Form a line or take a number?

Last year, painting as a volunteer at a local fair, the line at my table was 1-1/2 hours long. I thought that was kind of awful for parents and kids alike, so this year, I printed numbers like a deli, and people could walk away and come back. Now I got angry complaints that it wasn't fair that you could walk away and come back after your number had been called and get in ahead of a number later than yours. Yikes. Hard to win! On the whole, though, I think there was less stress for everyone, including me. Any thoughts?

They can wait IMO. I've tried everything over the years and what works for me is posting the time the painting will be available, and how long each face takes, and that is THEIR choice to wait because we stop at the posted end time.

I never do PPF so the painting is always "free" to the people being painted. I am there to paint, not manage a line.

I try numbers too and did not work, some people was expecting to get painted after their number pass I mean I was painting number 16 and suddenly number 2 arrive!.. not fair for the ones waiting in line to have a number so every one start complaining. I give up that strategy!
So if people want to get painted they have to wait and I do my best to set a visible sing saying what time will be my last face painted service

I only do the number thing at birthday parties when there are a set number of guests. It's usually a backyard, house or some other smaller venue so it's easier for them to not wander away so far.

I think it would be chaos doing it like that at a fair! Yikes. All too often you are going to have people get a number then never see them again. Also you get two lines happening - one for face painting, one for getting a number. *rolls eyes*

I'm with Shannon - They can wait. It's THEIR choice to stand in a long line, you are not forcing them to.

Post the time you will be packing up on a sign at your table or on your tent. I also have an 'End of Line' sign that i give to the person in the back of the line 30min or so before pack up time (you can calculate the number of kids in line vs how much time you have left - to how early you hand the sign out). I then paint a number on each persons hand who wants to be painted, starting with 1 for the person at the back of the line and working my way up to the person at the front. That way i know how many kids i have left to paint AND no one can cut the line or 'claim' they were waiting when they weren't, which has totally happened many times!

@forest fairy ... thanks, I did encounter some chaos with the numbers. In fact, it was so haphazard that I ended up just painting whoever had the lowest number at the table. I must say, though, that the fair people were happy with no long line ...

For high traffic events, where it's just me I leave my design books at home and only have 'fast faces' on my board. 3min designs max. This REALLY helps eat through a line when you can do one min roses and rainbows!

I do numbers at closed events, such as a youth lock-in at a skating rink. Quite a bit of kids there, but no one ever gives me grief about letting skipped numbers go before them. They know my system. Of course, my daughter is my line manager and hands out tickets, and keeps a sign going, showing what range of numbers I'm on, so I don't have to worry about anything but the face I'm painting.
Large events get the line. Hubby is my line manager at these venues. He is great at keeping them engaged and chatting. He hands out cards, tells people I do parties, and takes money. And he knows what to do when I need a break to use the restroom or something.
When it's getting close to quitting time, my son gets in line and turns away anyone who comes after him.
We have it down to a science.

And I never EVER do "just one more".

That's awesome Diane! Dial B for backup for sure!

My hubby usually paints with me at large events, so that keeps the long lines down having two of us going at the same time. I also some times get a friend to be my line manager and pay them, if i know the event is going to be huge.

Yeah and we never do 'just one more' either. I have stickers i give to late comers as a consolation prize lol. But yeah I have had parents stamp their feet pretty hard trying to manipulate me into painting their kid.

I am paid to face paint at our Canadian National Exhibition for 18 days in August with my team. Yes, our line-ups can be almost 2 hours long.
It is free face painting.
Nobody is forcing those parents to wait in line.
We do not advertise the free face painting and free caricatures. The parents were fodder for the NutBar gallery in the previous years. This year, we only had a few Nutbars. Most of them were run-of-the mill NutBars.
I do not worry about those parents.
All I know is this...
they are much better parents than I am.
I would not stand in line for so long for face painting for my children. My oldest would have lost her mind standing in line. If my child goes insane.... guess who also loses her nut..... ME!

xoxo

I have not gotten brave enough to given children a choice of faces yet. I decide which design I will do that day, and they have a choice of colors. I will branch out when I am a little more confident. At my first event, though, I did get through 60 children in 5 hours (I could barely walk at the end, though, lol). I actually prefer the look of simple designs anyway.

@forest fairy, what is written on the sign on your table, if I may ask? I usually leave a pile of little pieces of paper telling people how to remove paint, and telling them that the paint is cosmetic grade. I don't know the best way to remove gems, though. But I am rambling ... so easy to do in this interesting and friendly forum!

Monelle I would start out small, have like 5 full face designs to choose from 2 typical boy designs, and 2 typical girl designs, and one swing design.

EX:
Butterfly
Princess
Batman
Spiderman
Tiger

Also have the same formula in small art designs.

Butterfly
Flower
Spider
Skull
Ladybug

Then over time add to it as you practice. Use slow gigs to practice new designs too! If you always do the same thing you'll fall into a rut pretty fast. Try to branch out and don't be afraid of making mistakes, because trust me, even if you do a terrible job it's still going to be better then the garden variety volunteer face painting kids are used to. :p

About my sign, i get asked that ALL the time lol.

It Says:




My newer sign is an update, and says 

One thing- Diane, you said you never EVER do faces for just one more.

I was offered $20 to paint a mustache on a kid as I was packing up. I did that "one more." And then got a $20 tip on top of it. That day, I can say I was pretty happy to do "one more."

That's all fine and good, but I don't do it for this reason:
The ones who have been turned away may see you take that offer. I don't like the message that it sends to the ones turned away, nor the ones asking for special favors.

fesspenter wrote: 
I do not worry about those parents.
All I know is this...
they are much better parents than I am.
I would not stand in line for so long for face painting for my children.  My oldest would have lost her mind standing in line.  If my child goes insane.... guess who also loses her nut..... ME!

xoxo

Hahahahaha... this is the reason I started face painting in the first place... I was NOT going to wait in that line LOL!!!!

rthling wrote:That's all fine and good, but I don't do it for this reason:
The ones who have been turned away may see you take that offer. I don't like the message that it sends to the ones turned away, nor the ones asking for special favors.

That's one of the same reasons I don't paint 'one mores'. I already turned down lots of nice understanding parents. I would hate to give the message of "well if you got the cash to burn then I'll paint one more."

Also if others see you do that, then you got a line up all over again "well you did it for that kid! so you have to do it for mine." Yikes!

@forest-fairy-I do not want to get into a rut, so I changed my pict so you could see I can paint more than 1. lol. You don't have to be great to get lots of compliments, since there are so many "face painters" out there who would do the children a big favor if they stayed home and watched tv. lol. Okay, I'll try not to be too mean.

As to your sign, I thought maybe some mom came along and yelled at you for painting her child without her permission! I'm sure that has happened to some people.

As to boys, I've tried Batman and a pirate and a spider. I actually do not like painting boys, but I do it because I don't want to be unfair. Most of them are not very into it anyway.

I've done a couple of "one-mores," but I just end up annoyed, so I shouldn't.

Thanks again for the time you took!

some of the most popular designs with boys i find are dinosaur/monster mask or face, half robot face, dragons, and snake face.

younger boys often like a puppy face.

I really love your work Monelle, what i have seen of it. you really should post more! I know what you mean about those 'other face painters' and yes i feel that way some times too, not just about the lack of skill, but mostly the lack of hygienic applications, lack of clean water, and some times lack of REAL face paints too! Yikes!

As it so happens I think it was the first or 2nd year i was painting, I was at a fair, kidding running around all over, and i was like 12 or 13 and a painted a little boy (it was free face painting paid for by the event). His mother come storming up to me yelling that she didn't want him painted and that I was in the wrong. I remember i gave a quip about "Do you make it a habit of leaving your child unattended in public for so long that he can manage stand in a huge line and get his face painting before you even notice?"
(I was more loose with my tongue back then)
lol But really the real reason for that sign is that I'm not a baby sitter, I'm not going to supervise a strangers child, AND if you don't have a sign like that and a mom leaves her kid with you, and the kid goes missing (wanders off after you painted them, get kidnapped, estranged father watching from afar sees his opportunity and leaps in to take the kids with out mum knowing), YOU are the one on the hook and you are totally liable for it in most places. (So I've been told)
It's a good sign to have.

Boys can be harder to paint for sure, but i LOVE painting the cooler stuff on them. After 20 or so butterflies, I'm cheering when I get a boy who wants to be a gory zombie!

Yeah, don't do 'one mores', more often then not it turns into 10 'one mores' that's my advice any way.

Thx, jlirie. I'm nervous about doing anything that takes too long. I'm lucky to have one little boy who likes rainbows and stars! Snake sounds good, though, I will have to try that ...

Thanks so much for the kind words, Forest-Fairy, they mean a lot to me. I try to make designs that are minimal (I don't do heavy butterflies any more) and quick and delicate.

Yup, dirty water is a real turn-on. I am actually surprised that face painting does not require a license. I once took my 1-year-old grandson to the beach and he had a terrible reaction to the sunblock lotion for babies ("equaline"). Watching him go through that really makes me feel strongly about using crappy stuff on children's faces. Hair cutting and manicures require licenses, so why not face painting? It would be good to have basic classes available, too, in pursuit of that license.

Legally, I doubt you would be held responsible for a lost or kidnapped child, especially if you did not say you would babysit. And if you are held liable, the sign probably does not prevent it. As I understand it, you cannot make your liability go away with a sign. However, for one thing, I could be wrong, and for another, you could be sued by some jerk anyway and have to pay legal fees to defend yourself, so I'm sure the sign is a good idea.

Anyway, thanks very much for sharing! Do you have a website?

Yeah i try to be as clean as i can with in reason.

So I'm told you actually can be held responsible if a mom leaves her kid with you so she can shop or whatever. A sign can go a long way to making your self not liable, in the same way that wet floor signs, and watch your step signs, help. You'lb be surprised what a sign can do. Also I HATE it when parents leave their kids with me, so i like having something to point to when they try to make a break for it.

Yup website is in my signature and under my display pic as a link (the circle looking one).

monelle wrote:As I understand it, you cannot make your liability go away with a sign.

Although this could possibly be true, it would be a step in the right direction. If the sign says that children are not to be left unattended, then it is at least known at that time and location that the face painter is not making themselves available to be responsible for those attending above and beyond the duties of a typical face painter (using FDA approved paints, cleanliness, etc). That being said... no one is ever safe from the crazies ^_^

There are many funny “unattended children” signs available for purchase online including: unattended children will be....sold as slaves, sold to the circus, towed at owners expense, used for medical experiments, fed to zombies, given a free puppy, kitten, espresso....etc. etc. 

I have one that just says Do Not Leave Children Unattended (one sign with both english and spanish)

Funny is good, and threatening is fine, too. What kind of person would leave their child unattended at a public event, for goodness' sake?