Ken’sTechnology Blog

Restaurant dancing is such an art not just because we dance in close proximity to customers but because we have to understand people psychology. There have been evenings when I performed that I was on cloud nine. And there were evenings where I wondered what rock people crawled out from under.

(It seemed like they all crawled out from under the same rock!)

But this is restaurant dancing where we are secondary to the food and service.

Throughout the years of dancing I have been very blessed to dance at some amazing restaurants and some not so amazing restaurants. There were a few restaurants that I danced at that were open only a few months. Those gigs are my most memorable because I learned “what not to do” while dancing in a restaurant. First of all when the restaurant owner requires you to bring in family members, friends, co-workers and strangers off the street, you know you’re in trouble. Imagine being asked to help out with washing the dishes. (Yes, this did happen to me.) At least I had sense enough to say “no” and suffice to say this particular gig lasted only a few weeks and the restaurant stayed open for 6 months and than closed.

My first restaurant audition was pretty hilarious because my belt fell off in the beginning of my performance. I kept on dancing because luckily my skirt was not attached and the audience wasn’t sure if I intended to loose it or not. Hooks and eyes took on a whole new meaning for me after that!

The restaurant owner reprimanded me because he was running a “family” oriented restaurant but he decided to keep me and give me another chance. It didn’t work out because my inexperience with his customers was obvious and he wanted someone with more “people” skills. This was an eye opener for me because I learned that making the customers comfortable was a huge part of my performance.

Understanding people is so important and it is so necessary to read people and their moods as soon as they walk in the front door. I have danced for people who didn’t care if I could turn my head completely around and spit out fire. They are not there for the dancing but for relaxation and food. I learned not to take this personally and to go to tables that were more appreciative.

Then there is the “beautiful” couple who for some odd reason are very insecure. The woman won’t look at you and the man dare not even think about it. I had a lady tell a waiter that I should not come to her table because her husband would not appreciate it. So the waiter told me and I stayed away as requested but what the waiter didn’t tell her was that there would be tables all around her and that I would be dancing for them. I was trying not to laugh because as I was dancing for a table near her, her husband was standing up clapping and dancing along with me.

Not only is it our job to educate the customers regarding our dance form but it is also just as important to be lenient on their ignorance as well. It is not unusual for people to walk in the front door of a restaurant and not know the first thing about belly dancing. For instance I had a huge table of people that requested that I not dance for them because they had invited a priest to join them. They were a church group that was concerned about the priests’ reaction to my dancing. To their surprise and mine the priest was upset because I did not dance for them and requested that I come to the table so he could talk to me. He had been to the Middle East and had seen belly dancing throughout his travels. He was very educated on our dance form and I really appreciated him letting the church group know that he considered it an art form.

There may be some of you wondering about the pay scale for restaurant performing. This topic is consistently a heated discussion amongst dancers. There’s reason for it because one or two things happen to dancers that perform in restaurants. The first is being undercut by other dancers and the second is a restaurant not willing to pay the going rate.

In my 15 years of restaurant dancing I have found only a few restaurants that have paid me what I felt I was worth. I can count them on one hand. So my philosophy is a little different here only because I had to either understand the reality of this business or get out. My first reality shocker came when I was dancing in Dallas at a restaurant and the restaurant owner hired two new dancers to perform on the weekends with me. I was looking forward to dancing with them but what I didn’t know was that he paid them more than me. When I found out I was furious and like any good dancer and business woman, I confronted the owner.

My pay went up but what bothered me was the other dancers knew I was getting less. Was it their fault, I say no. It was my fault for not communicating better with the restaurant owner but I still would have liked the dancers to have been more forth coming since we were working together.

The restaurants that didn’t pay me what I was worth were places for me to train and practice my people skills. And that is how I looked at them. I was able to perform regularly and work on my dancing in an environment that required me to do my best. So I feel you have to make the best out of every situation and look on the positive side. Plus usually no one is forcing us to perform at restaurants. If I’m dancing at a restaurant I’ve made the decision and choice to be there. Remember you have free will to stay or leave.

I have just recently retired from restaurant performing and looking back I have to laugh at some of the experiences I had especially at the last restaurant I performed at.

I can remember one evening I was dancing and just happened to see my reflection in the window. At that very moment I realized I forgot to shave my armpits. My arms went down immediately and I kept them down for the rest of my performance.

(After that I always carried a razor in my makeup case)

And believe it or not I forgot my underwear a few times. So a put an extra pare in my bag for emergencies.

One time I forgot my bra to my second costume only to find it on my bed when I got home. I could have sworn I put it in my bag. So I danced in the same costume twice and as you can imagine it was sweaty!

The advice I would give to any dancer starting out performing in restaurants is to understand that the venue itself will help her become a better dancer. I feel restaurant dancing made a big difference in my stage performing because it made me a more personable dancer. The dancing itself will not only stand on its own but the confidence in which a dancer performs is priceless. Plus one day you will look back at your restaurant performing like me and have a lot of funny stories to share with friends and students alike. And that is truly “priceless”.

La Stalla Restaurant stops the music until Newtown supervisors make decision
Outdoor music at La Stalla Restaurant, located at South Eagle and Swamp Roads in Newtown Township, will not be played until the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors makes a decision on whether outdoor music should be allowed.

Read more on The Advance

QuickOrder is a new ordering system  for restaurant management. The program picks up orders and deliver them to the kitchen. It makes data entry easier.

You can control table map, menù and prices, stock in the store,.. In addition, you can take note about customer’s details and waiters, such as who waiter serves a that one table, etc.

 It takes note about customers’ details and waiters, stocks,… 

So you can keep everything under control easly.You can control accounting as well.

To sum up, the system incorporates the features that a restaurant uses many times every day and keeping it simple. 

This system can help to built a business restaurant and make customers happier, because it can increase efficiency orders and decrease time service. It can help you to save money. You have cash control and security to help you keep more the money you earn 

The restaurant software is designed for user friendly and graphic design is cool.  It is easy to use and fast: the graphics interface is very intuitive. The system has a wireless printer.

The software is open source, it operates on Linux (Ubuntu) and Mac. Soon it will available for Windows as well.

Company as a software house, vendors, hardware manufacturer can use the free QuickOrder to their business

You can download QuickOrder for free from:  

http://www.supereasyfree.com

You can look at an explanation video on:

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=t1SqDvbadiQ

Now, booking the restaurant in this case, where you want to book Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant; can be quite time-consuming. But what if you know all about a website, which is going to give you so much information that you are going to know all about restaurants Covent Garden? And what if you can read the Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant review on that website itself? And after that, you can book Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant from there itself. Do not you think that website is going to save you a lot of hassle in the long run?  So, if you are really interested in getting to know more about Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant review during your search for restaurants Covent Garden, the review will tell you a number of points. You are going to get to know all about its ambience, its service, its food and other factors which are going to affect your choice of restaurants. So it is much better that you look for a totally unbiased restaurant guide. After that, all you have to do is read the Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant review and then book Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant.A restaurant guide is doing the same thing nowadays; you are going to get a number of places where you can get to read a Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant review. Some of which will be biased and some of which will be unbiased. Nevertheless, it is very sensible for you to look for a place where you can get an unbiased and totally honest review about the restaurant of your choice, in this case, a Chez Gerard Opera Terrace Bar and Restaurant review.Many people are under the impression that restaurant guides on any website on the Internet are only going to give you different reviews on different eating places in the city. No, that is not true. There are plenty of places where you are going to get complete information, which you find important about some particular restaurant in some particular area. For example, if you want to know more about restaurants Covent Garden, all you have to do is go on to the Internet and look for restaurant review guides, where you are going to get plenty of restaurant information on restaurants Covent Garden.

Which is the best 2 player android app that is free or worth the buy that only requires one phone? This is for purposes for waiting at a restaurant with someone or riding on a bus, metro or anything else mobile

Every insurance policy states the items that are included within the policy and any exclusions. This is exactly the same for Restaurant Insurance and so it is very important when searching for restaurant insurance policies to read or ask about the exclusions. The insurance company will explain to you what these exclusions are and if you need additional cover to fit the needs of your restaurant and business

Here are some examples of exclusions that you need to keep an eye out for when searching for your restaurant insurance policy:

Terrorism Insurance Cover – many insurance policies do not automatically include this but can usually be added on as an additional feature if wanted.

Asbestos Exclusion – asbestos is usually covered in Public Liability insurance or Products Liability insurance. Therefore within restaurant insurance you are not legally covered for any injury, loss or damage directly or indirectly caused by asbestos.

Plate Glass and Neon Signboard – neon signs are not covered for loss, destruction, or damage which may be caused by replacing or removing the signs.

Goods in Transit – with regards to your goods while on the move the insurance company usually imply certain restrictions such as if vehicle is left unattended between 9pm and 6am then the vehicle must be locked at all points of access and kept in a locked garage. Failure to do so will make the policy invalid in the case of a claim.

Cloakrooms – most restaurant insurance policies will cover the cloakroom for up to a certain amount but some exclude it if the loss or damage was caused from an unattended cloak room, or will not cover the loss of personal belongings within the coats such as jewellery and watches.

Your Duty of Care – this is an exclusion in most insurance policies not only in restaurant insurance. You must always take reasonable steps to prevent the risk of damage or injury and to minimalise the cost of claims and legal proceedings. This is important if a claim is made against you and you can not prove that you did make reasonable steps.

These are just a sample of things to keep an eye out for when searching for your restaurant insurance, some policies may include this and others may not but it is imperative to check the exclusions of the policy before signing to a contract.