Are Dayshifts Actually Worth It?

My very first shift ever was a scheduled 11am-7pm shift. "Great", I thought, "So I'm going to make no money and see no customers..." I was mildly irritated at the managers requirement that I start on dayshifts because I "couldn't dance", but I was in no position to be demanding a specific shift, so I took what I could get. By the end of those 8 hours, I was shocked at the $300-some-odd dollars that I'd made. I made a mental note to never come into a club or shift with negative assumptions, because with dancing you just truly never know what the day will hold until you go in and work.

Now, two and a half years in, I can tell you that dayshift quickly became my preferred time to work at any club I've been to that has offered it. My definition of dayshift here ranges from 11am until somewhere around 6pm. I've worked pretty much every combo of hours you can think of, but I always go back to days. Not to say that there is anything wrong with nightshift or the ladies who choose to work it, it's just never really been my jam. You might be wondering why, and I'd love to tell you! In addition to what I love about dayshift, I'm also going to keep it real with you and share some of the not-so-awesome aspects of working days at the strip club in my next blog post! So, stay tuned.

*Disclaimer: These are my specific opinions/observations, and they may not be true for everyone. I will be doing my best to share the aspects I really like along with reasoning for each topic, so you have a good idea of why I'm sharing on these particular areas! *

The Energy & Vibe of a Dayshift + my Sobriety:

Being a bit older than a lot of dancers at 27 (28 in Feb. 2025), I don't really enjoy or fit into the party scene that often comes along with working a night shift. So, it's a lot harder for me to put on the facade of a super fun, wild party girl. I'm sober and deal with severe PTSD triggers when I'm around extremely intoxicated people. Do we get them on days? Sure. You'll occasionally find a drunk, belligerent asshole in the club at 2pm on a Tuesday, but it's far less common than the droves of inebriated people who will be littering the clubs at 1am on any given day. Less drunk people mean less triggers for me which means a higher ability to focus on my selling, performances, conversations and goals. If you're sober or working on getting & staying sober and you dance, I would highly recommend trying out a dayshift. It can really help curb the severity of urges and triggers and typically customers are a lot more understanding when you refuse a drink and tend to be less pushy on the subject. The less chaotic environment of a dayshift helps my feelings of overstimulation to be calmed, and my desire to drink decreases drastically. Sobriety pro tip: let all your bartenders, regardless of shift, know that you are sober and that you need them to refuse selling you alcohol if you ever ask - this is what I do, and I've even tested my bartenders by asking and they all stand firm on not allowing me to drink. It's really helped!

Conversationalist Selling Style:

I am a slow seller, a conversationalist, a charmer. I rarely do well at fast sells that consist of hopping in a customer's lap and immediately hitting them with "I'm Barbie! Wanna dance?!" There is absolutely nothing wrong with this selling style if it works for you, but good god, I can never make it sound good. I sound robotic and unsure, and because I personally hate being fast-sold or pushed to buy something, doing it to other people makes me cringe internally. However, quick sales and back-to-back dances can often be a big part of a lucrative nightshift. I admire the dancers that can do it flawlessly and gracefully, and it is something I try to practice when I can. Typically, however, I can be seen chatting with a customer about a variety of topics before we ultimately head off to the VIP or Private Dance area.

Dayshift customers tend to really appreciate a dancer who is willing to put some effort into the conversation before they decide on doing a VIP/dance with her. This is a very big part of why I love dayshifts. I am able to really connect with most of the potential customers I speak with in one way or another and that makes them feel seen, heard, valued and understood. In turn, those feelings will put them at ease in my presence and encourage them to spend more time with me. I have made many a regular by just keeping the conversation fun, playfully sexy, interesting and often times - a little weird! Because there is less going on during a dayshift, the club tends to be a bit quieter so having a deep conversation without screaming at each other is much easier. I really allow my true personality to shine through because I have the time and the space to do so in a way that almost always guarantees me sales. People in the clubs during daytime hours are typically less interested in the partying/getting drunk aspect of our world, and more interested in feeling a genuine connection and being appreciated. Throughout my life, I have found some of my greatest strengths are connecting with others, putting them at ease, and actively listening in order to form thoughtful, caring and helpful responses.

Days are a time where I can really put my aforementioned assets to good use at the club, so I do! Another thing I want to say about going into a somewhat deeper conversation with customers is it gives me a better chance to vet them and decide if they are a person I feel comfortable doing private dances or a VIP with. Not all money is good money, and I like to do my best to make sure I'm not getting myself in an extremely sketchy situation with a dangerous person - so I feel out their energy and demeanor throughout the conversation first. 

Lower Stimulation Levels:

As I mentioned, working earlier hours can be a lot less overwhelming and for my easily overstimulated girlies, that can be a huge draw to working dayshifts. Nights tend to really upset me because it gets too loud, too crowded and hot, too chaotic with myriad intoxicated customers and dancers, and there aren't a lot of quiet, low energy places where you can be truly alone to decompress away from said chaos. Big crowds make me very nervous and uncomfortable, and as a result, I tend to become agitated and often withdraw and come off as arrogant and hateful. That is never my intention, but I am aware of the way I can seem to other people, and I try my best to avoid situations that put me in that headspace.

Dayshifts and their slower pace, quieter club floor and lower number of dancers and customers is a perfect place and time for me to shine. I feel confident and secure in my environment which truly makes all the difference in the world for me. Having a place that allows for chill and low-pressure connections/conversations can be a great way to get yourself familiar with the job as well as helping you develop conversational skills to ramp up your sales game - no matter what shift you decide to work! If you're just starting out, jumping straight into a 10pm-4am shift might be extremely overwhelming and make you question what the hell you're doing trying to be a stripper. I would honestly recommend everyone, new or veteran to try a dayshift and see how it fits for you, they can honestly really be surprising!

Clientele Type:

Dayshifts, as I've mentioned, will usually have more laid back and chill customers than the party-goer crowd of nights. When finding what shifts worked for me, I relied heavily on understanding my specific customer base, their habits, needs, schedules and preferences. A good deal of the patrons who choose to spend time with me often fall into one or a few of these categories: older, retired, entrepreneur, lawyer, IT technician, project manager, or engineer. Often times, people who fall into these categories will have a schedule that allows them time during midday or early evening to head into the club and have some fun. Typically, they are people who don't thrive on nightlife activities due to their schedules operating outside of the typical 9-5 hours. Their jobs can often be extremely demanding & sleep for them is a necessity. For others, their age causes them to have no interest in being out past 7-8pm, so daytime visits are their preferred option. Knowing and understanding your customers is essential to planning when you work and what shifts are the most lucrative for you. 

There are many instances where I've tried night shifts, and I get so frustrated and irritated by the people there that are drunk, trying to push alcohol and or drugs on me, and are acting like they're god's gift to the world and I should be worshipping the ground they walk on because they've so humbly decided to grace a lowly stripper like me with their presence. I hold no room for stroking the fragile male ego, dumbing myself down so they can feel superficially superior to me and working that angle to make a sale. It drives me absolutely insane and more often than not, I end up brutally putting a guy in his place before I get up and leave the situation. I know my limits, my triggers, my client base and the type of selling that works for me.

Conversationalist selling tactics can work on nights depending on the club you work at, but 8/10 times when I try it on nights, I'm met with rude and unintelligent men who would rather belittle me and try to grope me than treat me like a human being. Some dancers can really handle the party/frat boy crowds with ease, and I applaud you if you're one of them, but they are just too damn much for me so I avoid them if I can. Again, I'd like to state that I am in no way trying to bash or discourage working a nightshift or having it as your preferred shift. I am simply listing some reasons why I typically prefer days to nights and why they work better for me and likely could for people with my same personality/selling style!

Honorable Mentions for the Pros of Dayshifts:

• Often times, a lower house fee will be charged for an earlier arrival to the club, so you're saving money.
• Ridesharing services tend to be cheaper during the day and public transit is often safer during the day as well, for those of us without cars/who would rather not use our own vehicles to get to the club and back.
• Less girls means higher odds you're making money, and the locker room & bathroom is less crowded and quieter.
• Slower moments mean the ability to use stages to practice moves & tricks (assuming your club allows this!)
• Good option for those with children in daycare/school to work while their children are being watched during the day.
• Ideal for dancers who are intrinsically early risers.
• Slower pace can be great if you're healing an injury, suffer from chronic pain, or just can't be go-go-go for hours at a time.
• Opportunities to brainstorm & practice different selling tactics and closing styles without feeling extremely rushed.
• Customers at daytime are typically there specifically to buy dances/VIPs rather than drink and stare. Not always, but a lot of the time!

Next will be my blog post on some of the more... icky parts of working days. After that you can expect to see another couple posts on the pros and cons of a nightshift schedule as a stripper! Please drop any questions, comments or topic ideas below that you'd like to see covered in a future post - either about this topic or anything else in the industry of stripping! Thanks so much for reading and I hope this helps give you a new perspective on working a dayshift at the club!