Mastering the Grease/Sandwich Handoff

[Guest]

I m not sure if anyone has brought this up yet. One of the things I know I m terrible at is doing the handoff with grease money. I m glad we had GG with his hustler swagger in our group that took care of if after everyone ponied up the cash. Whenever he would grease someone he would do it so smoothly like it never happened. Plus it almost always left a classy impression. Some people are just better at it then others.

So lets hear about some of your sandwiching/ greasing experiences? Is there a trick to pulling the perfect handoff? What do you guys usually say beforehand?

[NyceGuy]

The only time I've ever spoken about a actual amount was my first time at XS. I was negotiating with the clipboard holder. Other than that they normally don't bring it up. I just have the money in my right hand folded. After speaking with the host and only AFTER I'm happy with the situation (walking in), then I turn to the host, extend my hand as if to shake his hand, say thank you and hand the money to him during the handshake.

[KC2Vegas]

I remember this one trip when the grease leader greased the wrong guy and we almost had to pay cover to get in.

So rule number one don't grease the wrong guy.

[Charles~]

lulz.

KC beat me to it.

[NyceGuy]

But we did get in without paying cover. so...


/complaints

[SRNA23]

At XS I did the handshake upon first meet to ensure a snakeskin table

[marcus]

First time i ever tried this I was in Vegas and just turned 21. I dropped the money going in for the shake lol.

[KC2Vegas]

But we did get in without paying cover. so...


/complaints

You have to admit it, it's hilarious now.

[dnix]

Dear forum reader,

In answer to you question there are two purposes for taking care of a hosting staff at a club. To bypass lines and possibly for dress code exceptions. Also for table location. In terms of bypassing lines it depends on the venue and their policy. For example some venues ie Pure from 05 to 07 were notorious for blatantly shaking people down. Whereas at Tao there's a no gratuity accepted for entry policy. Most clubs are between those 2 venues in their policies. Meaning they are more then willing to take gratuities but prefer to do so in a tasteful way. When approaching said host try not to play bidding war. The common gratuity for a moderately busy club with a mixed group is $30 a guy and $20 a girl on top of the cover charge. For all guy groups $50 a head will normally suffice on top of cover. On very busy nights its common those quotes will be doubled. To tastefully take care of a host skip the normal question "How do I get past this line?" You know and so do they and most clubs don't like direct solicitation from their staffs. Be direct but not loud about it. If I give $X amount can I bypass the line at this point its as simple as the host saying yes or no. The door host will give you the answer. If its a yes a good door host should say get everything together and I'll be right back. 30 seconds later discreetly shake hands and you'll be on your way in. Another strong move is to hand your license over so it looks like an id check with the money folded up underneath.

In terms of tipping for table location being direct and upfront before you arrive is best because your host can pre plot you on to a table. If you do it when you arrive he or she will have to scramble to bump someone else off the table you want. The worse case scenario is there's no table to bump and you're stuck in a less then desirable location. Simply ask when you speak to the host do you accept gratuities for table location? If they say yes ask what the minimum spend and gratuity required for the specific table you want is. Every reservation should tip $100 to their host even if they're getting a mediocre table as said host will be much more likely to help with anything you need and get any stragglers in with no hassle. For good location standard tip is $500. For great location $1000 is the normal amount. For holiday weekends tips for great tables go as high as $5000. This of course is on top of your bottle minimum or minimum spend. Have the money ready and hand it over discreetly before you walk in. You shouldn't fear not getting the money back if you don't like the table or its not what you were promised. The host will hand you the money back. If they don't ask for management. Side note if you showed up late and you don't get the table you wanted but you still get a decent table you still should give the promised amount to the host. He or she probably hustled to hold a table for you. Hope this helps.

Yours truly,
Anonymous Host

[Sin303]

great read dnix!

[Guest]

I dont know about those exuberant amounts he is quoting for grease, but I do like the idea of using your ID and folding the money underneath. Any newb can use that tactic and look slick.

[dnix]

I dont know about those exuberant amounts he is quoting for grease, but I do like the idea of using your ID and folding the money underneath. Any newb can use that tactic and look slick.

Obviously pricing would vary depending on venue, staff, group, time you get there, ect.

Give us a list of how much you have greased at each venue, including what night, ect., and lets compare.

My list is kind of short because in most cases, I either knew the host or didnt have to grease.

Heres my Randoms:

Pure - Sat night - $40ea guy + cover (twice)
Pure used have the best setup. One guy named Sheetz walked the crowd for grease. That was his job. Made things easier. Then the IRS stepped in. OOPS

Jet - Friday night Offered $30, then $50ea guy + cover, doorman wanted more, told him to get *&*%. Only because he was an ass about the whole thing. Treat me like Im the customer, and Ill gladly pay more for the service.

Tryst - Thurs night, after waiting in line for 30mins a host walked by and offered to let us in for $20ea guy + cover.

All other times, I walked in with Colton, had table service, or a host that knew me specifically came for me (doesnt count).

[Guest]

wait is this D or anonymous host talking right now? hahaha

[Virtualized]

This is in line with what I was thinking.

[dave742]

Dear forum reader,

In answer to you question there are two purposes for taking care of a hosting staff at a club. To bypass lines and possibly for dress code exceptions. Also for table location. In terms of bypassing lines it depends on the venue and their policy. For example some venues ie Pure from 05 to 07 were notorious for blatantly shaking people down. Whereas at Tao there's a no gratuity accepted for entry policy. Most clubs are between those 2 venues in their policies. Meaning they are more then willing to take gratuities but prefer to do so in a tasteful way. When approaching said host try not to play bidding war. The common gratuity for a moderately busy club with a mixed group is $30 a guy and $20 a girl on top of the cover charge. For all guy groups $50 a head will normally suffice on top of cover. On very busy nights its common those quotes will be doubled. To tastefully take care of a host skip the normal question "How do I get past this line?" You know and so do they and most clubs don't like direct solicitation from their staffs. Be direct but not loud about it. If I give $X amount can I bypass the line at this point its as simple as the host saying yes or no. The door host will give you the answer. If its a yes a good door host should say get everything together and I'll be right back. 30 seconds later discreetly shake hands and you'll be on your way in. Another strong move is to hand your license over so it looks like an id check with the money folded up underneath.

In terms of tipping for table location being direct and upfront before you arrive is best because your host can pre plot you on to a table. If you do it when you arrive he or she will have to scramble to bump someone else off the table you want. The worse case scenario is there's no table to bump and you're stuck in a less then desirable location. Simply ask when you speak to the host do you accept gratuities for table location? If they say yes ask what the minimum spend and gratuity required for the specific table you want is. Every reservation should tip $100 to their host even if they're getting a mediocre table as said host will be much more likely to help with anything you need and get any stragglers in with no hassle. For good location standard tip is $500. For great location $1000 is the normal amount. For holiday weekends tips for great tables go as high as $5000. This of course is on top of your bottle minimum or minimum spend. Have the money ready and hand it over discreetly before you walk in. You shouldn't fear not getting the money back if you don't like the table or its not what you were promised. The host will hand you the money back. If they don't ask for management. Side note if you showed up late and you don't get the table you wanted but you still get a decent table you still should give the promised amount to the host. He or she probably hustled to hold a table for you. Hope this helps.

Yours truly,
Anonymous Host

I'd like to see someone discreetly hand over 50 $100 bills in a handshake!