , the new hot shot wannabee tosser who went to Ibiza this year then all of a sudden becomes an expert and then gets a job in a club in Ireland .
He's the guy who wants to turn a mainstream/commercial club into the new El Divino or Pacha but forgets he's in Ireland . I mean god f***ing help us when he arrives at our venue and wants funky house and cool uplifting beats with a hint of progressive house and old skool chill in a club that depends on chart music, mainstream dance , r&b and 25 miniutes of Party music.
If the reciever moves into a club they generally are walking into a business they dont know a lot about so where do they get their advice from ? YES Accountants ' Accountants are in charge and are making the finincial decisions but they are taking their advice from the wrong source, usually a spotty faced college graduate who claims to have done a bit of ' Event management ' . My advice to these people is , talk to the dj's that have the experience and know-how , the heart of the industry , the people who own the dancefloor and have the experience to understand a crowd and the music policy required instead of listening to some stupid jumped up barman or doorman who have their own required taste in music .
As a dj I hope i can call this on every dj's behalf . Were not experts , nobody is, were not in a position to come up with the magical answer , but what i will say is, we know a lot more about the in's and out's of a music policy in certain venues , we can see the mistakes a mile off and have more qualifications than anybody to improve a club or bar , its called experience , not expertise .
My final note on this , if clubs wants to survive then its very important to choose your doormen carefully & if your a club or bar owner , you need to put the time in and YOU need to choose your clientel or get a qualified person to do that , not your doorman , he's there to make sure your customers are safe and if thers a problem , he 's there to sort it out , nothing more and without any fuss . Listen to your dj a lot more , ask his advice and trust his ability .