Pretty much what the title says.

Every now and then when I'm out busking I get a drunk guy or girl walk by, grab a handful of dollars out of my tip jar, and go along their way. Usually they smirk and intentionally let me see, some kind of drunk dumbass challenge.

Other buskers I've talked to say it's a pretty common problem, especially when playing bar scenes.

The knee-jerk reaction is to physically take it back, but there are some complications:

1) For me, I play on the same corner(s) every time I go out to busk. Getting in a fight over a couple dollars when someone *knows* where I'll be next time doesn't seem too wise.

2) Having my gear (~a couple hundred worth of stuff) keeps me from getting involved...no use giving up my instrument/equipment to chase down someone. It could be lost/broken/stolen in the resulting snafu and it'd be a lot worse than losing a few bucks

At the same time, their actions are completely unacceptable.

What recourse can you take when someone outright steals from you?

What would you guys do...considering you can't leave the music gear sitting there and they (more than likely) know where to find you...

Why not get a tip jar with a smaller opening so they can't dip their thieving little hands into it?

Some people just have no class or respect so there's not much you can do unfortunately aside from beating them down with a hammer.

Interesting topic. Done a little busking myself while traveling and the first thing I can think of is to have some sort of clear (or not) slotted plastic box that cannot be easily stolen (maybe it's attached to a stationary object by steel cable and padlock on the hinge) or broken into right in front of you.

Something like this, where you can lock the top opening and people can donate in the slot while being able to see that other people have donated before them (preselection heh)

What a dirtbag move... I admire your restraint. Logically, chasing after them really isn't the right thing to do which you've outlined well. I think you're best off preventing it by making your tip jar/box more secure and not an easy target for stealing.

How about emptying it every couple of hours.

But seriously, drunk or not, who does stupid shit like that? What delusional person thinks that is ok?

Any assholes on here do it before?

Slight tangent, but drink stealing? How about just making some more money.

The jar is a good idea.

Also having big violent friends waiting outside the venue. Or bouncers.

But I like seeing the guilty get punished. Clear tip jar is probably best.

Quote: (09-23-2014 12:50 AM)Fender_Bender Wrote:  

people can donate in the slot while being able to see that other people have donated before them (preselection heh)

Just remember to place a few coins and notes into it yourself before you bring it out. Same as with restaurants, when the jar is empty no one wants to be the first visitor.

Slightly veering off topic but:
- Do you ever get a chance to game while busking?
- Would you be able to bust out a data sheet on busking?

Busking seems like a great way to force oneself out of one's comfort zone.

Write a song to make fun of them and sing it when it happens.

I've never had someone try to steal money when I was busking. Some guy did threaten to cut off my hands if I didn't come to his studio to record some grime tracks though... so there's that.

Ideally you don't want too much money in your box/case at any time. Not only does it encourage people to steal; the public are less giving once they see you have a lot of money already. Perversely though, they are even less giving if there's no money on display. Chalk it up to herd behaviour or whatever ("well nobody else is giving him money"), but it pays to seed the case with a handful of various denominations of coin when you start up, then empty the takings into something more secure every forty minutes or so.

Another thing - personally, I never let paper money sit in the case to begin with. If someone gives a note of any kind, it comes straight out of the box and into my pocket. This might be more of a pain for you, being in America, as you have $1 bills; in the UK, the smallest paper denomination is a £5 note, so maybe just empty $5 and above?

Source: several years of busking.

Oh, what kind of area are you busking for this to happen regularly, OP? That also might be the problem...

Wear dark glasses and have a guide dog sitting next to you - maybe they'll think twice if you appear to have a disability?

Made me think of the scene in the movie Once with Glen Hansard from The Frames (except, ironically, it's a mentally challenged guy that steals from him), I couldn't find the scene on the net, but he ends up running after him and getting it back (the same guy has stolen from him before apparently, as we come to learn).

Couldn't resist the urge to post this too. If this performance doesn't give you goosebumps, then, I don't know what will.

Quote:Quote:

How about emptying it every couple of hours.

Bad idea because that reduces his social proof. When people see a guitar case full of cash, they think, "This guy is good!" There is nothing more sad than a busker with an empty case. If I was one, I'd pre-fill my case with money to give off the impression that I'm popular/good.

As for the drunk guys, it sounds like the cost of doing business. If it's a serious problem and you live in a small city, you can get a friend to record them with video and put it on youtube to shame them.

Have a cheap camera with a flash (do those cheap, disposable film cameras still exist?) hidden away next to you but readily available. When they grab some of your dough, whip it out and say, "Say cheese!" and take their picture with the flash. It probably won't get your money back, but it might keep them from ever doing it again to you or someone else.

Another way is to stand a moderately sized mirror behind the tip jar. People often can't do something anti-social if they see themselves doing it. That's why some businesses which deal with moody customers, like car rental agencies, often put mirrors on the wall behind the counter. People are less likely to behave badly when they're looking at themselves. It shouldn't stop people from giving you money, because they will enjoy seeing themselves doing something nice.

I used to do alot of busking in Canada, anyway.. other magicians would tell me about sh1t like this and the solution is simple call the police.

It's technically theft, drunk or not.

I absolutely empty the jar/guitar case when it gets overflowing, but there's one thing that makes me hesitate.

As most people said, if the case if full of money ($20+ in singles) you get A LOT more people putting money in. It's a waterfall social proof effect once you hit a certain threshold.

Same if you have a $10 bill somewhere in the case. People go "oh shit, he must be good if someone dropped a ten"

I do seed the case with a few singles and a five every time I play. Truely essential

I've also tried the case w the slit in it, but it's a 'hassle' to drunk people. You can't just walk by and painlessly toss in money...you have to stop, pull out dough, and stuff it into the opening...small effort but I think it deters some folks.

My best tip jar is my guitar case because the pure size of it allows me to 'show off' how much I made which in turn makes people donate a ton more...the trade off being that some people dip in. Overall net positive though, by far.

I've had local bouncers/drug dealers see guys dip into my case and beat some sense into them. Street pride/honor is a very real thing among respected hustlers. Even cops keep an eye on my setup/situation. I normally wouldn't have anything to do with police, but they claim that the music keeps people happy/out of fights on my corner so they go out of their way to be nice. Overall people are cool

Quote: (09-23-2014 06:56 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

Quote:Quote:

How about emptying it every couple of hours.

Bad idea because that reduces his social proof. When people see a guitar case full of cash, they think, "This guy is good!" There is nothing more sad than a busker with an empty case. If I was one, I'd pre-fill my case with money to give off the impression that I'm popular/good.

As for the drunk guys, it sounds like the cost of doing business. If it's a serious problem and you live in a small city, you can get a friend to record them with video and put it on youtube to shame them.

What I meant, but clearly didn't write, was he could just take some of the tips and leave a bit. Sort of like what Santoro said by seeding. I agree an empty tip jar would be a bad move!

Plus, by removing some tips, it makes more room and people would have to reach down further. I may be imagining things, but I imagine it is easier to lift a bill or two off the top of a stuffed tip container. But if you are digging down to steal maybe it will register "I'm stealing." That is my bro pschology tip of the day.

Quote: (09-23-2014 10:44 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  

Plus, by removing some tips, it makes more room and people would have to reach down further. I may be imagining things, but I imagine it is easier to lift a bill or two off the top of a stuffed tip container. But if you are digging down to steal maybe it will register "I'm stealing." That is my bro pschology tip of the day.

Yes. One thing I've changed up that greatly reduced theft is to place the tip jar very close to the ground. Initially I thought having it up higher would make people tip more by ease of access, but it really didn't make a difference in how much people tipped

If it's at waist level, someone can walk by and dip in. If it's lower, it registers both to the person and everyone else around that something wrong is going on when someone is bent over fishing around.

Broscience acknowledged

I've still had no response on the legality of retaliation for theft...any lawyer types know what a person is entitled to do when someone steals from them? Knowing my rights will keep me from doing anything blatantly foolish.

Empty your jar often but keep it stuffed with crumpled up hell money.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_money

Quote: (09-23-2014 06:56 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

There is nothing more sad than a busker with an empty case. If I was one, I'd pre-fill my case with money to give off the impression that I'm popular/good.

Why not print some fake money (only on one side, then fold it over so no one thinks you are trying to conterfeit) or buy a pack of play money (some of them look real from a distance) and use that to seed your case, and pick up any real bill every few songs.

That way your case looks full and you are not risking any real money. Perhaps throw in a couple of foreign currency bills with no real value. That would have the adittional benefit of extra social proof.

Edit: I see Sombro got it first.

Find the kind of jar they use to trap monkeys. A monkey sticks his hand in it and can't take it back. Lock it to something so that the fucker can't escape.

Delete

Get a bb gun haha, shoot them in the ass

On a serious note, the fake money is a good idea, empty your jar, put the fake bills in

Wouldn't use fake bills. Counterfeiting is something all countries take extremely and absurdly seriously.

Empty the tin for big notes once in a while seems the best idea. Consider the small losses as cost of doing business.