The Sins of The Bouncer

“After all, stereotypes have to come from somewhere and many bouncers do NOT help to reverse the bad guy image.”

Managing a Nightlife Security Team…or How to be an Effective Leader

One of the unfortunate realities of the Nightlife Industry is that its communities are often transient: people come and go because of better job offers, life changes, and burnout. For many establishments, wages can be the deciding factor in retaining employees. But high – or even decent – wages won’t guarantee quality or loyalty. In […]

Nightclub Security Fundamentals

In the wake of this week’s Orlando nightclub shooting, there has been much discussion about what could have been done to prevent a large-scale massacre. We must first recognize that shootings on this scale (over 10 people) in nightclub/bar environments have never occurred within the United States. To state that mass casualty incidents such as […]

Date Rape Drugs

Just last week, three women in Santa Monica, California prevented a date rape. They were fortunate enough to see the accused would-be rapist slip something into his date’s drink and notified both the woman and the restaurant’s management. Long story short, the man was arrested and is now facing criminal charges. As luck would have […]

The FNG

The Rookie. The Kid. The Newbie. At some point in time, you have either been or will work with The F’ing New Guy. Some staffers will be happy to take the opportunity to teach the kid the ropes. But most staffers will groan when they have to train a new bouncer. Why? Because teaching someone […]

Our New Podcast!

We are proud to present our Tao of The Velvet Rope podcast. We’ll present it every week, covering a variety of topics that relate directly to working in the nightlife environment. Make sure to tune in and hear the latest updates! https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tao-velvet-rope-myths-truths-guiding-principles-nightclub/id1103444226?mt=2

The Right to Refuse Service

I know that I’ll probably cause a stir in writing this but here it goes: The customer is not always right. I can almost hear the rebuttals, see the heads shaking, and visualize open-mouthed gapes of disbelief. For most people – alright, pretty much all people – working in the customer service industry, this belief […]