Get Bigger Tips |

Get Bigger Tips

Introducing the 86BadTips complete guide to earning bigger tips.

After you complete this course you will have every resource at your disposal to earn larger tips from your existing customers. You will also know how to get your customers to come back and ask for you by name. You will learn how to separate yourself from every server your customers have ever come in contact with. Please note that these tips and techniques can only work if you work them. Big tips don’t just come by smiling, slinging out the food and touching your guests. The good news is that you do not have to master all the techniques to see a substantial increase in your daily income.

Before we begin I want to be clear. If you use the tips and techniques outlined in this e-book, you will earn a higher overall percentage in tips. We cannot tell you the magic words to make every guest tip 25%. Nor can we teach you how to keep the 50 year old women with 15 cats from ordering off the kids menu and asking for a discounted Coke because she “only wants one”. These weird people will still act weird and they will still sit in your section. Some people just act up. This guide is intended to increase your over all percentage of tips. It’s meant to get every dime of tip out of each person possible. Did you realize that you have people sitting at your tables every day who are more than willing to tip you more, if you will push their “tipping” buttons correctly? In addition to this, most servers are also pushing some of the wrong buttons unaware of it. You must stop pushing the wrong buttons and start pushing the right ones. I am so excited because you hold in your hands they keys to an income explosion. Let’s get started.

Let’s start off at square one. If you can get this one fact, it will make your job much easier. Diners do not tip on service alone!!! Dinners Tip on the overall experience combined with how much they like you. It’s true! Have you ever compared the tips from server (Waiter) A) that busts his hump running circles around everyone trying to make sure he is running the most food, he is conscious of every single table in the restaurant, he has a fantastic spiel, he walks the walk, he talks the talk, he always has full hands in and full hands out, he does not waste any time with small talk and is an all around superstar compared to server (waiter) B) who hardly ever takes a new table because his section is always full of people who are asking for him by name. He is focused on learning more about his guests each time they are in the restaurant. He remembers their names and what they ate and drank last time they were in the restaurant. You know he never seems to run as much food or teamwork or…anything as much as server (Waiter) A), you seem to always see him building relationships with his tables. He knows about their kids, their jobs, their families, everything. Don’t get me wrong, he runs his fair share of food and does his fair share of team working. These things must be done by everyone. He is not lazy by any means. He just does not go out of his way to do more than his fair share because he realizes that his income is not based on these factors but rather building relationships with his tables. Most people have never had the privilege to work with a server of this caliber, that’s how rare they are. I have studied this extensively and would you care to take a guess at who always makes the most money? I will give you a hint; it’s not the hardest worker. The guy that makes the most money is always the relationship builder. It’s not just a small difference. I have seen waiters and waitresses like this make around $50,000 a year working at restaurants with a per person average of less than $20. How it is that waiter B) can make so much money? It’s because he is focused on the people. The people can’t help but love him, therefore they can’t help but tip him outrageously (just like he is a close friend) and come back and ask for him by name next time. If you choose to only master one technique from this website, this is that one technique! Nothing will increase your tips like building relationships and getting your tables to like you.

As I have already stated, there are some other things that WILL increase your tips that do not have anything to do with your guests liking you. Do you remember what it was? That’s right, diners also tip on the entire experience, not just the service. They tip on the temperature of the room, the temperature of their steak, the cleanliness of their table, how fast the dirty table next to them gets cleaned, the friendliness of the host stand, the volume of the music in the dining room, the outcome of the big game, and even how their kids are feeling. In other words they tip on everything, the entire experience, regardless of whether or not you can control it. Why would they do such a thing you ask? They do it because people are weird emotional creatures. It’s not enough to just sling out their steak and smile, they want you to make sure the food is cooked properly, keep the place clean, make them feel good; make their kids feel good… In other words they want you to be super waiter. Ouch! You can either turn your head and pretend that what I just said is false or you can embrace this fundamental truth and work it to your advantage. Diners tip on the entire dining experience combined with how much they like you, period. If you can help them to enjoy their entire experience and get them to like you, you will earn bigger tips. You must spend your entire shift asking yourself these two questions. “How can I make the guests dining experience better? And how can I make them like me more? (In fact, if I were you I would write these questions in big letters inside my wait book so I am sure to see them 50 times a shift). Once you get the questions right, you will start getting the right answers and the right answers in action will increase your earnings drastically. Let’s dive right in and dissect exactly what we can do as servers to make the diners experience better and how to get them to like you more. I am going give you a list to start you out. Do not stop at these, keep searching. These are simply ideas to spark your imagination. Never stop asking yourself these two powerful questions, that is, if you want to continue to increase your income.

Let’s jump straight into what I believe will make the absolute most difference in your career. You absolutely must start taking steps to become a little more like waiter“B”, that is if you truly want to maximize your tips. You must start to develop regulars by getting people to like you more. This is what is going to double your income in three to six months. The faster you develop regulars the faster you double your income. In order to get people to come in and ask for you by name, you must become an EXCELLENT relationship builder. You must learn to become a person that people like. Don’t worry, if you are a terrible relationship builder now, let’s just get you to become an OK relationship builder and then we will get you to become a good relationship builder and then and eventually a great relationship builder. How do we become an excellent relationship builder you ask? Let’s go over a few of the basic steps that will get you started. It might be a good idea, after you master what I teach, to continue your people skills education by reading more books, listening to audio CD’s and maybe even attend a seminar. It just depends on how serious you are about making more money. You will get out of this, what you put into it.

You must become an interested person. You want to become genuinely interested in your guests. What does an interested person do you ask? She asks questions. She asks her guests sincere questions about themselves, about their kids, about their jobs, about their hobbies… Have you ever noticed that people love to talk about themselves? If you will set it up, they will knock em down. Once you find a table that likes to talk and wants you to ask them questions about themselves, start asking them sincere questions like what do you do for a living? Do you have any kids? What are their names? How old are they? Are they involved in any activities? How long have you lived in the area… Get them to talk about themselves. Don’t become over bearing with this. If the table is not into it, it would not be wise to continue. You will be able to discern who is and who is not into it. Spend less time talking about yourself and more time asking questions about them. As they are signing their check and calculating your tip, they will be talking about how great you are and will not even know why. The reason is because you were genuinely interested in them and people love this. Not only do they love it, it is extremely rare. Next time they want to eat out, guess who they want to see? You guessed it, you!

If you can find a sincere way to complement them, this will help a lot. Don’t be cheesy about this or rub it on to thick, or it will backfire. For instance, if you are a lady and your table has the exact Coach purse you have been eyeing for a year. You might be wise to complement it and let them know you agree with their great taste. You will be surprised how well this will open someone up and get them to like you more. I like to look for points of commonality. For instance, if I see them wearing a shirt that is something I enjoy also, I might bring that up. Remember, you are trying to get them to like you. I would not suggest you dogging their sports team or disagreeing with something they support. If you can’t agree with them, it’s better not to say anything at all.
Get yourself a small spiral note book that will easily go in a front shirt or pant pocket. This spiral will be a secret cheat sheet that you use to write down important details about your guests and your encounter with them. You will spend your entire shift actively looking for that table that wants to build a relationship (many do) and recording as much information about them as possible. Note the way they look so when they come back you will be able to find them in your book without having to ask their names. Think how awesome it will be when you see your table walk in and you look through your book real fast then walk up to them and shake hands and say “Jim, Tammy, nice to see you again, come on over and sit down”. In addition to noting what they look like, note what they eat, what they drink, and any important details that it would be helpful to remember. The more you learn about them the more info you should collect on them. After several visits, you should have quite a bit of information about them. Again remember, they should never ever know about your secret information spiral. This is just between us. You will quickly need another spiral and then another. Some people will never come back and much of your notes will become worthless. Others however will start coming back and these are the relationships you want to start to nurture. After 3-6 months you should have so many regulars asking for you, by name, that you rarely even take a new table. Once you get to this point, you are straight rolling. Think about this, how would your income improve if you waited on friends and family 75% or more of your time? This is what it’s going to be like when you master the art of getting people to like you in order to develop your regulars. I know this is a lot of work, but trust me it is worth it.
I would highly recommend getting yourself a good joke book and start memorizing one good joke per day. If you come across a table that likes to laugh, start telling your jokes. I assure you, this one little thing will skyrocket your tips instantly and build your regulars. Why you ask? Because this will cause your tables to like you more which will cause them to tip you more. Isn’t this fun?
Well how do we actually make sure they ask for you next time they come in? Well if you have done your job properly they will never think of asking for someone else. However, if you will give them a “free appetizer” coupon with “Ask for _____” hand written on it this will also help a lot. If you don’t have coupons get your managers card and write “free appetizer in (your name here)’s section” on the back of it. Every manager in the world will be ok with this. It also might be a good idea to put an expiration date of a month or so out on it. This will cause them to get back in soon. Now don’t give one to every table, just the ones that seem that they have the potential to become good regulars.
Don’t stop at these few ideas I have suggested, keep learning. Remember the more you can get your tables to like you, the higher your income will go. This is the absolute most important area you can improve on. Find books. I would recommend the book “How to win friends and influence people”. Get extreme about this. Now only will it help you at waiting tables, it will help you for the rest of your life.

Ok, so far, we have only dealt with one aspect of getting bigger tips. That is the relationship building and getting your regulars part. Building relationships is only half of getting bigger tips, if even that because 90% of your tables, at first, will be people that do not want to chat nor will you likely see again. As you get more regulars, this 90% will start to drop and eventually the goal is to get 50% or more of your tables to be regulars. These next suggestions are geared towards making the dining experience better for every table regardless of whether or not you will ever see them again.

Find out if we are we celebrating anything special today? This is so important because if your guest is celebrating a birthday, anniversary, Job promotion, baby arrival or anything at all, you want to do something special for them. I know most of us do not like this, but face it, your guests love it. It makes them feel good therefore it will increase your tips substantially. You want to celebrate whatever they are celebrating. Now on the other hand, if some table just “wants to be left alone”. You should be able to pick this vibe up too. Do whatever your guest’s desires are. Once you figure it out, it is important to fill that role for them.
Take care of the kids and the parents will tip you more. If you know any magic tricks, I would highly suggest performing a few tricks for the kids. I personally like to play games with the kids. I like to challenge the kids to give me more dishes than I can hold in one trip. This is a great way to get the kids to help me prebus, plus they are very entertained by it. Another thing you can do to take care of the kids is to put a rush on the kid’s food, the parents will thank you for your consideration with a bigger tip. Before you rush the food, ask the parents if this is a service they would appreciate. If so, you just scored major points. Another thing you can do to make the kids happy, if it is slow enough, is to take them in the back of the restaurant. They love it. Obviously you will have to clear this with your manager first, but if they are on board with completely making the dining experience for the guests the most it can be, they should be great with this. Obviously you don’t want to take them on the line where they can get hurt. Another trick is to tell the kids before they leave, if you did not take them in the back. Say “next time you are here, if it’s slow enough, I will take you in the back and show you the kitchen”. Talk about some nagging kids to go see you again. This is a great way to get some regulars. Oh here is something you can do. If your restaurant has dough, you can bring the kids a small amount of dough and cheese and let them make their own personal pizza. Then you or you and them can take it to the cooks to put in the oven for a few minutes. Anything you can think of to make the kids experience better will be magnified in the parents. And like I already said, the kids will nag the parents to come back and see you.
Take it upon yourself to make sure the host stand is always flowing properly. I know, I know, it’s not your job, right? Well consider this, If your future guest is sitting up front waiting on a table and they see several open tables available they can get frustrated quickly because they don’t understand that there are not enough servers on to give them the service they deserve or that they are reserved or that a busboy has not cleaned them yet. Guess whose tip is in jeopardy? You guessed it. Remember that perception is reality. Do not rely on the host stand to explain the situation to the guest. They are not as concerned with the guests experience as much as you are. Get up front introduce yourself. Tell them the situation. Let them know that you are working very hard to make sure they have a great dining experience. Feel free to let them see your great personality. Who knows, they just might ask for you by name. After all isn’t that the point? Be careful with this, because you don’t want the host stand to think you are trying to snake a table because they can and will black list you and you will get every bad tipper that walks in the door. Trusty me, the host stand knows.
If you can get really good at anticipating your guests needs and supplying them before they ask, this will go a long way when tip time comes around. If your guest orders fries, it might be a good idea to offer ketchup, mayo, vinegar, and ranch. If your guest orders something extra messy, you might want to supply extra napkins or I don’t know maybe even a linen napkin folded into a triangle soaked with steaming hot water out of the coffee maker and a lemon wedge on top to clean their hands with after their meal. Wow, this would blow them away. What about bringing a mint and a tooth pick for every guest at the table with the check? Get creative. Anything you can supply your table with, before they ask is an opportunity to Wow them with great service. It would even be a great investment if you were to bring something from home like I don’t know maybe “Jolly Ranchers” candy. Offer extra sauce with everything. You can’t offer too much. If the servers at your restaurant have found an amazing creation that is not on the menu, you would be extremely wise to tip your tables off to it. I used to work at an Italian restaurant. We mixed herbs and olive oil to dip sourdough bread in. We gave it as a free appetizer to all tables. Well a few servers discovered that those herbs were ten times better mixed with butter and we ate it all the time in the back. I believe I was the only server that offered it to my tables, and my tips proved it. Get crazy with this. Don’t think like most servers think “oh I don’t have time to do that stuff”. Not true, you have time for what you make time for. If I were you, I would take fewer tables if I had too, because I know that when I provide my best service, I will end up with more money.
If you notice someone fanning themselves, you might ask if they would like you to adjust the temperature. Remember they are tipping on the overall experience. If you notice them shivering, you might want to adjust the air accordingly. Now don’t get crazy with this because you obviously can’t please everyone. Some people will fan themselves when it is 55 degrees in the restaurant. You will have to use good judgment on this one, but I assure you, if your table is not comfortable it will affect your tip. Let me let you in on a little secret. 90% of that shivering and fanning is in their head. I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me to turn the air down and I said ok but forgot and they thanked me and told me its much better. Just the fact that I acknowledged the shivering, landed me a bigger tip. I’m not suggesting you to deceive your tables, but it does come in handy to know a little human psychology from time to time.
If your guest asks for a product that you do not offer, it would be a very wise move on your part to offer to send someone (like a cook or manager or host) to the store to get this item for your guest. I never tell a guest “no” on anything. This is a task that only a true professional would attempt to do and it will show at tip time. The great news is 9 out of 10 times your guest will decline the offer but you still get the points as if you did it. Try this and watch your tips soar. Again, you manager will have to be on board for you to do this.

As I stated, these are just meant to get you started. Keep asking yourself the questions “How can I make the guests experience better? How can I make them like me more? If you truly want to make bigger tips, you will get very good at answering these two questions. Remember, this is the real reason people leave huge tips.

Ok, let’s move on, just like you want to push your customers “good tip” buttons, you also do not want to push the “bad tip” buttons. There are so many servers out there doing things every single day that are lowering their tips and they don’t even know it. Let’s go over a few of those things now.

This is extremely basic, but is an absolute must if you want to increase your tips. As you know, you deal with food, therefore you must be clean. I know what it’s like to work a double and sweat like a gallon and spill steak sauce all over myself in the first 30 minutes. This is something that only the truly professional will do. Insist on extreme cleanliness in your uniform and your apron. I don’t care if you work at the White House or Chilies, you must be wearing a fresh clean uniform and apron. This small tip will increase your tips. It’s always a great idea to keep a spare uniform in your car just in case a ketchup bottle decides to explode on you. As the server it is your responsibility to look presentable. I have seen waiters with the crustiest apron you can imagine. You know, where you could literally scrape the crust off. This is a major turn off. It will not help you case at all at tip time. If you want to 86 your bad tips, you must “keep it clean”.
We all know that many servers smoke cigarettes, but most customers do not. If you want to upset you guest, and get a bad tip, then smoke a cigarette right before your shift and maybe even one on your break (Well when you sneak out by the dumpster). Here is my suggestion for you. If you chose not to take it, well that’s your call. I suggest, if you must smoke, do it after your shift only. Most smokers do not realize how sensitive most non smoker’s noses are to cigarette smoke. They think that because it has been an hour or two since their last smoke, or that they washed their hands, that their customers can’t smell it. WRONG!!! They can and it disgusts them and diners tip their waiter based on the entire experience, not just the service. If you are truly going to become a professional do not smoke before or during your shift.
Auctioning off peoples food is another thing that is extremely common but highly disliked by customers. This is where you walk up to a table with a tray full of food and proceed to say “who had the chicken fried steak?” “Who had the cheeseburger?” “Who had the buffalo chicken wings?” Customers expect you to know who had what. They have been to restaurants where servers are using the pivot point system and they know it’s possible to know who had what, and they do expect it because it is so basic. Use your pivot point system every time.
Do not violate a core belief system. What is a core belief system you ask? This is a belief that a person has, that guides their life regardless of whether or not it is true. For instance this is so basic that most servers miss it. In our western culture we always ask women and children first. Go overseas to some Middle Eastern country and it might not be the same but over here when taking drink or food orders always start with kids and then ladies then finish with the men regardless of what pivot point position they might be sitting at. If you forget to do this most basic technique, many people will penalize you monetarily because of it. Many of them don’t necessarily do it intentionally. You just leave a sour taste in their mouth and they can’t explain why. I can explain it to you. You broke a most basic elementary rule. You would be amazed at how many food servers will not follow this because a man happens to be sitting at pivot point number one. If you want to give better service and increase your tips, I would highly recommend implementing this immediately.
Here is a sentence you must eliminate from you vocabulary NOW! Most servers ask this question and it is killing your tips. “Do you want change?” Instead, let’s assume they do want change and say “I will be right back with this”. This statement will work no matter how they are paying. If there is a card in the book, you are covered by making this statement. If they want change you are covered. If they left cash and don’t want change, 90% of the time they will let you know. Please do not ever ask them if they want change. This is hurting your tips more than you realize. Trust me!!
Here is another one. When most servers run a credit card and for some reason it does not go through, they will walk right up to the guest and proceed to say something like “your credit card declined” or “you must not have any money in the bank” or something equally offensive. If this happens you would be wise to present this challenge to the table in a way that is less embarrassing. I always use this line… “For some reason our computer is not accepting your card, I have tried it twice, would you like me to try another one?” See how I kind of blamed it on the computer? As if maybe the card is fine and it’s the computers fault. This way they can save face and not be as embarrassed. 99% of the time they will quickly get another one. They know they are pushing the limit on that card and are probably sweating the charge going through anyway. Every once and awhile you get a knot head who wants to question what you just said. You know those people who say “well what’s wrong with your computer?” Those people are silly and there is nothing you can do about them.
Want to know another sentence that almost every server uses that they shouldn’t? “Are you still working on this?” In addition to this being the most unoriginal statement your guest has ever heard, in their head you are not helping them, you are rushing them. As a professional, you should be able to tell when they are done. Once you know they are finished, simply place your four fingers under the edge of the plate and raise your eyebrows as to say “may I?” All they need to do is give you the nod. This will prove to work much better. If you must say something, try to at least be original like “May I?” or “would you like a little more room to spread out?” or “can I get this out of your way?”
Here is a sentence that most servers say every day and think nothing of it. “Can I get you a to go box”? This can come in a few other variations such as “may I get you…, would you like…, will you be needing…” Why is this phase such a bad sentence? We first of all, most servers use this phrase entirely to early which causes the guest to feel hurried which takes away from the “over all experience” and second, most people expect you to at least offer to box the food up for them. If they prefer to touch their food themselves, which I completely understand, that is their right, but we do need to offer to box it up for them. Here is something I once experienced and took a liking to it immediately. The table asks for a “to go” box. You take it out with a big tray and a stand. Open up the “to go” box and take the plate of the guest and box it up for them and in front of them. Then mark the date and contents of the box. Wow, this will knock their socks off. They get the benefits of never taking their eyes of their food while at the same time get the service of their food being boxed up for them. This is what I call service.
Never allow the host stand to sit someone at a dirty table. This includes a dirty floor under the table. If the table is dirty, sticky or rough it will turn your guest off and therefore decease their experience and therefore decrease your tip. These things are so basic, but they happen entirely too much due to lazy people not wanting to take the time to make it right. Take the time to give outstanding service so you can get a great tip.
Never accuse the customer of making a mistake, even if they did. I have seen situations where servers told the table “you ordered it with extra onions” and the customer argued and said “no, I said cut the onions”. Regardless of who is right, what kind of a tip do you think she will get? Instead say, “I’m so sorry, we must have miss communicated, I will get this fixed immediately, may I bring you some more _____ while you wait?” Did you see how I did not blame them nor did I take the blame. I kind of blamed it on both of us. It does not take a smart person to know that this is so much better. In addition to this, say it with a smile and be eager to fix it. I know this is basic, but you would not believe how many servers need me to tell them this. In the actual situation you did make the mistake, own up to it. Nobody likes someone who can’t admit when they are wrong. Did you know that this is one of the biggest pet peeves of most customers? I have had some of my biggest tips from table that I royally messed up on because I had the guts to admit it.
If you are in a bad mood and not smiling or you are frustrated, your guests will pick up on it every time. After spending 45 minutes in your section, they will start feeling this way as well, next thing you know they will be tipping you accordingly. You are in the service industry, you do not have the luxury to be in a bad mood, that is, if you want to make huge money. Take my advice, learn to be happy and smile.
Here is a suggestion that most servers do unconsciously and they really need to break this poor habit. They give favor to certain people at the table while neglecting others. I would highly recommend treating everyone at the table, with the same high level of service as everyone else. Many servers will typically lay the best service on thick for the man, or the person who is dressed the best, or who is paying. Before you make this, way to common, mistake you might want to consider these points. A) You don’t always know who is paying and B) even if you do, they might take more notice how you treat others rather than themselves.
One common mistake that most waiters and waitresses do which decreases their tips substantially is speaking entirely too fast. I understand that it can get very monotonous saying the same salad dressings and the same sides and answering the same 20 questions one hundred times per day. If you expect to get a better tip, you must slow down and act as if that is the first time you have ever been asked “what salad dressings do you have?” In other words be an actor. If your guest notices one small amount of frustration, eye rolling or being annoyed, it will change your tip. The only way for them not to see this attitude is for it not to be in you at all. Eliminate it completely from your brain. This will improve your tips.

Here is a list of 31 tips, tricks and thoughts that will increase your income. Some of them are the most basic of basic and some of them are highly advanced and some of them are in between. The more of these you use the more money you will make.

You know as well as I do that most servers are lazy and it is incredibly easy to pick up a closing shift. You need to capitalize on this as often as you can. You are already at work you might as well stay until the end of the night. Isn’t it great to have other servers that just want to go home taking orders, running food and prebussing for you? This may or may not be a newsflash for you either but the best tippers often times like to eat late to avoid the crowd. Good tippers tend to be what I like to call professional diners generally will not come out during the amateur times. Amateur times are the busy peak business hours. Professional diners will generally come out during the slow times. Professionals are your servers from other restaurants, people in the business of serving the public, people who are not celebrating and tend to know how to tip. This does not mean that every table on a Monday night is a great tipper nor does it mean that every table on Friday at 7 pm is a bad tipper. These are just things to keep in mind. Another pointer is that people in the smoking section (if your restaurant still has one) tend to be better tippers as well. So staying late have many, many benefits.
Don’t upset the host stand, ever. They hold all the power in the restaurant. You need to do anything you can to make them your friends, ASAP. If you have a particularly good night, it might be a good idea to slip them an extra $5 each. This will drastically help your chances of having another good night. Any time you have an extra minute offer to seat a table for them. This will put you so far ahead of all the other servers in the restaurant. Never ever complain to the host stand because they gave you a “bad” table. Remember they have to sit that table somewhere. If you complain at them they just might get upset and give you more “bad” tables. You catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar. Never date a host or hostess. Eventually you will break up and they will hold your financial life in their hands. Go to www.86badtips.com/never-date-the-hostess.html to read more.
If you can find an occasion to gently touch your guest once during their dining experience, you will find they tend to connect with you more as a friend than as a stranger. Be careful with this technique though because it’s not always right for every person. If you touch the wrong person it can actually backfire on you. It’s also important to be careful of where you touch them. Generally if you touch a shoulder or back you will be good. I would not ever recommend touching their face, hand or private parts. If your guest if giving you “leave me alone” signals, I would recommend not touching him. If you touch your guest more than once it can backfire on you as well. Let’s just stick to once per table. This should not be an obvious touch but more of a subtle one.
Have you noticed that people like to hear their name? For some reason when you insert people’s names into the conversation they seem to listen more, like you more, trust you more and lots of other fun “feel good” stuff. Now don’t over use this technique or you will just become obnoxious. Most of your tables, you will not know their name until they give you their credit card. When you hand the wait book back to them, say “thank you mister/miss _______ feel free to ask for me next time you visit, that is if you think I provided you excellent service”. Only use this technique if you are sure how to pronounce their name correctly. If you think you might not pronounce it correctly. Ask them how to pronounce it. When they tell you, tell them “I won’t forget that next time you visit me”. Immediately go in the back write it down in your pocket note book. Don’t forget to write down what they ate and drank and any details you might have spoke about.
We are in the attraction business. When people are dining out, they expect their service to be friendly, prompt, and enthusiastic. If you love what you do, it shows. If you hate what you do, it shows as well. You must fall in love with serving others. If you truly enjoy what you do, you will smile and have loads of fun. This is infections and attractive. You will help people have a more pleasurable experience and therefore they will compensate you greatly because of it. I can’t teach you how to love what you do; you must learn this on your own. I know that sometimes it is easy to get bitter with a particular restaurant and feel like the answer is another job. Let me tell you from experience, changing jobs is not the answer. Now you have to work back up the totem pole. I assure you that if you fall in love with your job, your tips will increase.
Before you deliver the check to the table make sure you write a hand written note on it. It can be as basic as “Thanks” come back and see me or it can be more personal and detailed. Don’t for get to put your name on it. This really helps to make your dining experience more personable. Isn’t that your goal? To make yourselves not like every server they have ever come in contact with? This will help your tips immediately. If you are a girl, please do put a smiley face or something equally fun on it.
Turn those tables as fast as you can. The faster you can take the order, the faster you can get the food and the faster you will get another table. Try your absolute best to get them eating as soon as possible which will allow you to turn an extra table or two per night. Now remember that this is a delicate balancing act because you don’t want to rush them either.
Sell more food! If you have bigger check averages, of course you will have bigger tips. In order to get higher check averages, you must offer specific items by name and describe them in a way that will make you table want to order them. “Would you like to try our shrimp poppers today they are jumbo jalapenos, stuffed with shrimp and cheese, and fried to a golden brown. Offer desert, after dinner coffee, offer to add extra side items. What is the number one reason for tables not ordering desert? “I’m to full”, right? Well here is a way to ask that completely takes that excuse away. “Would you like to try a piece of New York style cheesecake with melted white chocolate Voted best in Detroit or maybe even to go if you are to full”? Oh this works wonderfully because most people never think of it and many more people will take you up on this offer. If your restaurant makes any special non alcoholic drinks, offer to make them one to go. This will up the bill and turn that table. If my table is drinking a beverage that they have to pay to get another one, I will ask them “can you handle another one?” This is such a great sentence for up selling because it’s almost a challenge and it is inside our human nature to win, over come and to out do others. Anything you can do to increase the total will increase your tips. When selling your menu you never want to sound annoying or like a shoe salesman so it’s very important that you to take on the role of “expert advisor”. You are the expert on the menu. You know what is good and you know what is great. Selling food is not really selling at all, it’s merely offering. Whatever you offer, they will be more likely to buy. Don’t just offer the most expensive item on the menu. Your tables will see through this in a second. Offer what you truly believe in, what you truly enjoy eating and they will see your passion for the food and be inspired to eat it.
If they are partying, party. If they are quiet, be quiet. If they are on lunch, consolidate your steps and make their experience fast. You might take their drink order and their food order on your first visit. You might drop their check and if they are ready take their card immediately. You might warn them if they order something that takes longer to prepare. You might get with your manager and get permission to let them call or fax in their order so it is ready when they get to the restaurant. It might be a good idea to run their credit card first for this.
I recommend you eating every single item on your menu at least once. I would also tell every one of my tables that I have had everything and I am full of opinions. This will make you an expert and they will trust your advice. If you do just this one thing, it will separate you from every server they have ever had and will improve your tips drastically. In your customers mind, it is a major plus to have a server that has eaten what they are thinking of ordering. If you can give an opinion about each menu item, you will get rewarded nicely for it.
Oh I love this next tip. I used to work at a place that had comment card contests because corporate required quotas so they could make appropriate changes to the restaurant, menu and service. Well management offered contests and incentives for getting lots of comment cards like not having to roll silver. I was all over this. I was the king of getting the most comment cards. But what I learned was that when people filled out comment cards, it forced them to write how good I did, therefore it made it tougher to tip me poorly because they just said I was a great server. Now clearly there are plenty of jerks that it did not matter, they felt just fine tipping poorly after acknowledging how great and deserving of a wonderful financial reward I was. Remember that this e-book is not designed to teach you how to get 25% from every table, but to help you increase your percentages and to get the most possible tip out of every single person. If you are looking for a great way to solidify the fact that you were amazing, keep comment cards on you at all times and ask your tables if they would mind doing you a favor. Tell them we love to get feed back on how our service is so that we can improve, would you mind taking a minute and filling out a comment card? As you are saying this put a comment card and pen in front of a couple of people. I even would make a joke and say, “feel free to say I was the best server you have ever had”. You might be surprised to know that many of them put exactly what I said. In addition to solidifying your level of service to your guests, it will also make you look like a superstar to your manager, which will get you better sections and
Offer to do side work for $5-$10 bucks. You know how lazy people are. It takes 10-20 minutes. If you do one person’s side work per shift for only five bucks each time and five shifts a week that is over $100 bucks a month on average. You know I was conservative on how much you can charge, how many people per shift you can do it for, and how many shifts per week you work. You could easily pay your car payment each month by doing this. There is so much money to be made everywhere you look. It is so easy to make $50,000 per year, AS A SERVER even in “a bad economy”.
Don’t smother your tables. This is one of the biggest mistakes new people make and it shows in their tips. Just walking by at a slower pace and attempting to make eye contact is generally sufficient.
Keep tables clean and beverage napkins fresh. Manicure the table at all times. Clean sweet and Low packets, get dirty dishes out of the way fast. Not only will this make your table feel better, it will also encourage them to leave faster.
Check food before bringing out. This is so simple and it saves so many errors. Make sure that your expo person is on top of hi/her job. Your tips do depend on it.
It is extremely important that you thank them for choosing you out of the 1,000 restaurants they could have chosen.
Get down to your table’s eye level by squatting or if your restaurant allows it, sit down at the table. For some weird reason people don’t like to look up at other people. I know that when someone walks in the room and I have to look up, I feel uncomfortable.
Repeat orders back. This will assure them that you heard them correctly and reduce the chances of making a mistake.
Write your orders down. It’s more impressive to get the order correct than to flex your memory muscle.
Introduce yourself by name. This way they don’t have to snap whistle or wave at you to get your attention. You know we all hate that. You would be amazed at how many people don’t introduce themselves by name.
Ask everyone, especially around Christmas time if they need any gift cards. I would say it this way, if it’s not Christmas time. “Do you have any birthdays or other gift giving occasions coming up that you can’t decide what to get them? A gift card from (insert your restaurant name here) would sure make me happy”. Now you just engaged their brain and you will sell gift cards.
Save them money. If you know of a way to work the menu or a coupon that will save your table a few bucks it will get you a bigger tip assuming you are using the techniques I have taught you. If you are just being an average server, of course they will pocket the savings and tip you on the “after discount total”. That is not what we want.
Offer to split the check for them. I know, I know, we hate this one, but guess what, they appreciate it and you are more likely to get a 25% tip on a one person total vs. a 6 top total.
Use a tip tray or a book. I don’t know exactly why this works, I just know it does. If you just put a piece of paper on the table, you are hurting your income.
Give out a coupon for their next visit; write “Next time ask for ____” on it. People don’t lose coupons and they can’t forget your name now. Start early to solidify that relationship you are building.
The myth of the perfect restaurant. I know we have all thought “If I could only work somewhere, on the beach, with a higher per person average, fine dining, in a better part of town, with a patio, open later… I would make a lot more money”. Although this can make some slight differences, it’s generally not enough to change jobs. The people that frequent these establishments are still people and if you want to maximize your tips, you must make the overall dining experience better while at the same time getting them to like you by building relationships. This is what is going to make the most overall difference in your income.
Want to know how to get your restaurant to happily pay you up to $10 an hour, plus your tips, plus the best sections, plus no side work, plus whatever else you want? Master everything I teach you in this book, let your managers see people waiting in line to eat in your section, let them see your amazing tip percentages, all the gift cards you sell, all the amazing comment cards you get, your amazing work ethic, your tremendous attitude, your infectious enthusiasm, your per person average in sales…… Then approach your GM and offer to teach everyone in the restaurant how to do what you do. Explain to your GM that your store would become number one in everything very fast if you could get the entire staff performing like you. This will increase his bonus substantially. You will be worth your weight in gold.
Ok here is the situation. It’s a Friday night at 7:00 pm. You have a four top that has been camping for over an hour. The bill is paid and they are all rubbing their bellies, laughing and chatting. Now another four top opens up right next to them and the host stand would love to seat an eight top that have been at the bar getting a seriously large tab going and you desperately want your campers to get up and get out. They have overstayed their welcome. We have all been in this situation a million times. Here is a tip that I personally use that works a lot of the time. Notice I did not say every time. I do believe you will love in this technique after you use it a time or two. Walk up to the table, and take away everything except their drinks. When I say everything I mean everything. Take every piece of silverware, every napkin, every sugar packet, every lemon, every piece of trash, everything. After you clear everything off the table then take a towel and wipe that sucker clean. After that say, in a very sincere tone of voice, “is there anything else I can get for you tonight?” You will be amazed at how many times they will say “no thank” you and you will walk away and they will be gone in five minutes. After you try it, send me an e-mail.
Ok here is the situation, you have a 15 top, they are drinking like crazy, have a huge bill and are very cool, do you grat and get a “for sure” good tip or do you “take your chances” and not grat them? We all know that generally when you grat a table you do not get anything extra. Here is a trick that I use with huge success. First of all, always grat every big top. Secondly if your credit card receipt does not have a line for an additional gratuity, add it in yourself. When you drop the check, say “Just so everyone is aware I do have to add ___% to parties of ___ or more but you are allowed add more if you think I did a spectacular job. They will generally laugh but you would be amazed at how well this works. I addition to this, if you will offer to split the check on a big top, it will be more likely that each person will leave you an additional buck or two which adds up fast.
Tired or being a server and you want to know the trick to get into management? Ok, here it comes, People who work circles around others, arrive to work on time, smile, have a great attitude, offer to stay late, aren’t super weird and don’t have to be managed are the ones that will become manager very quickly.
Who are the best people to serve? Who are the best tippers? Who are the least trouble? Who are the most polite? Servers’, right? Well is there anything we can do to get these wonderful behaving and tipping guests into our sections? Absolutely! I would highly recommend for you to get with your manager and come up with some specials for servers like 25 cent 1^st drafts, half price appetizers, all day happy hour… You might even make up a special credit card type card. Next go into the restaurants near you and make sure you introduce yourself and make sure every server in every nearby restaurant knows about your specials. This is amazing and I am sure you will agree after you give it a try.

Well we have reached the end of this e-book. I hope it was helpful to you. I tried to give you every tip, trick, pointer, technique, and advice I have ever learned. I just want to make sure you keep asking yourself the two most important questions. How can I get my tables to like me more and how can I make their experience better. If you ask yourself the right questions, you will start getting the right answers and the right answers in action is what will increase your income. I look forward to getting the e-mails when your income starts increasing.

Jason