How to make the most of your night on the town with advice from a dc nightlife veteran.

Clubbing DO’s
– DO: Be polite, nice, and sincere to all club staff, even if things aren’t going as planned.  You’d be surprised how far you can go just by being nice.
– DO: Get in touch with a promoter ahead of time.  Look around facebook for club events in the area and message the person who created the event.  Chances are, they’ll be able to help you out with guestlist, passes, etc.
– DO: Plan ahead. If you’re thinking about hitting the club, start making plans early. Clubs generally stop taking additions to the list about an hour before the club opens.  Make sure to print out your passes ahead of time too.
– DO: Plan ahead (again).  If you want to book a table, come with a big group, or if you just want to do something special, its easier to make arrangements if you call or email a few days ahead of time if you want things to go smoothly, especially if you’re new at this.  Club pros generally can arrange these things a few hours ahead of time.
– DO: Show up early.  Both guestlist and passes have time limitations.  If the pass says “free before 11, $5 off after” don’t plan to show up at 10:50pm and expect to get in free.  Parking, Walking, Lines, and all that take a lot longer than you think.  You CAN get in free to most places, but you’ve got to make a little effort.  We make it really easy for our smart customers.  On the DC Clubbing website, just click on the “free pass” link at the top, and you’ll get in free and skip the line.
– DO: Check the dress code ahead of time.  Nothing stinks more than showing up at the club, waiting in line for 30 mins, then being told you can’t get in because you’re wearing shorts.
– DO: TIP YOUR BARTENDER.  You’d be surprised just how far you can go with a big tip.  It builds a good rapport with the bartender.  If you tip a bartender properly, you’ll be served faster, get stronger drinks, and get better service.  If you tip poorly or not at all, well…  Great example: I generally don’t drink when I’m on the clock, so I order sodas.  I always tipped the bartender $5 every night for a $3 soda.  After a couple weeks of doing this, my sodas were always free, and she would skip over customers that were waiting longer just to serve me because I tipped better.

Clubbing DON’Ts
– Don’t show up drunk, especially if you’re underage.  Just because you weren’t drinking underage in the club, doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear.  If you’re intoxicated, and you’re inside the club, the venue will get charged with serving a minor because they can’t prove that you DIDNT drink in their club.  If you are of legal age and you are drunk, you will also be denied for a similar reason.  The club could get charged with overserving you, because they can’t prove that they DIDNT serve you.  Pregaming is OK if you don’t overdo it.
– Don’t drink underage in the club. Nothing will get you banned faster than drinking underage.  It could also get you arrested. 
– Don’t wash off your Xes, or slap on someone’s wristband.  If you want any hope of making friends with the club staff, this will ruin any chance.
– Don’t use a fake ID.  It will be confiscated.  It also is a big insult to club staff because it says that you could care less if their place got shut down for serving a minor and everyone lost their jobs.
– Don’t try to smuggle in booze, drugs, weapons, etc.. For safety and security purposes, all patrons are searched before entering the club.  You will get caught and denied entry.
– Don’t forget to wear deodorant.  Everyone sweats when they dance.  Nothing sends prospective mates running like terrible body odor.

Keep these Do’s and Don’ts in mind next time you go clubbing, and I assure you that you’ll have a great night.