Turning Away and Ending the Line

Hello All,

I am newbie to fp and just had my first professional gig this past w/e. I learned so much in the way of what not to do until it was almost as beneficial as getting paid. Nonetheless, the biggest issues was monitoring and ending the line. I had signs by the wind took over the atmosphere. One minute there were 5 people in line and then I look up, there's 25 more. The event ended and I was still painting. It pained me to end the line and I felt obligated to finish those who waited ever so patiently. I was paid for 2 hrs but ended up staying 1.5 hours over so that I could finish and preserve my credibility and please the customer. Was I wrong? I also had an issue with children in my workstation touching supplies and parents not redirecting or correcting. Any suggestions?

Hi Mrs Jaxon I did the same the first time around,, you learn very quickly to get a bit tougher.I .Sometimes have a sign that say you are availiable until such and such a time.And as it gets to about 20 mins to go i will start to warn the people at the end of the queue that I will be finishing in 20 mins. I will only paint over time is there only a couple of kids left..like 3 max otherwise to bad...I always arrive early and usually start painting a little bit earlier so I figure they get a good deal. Dont work over your time too much or everyone will start to expect it...As for the kiddies..there will always be them kids that have to touch..Again be firm...I had one kid scrape a huge finger mark to the bottom of the container in my pearl yellow, not impressed! I am going to set up some stay clear tape on the ground so they know not to cross it, or I can politely remind the parents to keeps their darlings on the other side of it. You will repeat this process EVERY gig!

Experience is a wonderful teacher, isn't it???

There are several things you can do, and many of them are preventative.
Before the gig...
1. Make sure you know how many kids will be there, and make sure there is enough face painting available. If there are 50 kids and only 2 hours, you're going to need help!

2. Let your contact know how many people you can reach, and make them responsible for monitoring your line to wrap it up at ending time so that they don't get billed for extra time. (This should be in your contract.)

3. Make sure the designs you're offering can be painted quick enough to reach the number of children they have in the amount of time you're there (if they won't add artists or hours.)

But let's say you did that, and you get to your event, and there are still more kids than you can reach...

4. Find your contact and ask how they'd like you to handle the group you have, and did they want to hire you for extra time? They'll usually say, "oh, it's okay if not everyone gets it", and you say, "So will you be here at 1:30 (or whenever) to let people know that's it's done?"

5. Make sure you know how fast you can paint. At 30 min. -45 min before ending time, you need to "wrap up your line", which means that you cut off the line so that no one else lines up, but you promise to reach everyone in line. You start at the back and put a #1 on the LAST person's hand, and tell the PARENT that if anyone else lines up, they have to say "Sorry, we're last". And you announce to everyone in line as you number them from the back of the line to the front, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc...that you promise to paint them all, IF they promise to let newcomers know that you're done. One number per painting (NOT one number per family), and if someone leaves the line, tough! Then you will know how many you have left, because you'll take them in descending order, and #1 is your last. Plus, when you are calling out numbers, newcomers will notice that they don't have one and won't try to insist they were waiting.

6. Have signs which indicate that you're here until X time, and that a person who chooses to wait in line after that time is NOT guaranteed to be painted, and that after the line ending time, the designs are ARTISTS' CHOICE! And you can paint something quick & simple on folks, to speed it up.

So... to answer your question... You weren't wrong; you simply didn't have all the tools you needed to set yourself up with success. You'll know better for next time.

)
LH

Thanks LH. Experience is surely the best teacher. I was sooooo tired when I left; I felt like I'd been picking peas..lol. No but seriously, I will do so next time. I even had a lady ask if she could help me. I'd never seen her a day in my life. Imagine the liability. I also had so many full faces / masks instead of cheek art. So again, you were dead on the money. I set myself up. Someone even asked for a Thomas the Train on a 3 year old's hand!! I was like SERIOUSLY???? (to myself of course). I made it work though.

I've heard of too many times where a sign like that has changed kids, or they start letting people in front of them....

When I have 20 minutes left, I count out the next 4 or 5 kids and say, "this is as far as I'm going to be able to paint today because I'm done at X:XX. Please make sure no one gets in line behind you." And every time I get to the next kid, I remind everyone in earshot, THIS is as far as I will be able to paint. Keep recounting those kids and reminding everyone. Keep yourself down to 5 minute or faster faces at that point and you should be ok. NEVER allow yourself to be taken in with "just one more" because you can just one more for hours and you've got better things to do than work for free. I'm sure when the whistle blows at their work, they are out of there and you should be too.

I count out kids at 20-30 minutes and put number stickers on the ones I will be able to paint. Once I paint the child, I take off the sticker. Then I keep watch as well as tell the kids to keep watch that no-one else gets in the line. What's been sweet about it is, lots of times an older child will take off their sticker and give it to a younger one when the little one is sad because they didn't get to get painted. If a person insists I can do one more, and I don't have another booking I will tell them "Yes, I can if the hosting person comes to me and says to." Of course the party host knows this is going to cost them more and tells them, "No" because they don't come back. Only a few times have the host came back with the child and asked me to stay later.

How you set up can deter kids from touching stuff. A few months ago I redid my designs board on one of the foam boards from staples. It just happens to be about 12 inches taller than a standard height table. I stand the board in front of the table and right up close to the table. This blocks the long side front of the table. On one short end of the table is boring stuff such as paper towels, wipes, sanitizer, etc. and on the other short end is more boing stuff (info on paints, & times I will be painting in plastic frame). And on the other long end of the table is me. So far this has been working really well.

I just got a streamer with the tringle-banner type vinyl pieces in bringht colors. My husband line manager used this last weekend to "corral" the kids who were last in line, and closed off the other entrances so that it went from one end of our spot to the other. No one could get in without going under, and he was holding the end, so no one tried.

I have a rug that I put my set up on (also the tattoo line) and if you are not getting painted, you are not supposed to be on the rug...keeps little hands out of my stuff. I don't take it to birthday parties though, and that is where little hands tend to play...usally they grab sponges.

These are great tips! I never paint past my paid time unless I get paid more, but these tips will help the customers stay organized.

How the situation is handled often depends on the type of gig. A private party or a commercial gig? Yes, I've often seen the signs passed around and kids cut in line...things are going to happen all people aren't nice and considerate.
You must learn you are in charge and take control of YOUR space. An old performance trick is to put a colorful rope down for your line. NO ONE steps over this line except the child being painted. There are beautiful jump ropes at the dollar store that work. You will feel more in control with a little space and much cooler in the summer.
I always carry temporary tattoos and my sign states the times I'm painting and that I will have a tattoo for anyone that can not be painted. The little money they cost go a long way in creating a positive image.
Live and learn that's what is all about!

Thanks you guys! All responses are great and will be taken into consideration. The first event was a Community Santa Jam so there were countless kiddos there. My next event is a private party of no more than 20 children. I will do my best to incorporate the bulk of these suggestion as well as trial and error. Thanks again.

I've also considered painting a number on the last five people in line and keeping a watch on who's before them. This way, anyone who comes up last, will not be painted / serviced w/o the color coded number. I guess my biggest concerned is being viewed as a meanie esp when the kids understand and the parents make it worst than what it actually is.

thanks again!

I got the pennant banner at a strange kind of close out big box store here called the "Flower Factory" It is a really odd jumble of stuff. I have seen them at Oriental traders, I think. I like the jump rope idea too. That is kind of how I use my carpet, only the person getting painted or tattooed can be on the carpet, but, it boils down to me being willing to enforce my rules, which is sometimes hard to do, espeically if you have someone who is willing to break them.