The first time I performed balloon twisting in a restaurant was what you could call a 'controlled catastrophe'. I knew the concept of balloon twisting in a restaurant had been done before, but I had no guidance. The restaurant location was setup for me, but everything from the balloon shapes themselves to guest interactions has been self-taught - and quite the learning process! Keep reading to learn from my mistakes so you don't have to make them yourself :)
It was a Friday evening and I was scheduled to be there from 6pm-9pm. I arrived slightly early. I was nervous. I walked in, tied my apron, heart racing, and approached my first table - a middle-aged woman dining by herself at the closest table to the door. She said she wasn't interested in balloon animals after I stumbled over words trying to express why I was approaching her. Go figure. I had no idea which customers to target. I sounded foolish. I needed a game plan. There were families with kids nearby, which seemed like a better target audience than the woman dining solo. I didn't have a conversation methodology for approaching the customer, so I said from halfway across the restaurant, "You guys want some balloons?". The kids were wide eyed shaking their heads yes, and their mom indifferently gave her approval. After a few minutes of trying to remember the few simple balloon shapes that I knew and awkwardly trying to engage in conversation, the two kids had their very amateur balloons, and I thanked them and walked off.
That table ended up not tipping, so I looked around for another table with kids, and kept thinking of new ways to interact with each table so that I wasn't so awkward about it. I enjoy conversing with people, but add my inexperienced balloon twisting to the mix and it was slightly embarrassing and kind of a hit to my ego. I stayed positive, using each table interaction as a learning experience.
That first restaurant, despite being awkward and embarrassing was an amazing growth experience that taught me a lot. I ended up making $74 dollars! To put that into context, this was a suburb of Atlanta, GA in 2010. My previous retail job paid $8.25/hr. I had just made the same amount in three hours that it would have taken me nine hours unpacking heavy boxes onto shelves. It was more creative, provided more enjoyable interactions with people, and made more money with less time commitment.
Sometimes you've gotta learn by trial and error what will work and what won't. Here's some things that WILL work:
-greet the manager first thing. Introduce yourself and thank her/him for allowing you in.
-do a lap around the restaurant to find where the kids tables are. Approach those first.
-approach adult tables after you've established a presence in the restaurant. Team colored balloon hats for sports fans, a flower for a lady on a date, & swords for teen boys are a few options for serving adults.
-offer multi-balloon shapes. Simple one-balloon shapes are unimpressive and result in low or no tips.
-memorize at least 10 multi-balloon shapes before starting restaurant work. More shapes = more tips.
-list some shapes you know so customers can choose instead of challenging you to improvise
-keep your apron organized. Pocket 1: Balloons separated into bunches. Pocket 2: Tips. Pocket 3: Balloon Pump & Scraps. Tip button pinned to your shirt or apron. Pants Pocket 1: Phone. Pants Pocket 2: Sharpie & business card.
-Spread your business info like wildfire. Hand your business card to every table.
-Have a way to collect credit card payments, mobile payments, and crypto.
-Collect email addresses from families you serve. You can send newsletters occasionally to remind your previous customers to book their kids' birthday party with you.
For the next 3 months, I averaged $75 per 3-hour shift. It took me 3 months working every weekend to finally break the $100/night milestone I had been working towards. I was able to do this because I had a 4-hour shift. If I had known at the time that more shapes + better shapes = more tips, I probably would have been able to reach that milestone faster.
You should hear about my first time selling restaurants and booking my first birthday party...
Thanks for taking the time to learn about my experience - I hope it's helpful to you!
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Balloon On!
Joey