[laddie]

In my shows, duets count as a song for both singers. The list is displayed on the screen and everyone knows the order of rotation. If I move anyone, I move them down the list, never up.
For example someone may be in the bathroom or on the phone when I call their name. I move them down one and call them after the next song. I do this three times. After the third time I move them to bottom of the list. Sometimes people will ask me to move them down because they are waiting on someone to show up. I occasionally get people coming in an hour before closing wanting me to let them sing next. I explain the rules and tell them to come in earlier next time. Most people are OK with that. For those that don’t like it, I tell them to go back to the bar where they have been spending money all night. Other than the few drunks I get no complaints about the rotation. I am often complemented for running a fair rotation.