Getting restaurant permission to paint at a party?

I'm not sure if this is something I need to worry about or not. I was booked to come paint at a birthday party which is being held at Pizza Hut. I asked the mom if she had checked with Pizza Hut that it was okay with them for me to be there painting and she said that she had, and that they had no problem with it.

Is this something I even need to worry about? I'm not sure whether or not that type of permission is needed, or whether I should have checked with the restaurant myself. Just trying to figure out what I should do if this comes up again.

If they booked the party there, and you are hired by them to paint THEIR party only, there usually isn't a problem. Particularly if they have it in a private room or in a corner. If they checked and the restaurant said it was fine, don't worry about it.

If, however, you are out in the open you may experience the phenomena I like to call "Extra kids"... this is when every kid in the restaurant lines up expecting to get painted... be sure to get the MOM, not you, THE MOM, to determine a method of identification so you know who you are supposed to be painting otherwise...

I was not allowed to paint at a party at Chuck E. Cheeses... no outside vendors of any kind allowed there.

Yeah, that's normal for Chuck E Cheese... they have other things they want people to spend their money on.

The funny thing about Chuck E. Cheese's is that I called the corporate office (I think it was in Dallas) after regular hours and THE BIG GUY answered. I do believe I was speaking to either the CEO or President and he thought it was a stellar idea to have face painting at Chuck E. Cheese's and we talked about it for about five or so minutes... however, he said he had to send me back down through the ranks because he inadvertently had answered my call. Alas, I was shot down by the person he transferred me to.

I just did a glitter tat party at a frozen yogurt place. I called to clear it with the manager just to be on the safe side. I also made sure my 30-minute earlier arrival time for set up would be okay and let them know the approximate space I would need for my station.

They couldn't have been nicer and I did free tats for the 3 employees there who also offered to carry my stuff out to my car.

To avoid confusion between party guests and customers, I did two things:

1. Laser wristbands from OTC.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/orange-laser-wrist-tickets-a2-51_56-12-1.fltr?Ntt=wrist+ticket
I numbered them according to the # of guests I'd been hired for and put them in a big ziplock for the mom to pass out when her guests arrived. I had the numbers written on a small pad of paper so I could cross them off as I went along.

2. A sign for my table that read (it was a Cars themed party so I decorated it with a picture of b/w racing flags and Disney Cars characters):

Pit Stop for Matthew's Party
Bling A Fling is RESERVED for Matthew's party guests only, please! (big pic of Disney's Sherriff car)
Please take a card if you'd like to feature glitter tattoos at your next event!

The sign was displayed in an acrylic standing sign holder with my business cards right in front.

My clients really liked it and I think it made it feel even more special. The dad even took a picture of the sign.

What I didn't do but learned for next time, was have another sign to replace the "Reserved" sign as SOON as the last paid guest was done. It was VERY hard to say no to all the other sweet children and I didn't feel right charging for tats when the people who hired me to privately work for them were still there, yk? So I wound up doing some freebies before finally getting out of there. One was a little boy who lost his first tooth and the tooth fairy hadn't come (I told him she sent me with something for him ) and his sibs and also a shy and sweet girl having birthday yogurt with her grandparents.

That was fine but then I was going to do ONE last tat for a sweet little boy and lo and behold his 3 siblings walked in a few minutes later. His mom even had me tat her leg and I was disappointed that of everyone only the grandmother had the courtesy to tip me (this was a wealthy area, too). Only a dollar but it was the thought that I appreciated. I learned that if you give something for free, people will TAKE it! Never again!

So make sure you have a sign that states you are CLOSED and must get to your next event without delay!

Oh thanks for all the tips, everybody!! I think that I may call the restaurant to make sure - I would really hate for this girl to be disappointed; she is a regular of mine from the market.

Awesome idea about the sign - I have one of those acrylic sign holders with a business card holder on it!! And I will definitely give the mother some type of identification for her guests - maybe stickers would work.

Kym, thinking through your situation... I think that I might have said something like, "These other folks paid me to be here so it wouldn't be fair to them if I gave you a tattoo for free." And then give them a card and tell them to come find you at some public event that you are going to be at, if you have one coming up. But on the spot like that, I probably wouldn't have known what to do! That's why I'm so glad I have this forum to help me think of how to deal with things before they happen!

I worked for Pizza Hut for 8 years in the Windsor area. I was amazed at the things that people brought for parties. One family had a reptile guy complete with snakes and lizards. Another brought a ridiculous amount of decorations (that I had to help clean up afterwards). As far as what was allowed dependedon who was the manager at the time. I always double check with the person hiring me to make sure they have made the arrangements. You still get paid no matter what, as long as you show up when and where they hire you to.

Gosh, I have painted for private parties at Chuck E. Cheeses....don't know what the parents arrnged, just walked in and did it...not a problem. (except the second time had multiple not party kids want painted...Mom intervened).

ooo very good advice to keep in mind!! thanks for sharing