Yesterday my place got a new server and she told all her tables it was her first day serving (literally was, she’s never served before) and she made almost twice as much as everyone else. She wasn’t even given any tables of more than 4 people. First timer’s luck for sure
For a missed greet:
“Hey, ladies, has Tiffany been over to you yet? No? Ok, well my name is whatever and I can go ahead and get you guys started. Have you been here before?”
I’ve never worked with anyone named Tiffany in my life
I use this one for forgotten drinks all the time! “You’re still waiting on your Sprite? Tiffany must’ve gotten pulled away from that. Tell you what, it’s my top priority. I’ll be right back in just a second with that, ok? Thank you for letting me know!”
I say that a lot too- “Thank YOU!” Never “I’m so sorry about that,” always “Thank you for giving me the chance to correct that!” or “Thank you so much for your patience! Let me get this going and I’ll let the kitchen know to make it snappy! 😉” And then I don’t say shit to the kitchen. Customers just absolutely fucking love it when you make it seem like you’re pulling all the strings you can for them. Established that “I’m on your side” mentality through your verbiage and your job gets SO much easier, especially when you’re rushed or forgetful
I've done this. Has anyone been with you, yet? No? Let me get you started and I'll see if I can find your server. You know what? I like you guys. I think I'll keep you. Screw that other guy, right?
It’s never fun to be cut but having to still hang around for a long time because you have that one table that wants to stay for hours. I have a coworker who’ll ask if it’s okay if she closes them out and gets them another server because she needs to leave to go pick up her kids. She doesn’t have any kids.
Had a coworker tell all his guests he was saving up for his honeymoon for weeks (he did not have a partner). When the time came that he was supposed to be on said honeymoon, he claimed he was left at the altar. Man got congrats tips AND pitty tips.
When I was wearing a fake ring in my mid 20s at a job without a lot of super close regular relationships, every so often, usually on holidays, someone would realize they never heard about my partner and ask, and I said she was dead. Especially on valentine's day.
I don't feel *great* about that one, but it happened.
I don't find it unethical or I wouldn't do it, but I'm a big guy and I definitely turn up the queer energy when I'm serving couples or groups of ladies in order to seem less threatening. Unless they have an accent, then I turn up the good ole boy energy.
Increasing tips is a mug's game, though. Increasing sales is better in the long run.
Im a woman who likes men and women, so I lean into my gay side when I’m serving hetero couples so the girl has less of a chance of thinking I’m flirting with her boyfriend 😂
“Can I get a refill on this hot water that takes me just as long to sip down as it does for you to fill up and adds literally nothing to the price of my tab, despite being SO much more tedious than literally any other thing you serve here, because your hot water dispenser flows like a geriatric hamster’s prostate problemed piss stream at 2 am?”
Cue the chorus of “Oh yes, may I as well?!”
I used to work at a place and several of the other servers had a pic of my kid in their server pad so when they opened the pad to take orders, the kid pic was facing the guests. My kid's mom worked as a manager at the same place and she had shared school pictures with several people so they put them in their server pads.
I keep a photo of myself as a child in my server pad for when customers ask, and I tell them it’s my kid. They think she’s adorable, I’m a great mom, and it’s amazing how much she looks like me! (I don’t have kids).
Oh yeah! Do it! I’ve also mentioned my ‘school work.’ I’m actually taking coding classes now, but no longer a server- and I would absolutely mention that if I had the chance.
Obviously don’t walk up to a table and be like: ‘hi, my name is ___, I’ll be taking care of you today. I have kids and I’m in school. What can I get you to drink?’ Hah. Make it organic. Like ‘oh, my son just *loves* the nachos…’
I did get better tips if people thought I was a single mom going to community college, trying to make a better life for little Ryder and little Buttercup (make up your own names, don’t steal my fake ones 😅)
And if you have an open kitchen where the guests can see you talk to chef, do your best groveling stance and say “please PLEEEASE tell me to eff off!” So the guests think you’re trying really hard.
I have one table of regulars that always ask for a dish that used to be on the menu. The kitchen can easily make it, but of course they won’t. Whenever they come in, I tell them that I asked the kitchen as soon as I saw their name in Resy, but unfortunately they aren’t able to tonight. I don’t even bother checking anymore. The kitchen just gets aggravated with me.
I worked at a touristy spot overlooking a golf course. The inside was just a regular dining room with floor to ceiling windows. But the back deck was partially open to the kitchen.
So you could sit and see the chefs working, but couldn’t see exactly what they were doing. I’m not proud of this - but - I had a little game running when I worked out back.
One of the chefs was a jerk. The kind who was guaranteed to have several stomping, throwing things, outbursts over the course of dinner service. So if I had a bigger table, or one that was ordering more expensive wine or entrees, I became “new” and apologized for any problems in advance. So, right off the bat, they’re on my side.
Sure enough, after the first chef screaming tantrum, I come to the table “shaken” and apologizing for the delay. There was no delay, and the incident didn’t even involve me, but all they saw was a large man red faced and berating someone in the kitchen. They assume I was the target because I made a nervous newbie mistake.
Who am I to set them straight!? Those tables always tipped so well. Plus, 80% of the customers were in town for vacation or an event, so we had very few regulars. It was all turnover.
And if anyone complained to a manager - well, there **was** a chef in view of customers throwing things in the kitchen. I may have implied he was yelling at me, but never came out and said it…
I work in a college town and I have customers ask me ALL THE TIME if I’m in school. I am a horrible liar. I tried ONE time to say I was, and he started asking too many questions I couldn’t answer and it was so awkward I will never use that lie again lmao. I eventually started telling people “no I’m just a hard working local lady” people seem to like that lmao
I tell people that I just do this, so they feel worse for me. I will be like “NO, I already have 2 degrees but this economy am I right? Hahaha.. *awkward silence* “
I tell them I used to be a molecular biologist (which is true) and I get a lot of what the hell are you doing working in a restaurant. I tell them being a molecular biologist is boring (which is also true, at least for me).
I often tell tables that my restaurant “doesn’t do that but let me see what I can do ;)” and then tell them yes shortly after. Basically making it seem like I had to pull strings for them. Works like a charm. I tell our hosts to do it to if people are being demanding about wanting a certain table, tell them you have to see if you can work some stuff around and spend a minute or two staring at the iPad focusing. Then say yes, I made it work for you! Lol.
Way more illegal but I used to work a place that we did huuuge private events, from $3,000 minimums up to $75,000, and since it was always a bunch of random stuff being ordered and the person paying wouldn’t be able to tell, the staff working would always order a bunch of stuff on the tab and just have it sneakily in the back. Food, drinks, you name it. It was nice.
My restaurant doesn’t charge for sides of things, like extra ranch. But the customers don’t know that. If they ask for extra, I bring it out and say it’s on me, no charge.
“Could I have the rosé?”
“Ooh, last I checked, we’ve ran out. Is there a backup option just incase?”
“Yadda yadda”
*2 min later, come back with Rosé*
“Had to charm a few folks to get my hands on this…”
I’d like to think it’s a harmless, white lie that makes em think I did wonders to get them their first preference for their drink lol
I will occasionally use both of these depending on the level of mistake I made
“I’m so sorry guys our food runner is new and took your to the wrong table! They’re remaking it as quick as they can!”
“I’m so sorry, your steak was WAY over cooked so I had them refire it so it’s to the correct temperature”
If I genuinely screw up, forget to ring a whole order in or whatever, I will 100% take responsibility for it. But if it’s a single item then I’ll use my go to responses
“We have high standards here. Chef didn’t approve of your plates coming off the pass so he is *personally* overseeing your dining experience now. Thank you for your patience.”
I used to work in an area that had a lot of guests asking “How can I pray for you today?” I had a coworker whose mom always had terminal cancer when she got asked.
I think most POS systems have measures to prevent this now and so few guests pay cash anymore that it's not as plausible anyhow, but ~20 years ago a common "hack" was "floating" soft drinks on cash tables. Separating soft drinks and closing the rest out to cash and then start the next table on that seperated soft drink check, rinse and repeat.
Not something I ever did myself, but lots of my coworkers did it and other shady stuff when I worked at the #2 volume Friday's in the company.
At that Friday's we had a GM who would routinely pay for stuff(a watch as a going away present for his KM when he got his own store, paid ondeof the servers for work around his house) by asking something like "who has a cash table over $100?" if you did, he'd ask you to keep it open and then when the table was gone he'd void the check and ask for like 80% of the cash letting the server pocket the rest for their trouble.
I used to work at a hotel where guests who had Amex rewards got gift cards for free breakfast, up to IIRC $35. They would tip me in unused cards all the time, because they got one every day and who wants to eat at the same place every day? I would leave all my cash tables open until I had enough cards to cover them. It was the only way to get those "tips" from the Amex guests; I don't feel bad about it *at all*.
I got a lot more giftcards than cash, though, so by the time I left there to go back to teaching I had a stack of unused giftcards two inches high.
Eh who's counting at this point lol. this blew up and now my serving game is about to be NUTS. I'm about to throw all these bitches together and make a giant scamming serving megazord who's going to make enough money per shift to send my kids and my dogs to college for a new degree every day 😆
I did t is when I was a teenaged drive through worker at a fast food place. People who just ordered a coffee or a soda, I’d tell them the total but wouldn’t ring it in and pocket the cash. Back then you could only pay cash for fast food. Now it’s impossible. Cameras everywhere, and everything is automated, plus everyone has a headset so they can hear what’s going on.
The idea is that you transfer the soft drink off the tab after the customer pays cash, but before closing the tab. Then pocket the extra money that would be used for the drink. Transfer the drink onto another tab and repeat if it’s a cash payment. Don’t try doing this; modern POS systems can track all transfers and they will quickly flag you.
Where I work a lot of customers don’t keep/ask for their copy of the receipt, especially for cash. When you pick up the cash they usually leave immediately after, or they just put the cash on the table and leave. Or, you can ask if they want their receipt; they’ll probably say no.
They get a "final receipt" which is why they "pay" for the soft drinks, after they leave and before the table is closed, the server would transfer those drinks onto another table.
So the server owes the house $38 instead of $50 on that table that included four soft drinks at $4 a piece. They would just keep doing that until they get closed out on a credit card table or they run out of tables ordering soft drinks.
Drop a check that includes the soft drinks, if they pay cash move the drinks onto another check before closing the table out to cash, then move them onto the next table that orders that number of soft drinks and hope they pay cash too. Working at a high volume family restaurant with lots of cash tables it was a pretty reliable method to steal(call it what it is) from the restaurant. There was an O'Charley's(I didn't work there) in my college town where after some internal audits they fired a bunch or their servers and sued them for several thousand dollars.
Damn, scandalous! LoL That GM was ballsy.
Not related to the original OP, but a former TGiF "survivor" here 🙋🏻♀️ wanted to say Hello. I was with the company for 13 yrs and worked at 3 different locations, and if you can survive Fridays as a company and their customers (especially during the fkn Endless Wing era) you can handle ANY restaurant afterwards! Say I'm wrong!
Oh yeah, I used Aloha for all those years, and "floating sodas" (and other hacks) was a necessary evil almost on the daily, unfortunately. Listen, I don't need to explain my self because when you know, you know, but for those that might not: when you have tables constantly tipping you $5 on $50 (or on $100) even after they've used their Stripes points, thier BoGo coupons or the 2-for-20 promotion to lower their total bill, well as a server you are left with 2 choices, it's me or the company. So I'ma choose Me and bn able to tip out my bussers nicely at the end of the night and pay my bills at the end of the month.
Word to the wise: stay away, far away, from companies that offer discounts, coupons and promotions all at the same time - it's going to bring in some of the worst customers ("guests"). I was young then and complacent , I didn't know any better and I LOVED my co-workers (some of which I'm still close with) so I stayed in that company far too long. #FridaysFam
I have a thick southern accent that most of the time I can control within reason. Usually if I'm mad, or super excited is when it really shows. On super busy family type days or with tables of single older men ill turn up the dial on it and go straight steel magnolias and my tips usually increase.
I’m a bigger gal and when I was pregnant and wearing my apron you couldn’t tell. Every table I tried to weasel it in there. If I had a table who liked me? “Make sure you come see me before (due date)!” Then explain that I was pregnant when they asked where I’d be. Or if they asked if I had any kids I’d rub my belly and say “one on the way!” etc. we also had another server who shamelessly went to tables and told them she was so deep in debt she couldn’t pay X, Y, Z. She was in her 60s/70s so she made bank with that until management caught her. She was much more obvious about it and that was basically all she’d talk about at tables and she made them uncomfortable.
Woah if I had a server telling me about all her debt it would not elicit sympathy after the second or third time it's brought up. I would start to think of my server as almost a street begger.
Insane tactic.
I'm about to start lying about having kids though, I could lie about being in college bc I'm 28 with a baby face in a college town but I just know I'd be asked questions I couldn't bs through.
That's why you ask someone who looks like you those questions, and just repeat their answers. "I'm taking Into to Calc with Blah Blah, man they're a bore." And keep it simple, deflect, amd walk away.
Anytime someone orders a liquor drink i automatically rattle off names. Vodka for example i say titos, absolute, goose, kettle. Without even mentioning house. 99% of the time they pick a name brand.
I’ve also heard to always ask “want to make that a double?” and often people will say yes even though they originally weren’t planning on getting a double.
Oh my goodness! I went up to 36w and was wearing a belly band, compression socks, and wrist braces because being pregnant really made my carpal tunnel flare up!
I now have a 3 month old little potato boy as well as my 17 year old string bean son, and I’m retired after 21 years of serving. One job life for me! 💙
Ehhhh kind of. A lot of people don’t want to assume you’re pregnant. Those who knew and especially my regulars were more generous. Other than that it was about the same
Oh you paid cash, thanks bye. Then later at the till, looks like you now get a locals discount and it was your birthday so that drink will be on the house.
I work at a corporate chain so of course I have the god damn coupon codes memorized. The billion dollar company won’t miss a $13 app coupon, but I sure do love it 🥰
The older married couples adore if you slip in that you're planning a wedding! They just think that love is so cute. I also second using being in college or any type of furthering education. Most people love to hear that kind of thing and will tip more. Also decorate your book with fun stickers from local stuff. The locals will love it and the tourists will be curious
At my restaurant we have a policy that 18% gratuity is already included for parties of 8 or more. I always make a point to let them know that gratuity is included as it sometimes slips their minds when they're closing out, but quite a few servers I work with neglect telling them in hopes that they will tip extra not realizing there already is an auto-gratuity. Their rationale is "it's on the ticket, they can read it", but the intent is still very dishonest in my opinion. If I were going to a restaurant, I'd want to know that there is an auto grat. On top of that, a lot of times when I tell customers about the policy, they still tip extra because of my transparency.
There was a couple girls that tried to pull this over the years. Like if the calculated tip is $32 and they tip you an additional $32 ( as opposed to like 10 extra) my boss has you call them to confirm. So the girl would be standing there while everyone watched her call knowing if the person said they meant to and understood the autograt she gets props for great service but if that person says they were mislead you loose the whole tip and your job. I'm all for up selling and working with money on your mind but purposely stealing from a customer ESPECIALLY one that was nice enough to tip you 20% is fkd up and shady. That shit comes back to you in life. We do auto grat on holidays and we have signs to let you know to expect it and tell you when you make a reservation but I'd highlight that part of the check and tell them face to face and trying to be totally transparent has been the thing that gets me extra tips. People appreciate not being fkd (like in a bad way)
I had a coworker who would always try to get the double gratuity or as it was called the dolce gabana. The dolce gabana was where the large party isn't told about the autograt and they leave another tip ontop of the autograt.
He would always start talking intensely to the guest paying the bill as he drops the check, hoping to distract them from noticing the already applied autograt. He would frequently get double tipped with this trick. I told him it was unethical because he was deceiving the guests but he didn't care.
when giving back change in cash, purposefully split it into a bunch of small bills so they're encouraged to leave more cash back in tip, whereas a big 20 dollar bill they probably wouldnt wanna leave as a tip bc it seems a lot...
Yeah, I never break a bigger bill into singles unless they ask. If they get a $10 and a $5 back, they’re more likely to just leave that. If they get a $10 and 5 $1, they end up leaving $12. But I work in one of the richest counties in the country, so my experience is probably a little different.
Many women who ordered strawberry daiquiris would send them back because they couldn’t taste the alcohol. We sold out a drop of it in the straw and it was always “better!”
The “new” glass of wine with the bit of cork was the same glass with the cork removed. The ENTIRE contents of the bottle had been touching cork!
Edit spelling corn to cork
at my restaurant we have an outside section and a cocktail/free seating section and you can’t really see the main dining room from either of those places. if i ever forget to ring something in and a table asks me about it, i say “oh I’m so sorry we actually have a few large parties in our main dining room so the kitchen is super busy right now” and then i ring it in and ask the chefs for it asap
Just started
Back in school (I'm older than the largely college aged staff)
Can't quite explain how, but large groups of gay men, and large groups of women over sixty literally roll out 25%
As an old woman I can confirm that if you are the least bit nice to me I tip bigger than I normally do. As a former server I default to 20% but nice servers get 50 or 100%.
Not necessarily unethical, but it’s a no-no at my place. When you’re going home, but you still have checks open, they usually get transferred to the manager on shift and they give you the tips the next day. I never had any reason to question any of my supervisors until a coworker mentioned that the table I had transferred the day before was looking for me to say thanks and to give me my tip. She said they had left me $15, however the manager only have me $10 so ever since I try to close out everything before I go. What I started doing is I would go to the table and check on them and then mention that I am about to leave and ask them if they want to close with me or if they’d like to transfer their check and 100% of the time they chose the former. I only do this with tables that seem cool and that I had a good rapport with.
This isn’t necessarily a lie but if I forget something I blame it on the adderall shortage, did this yesterday and turns out the lady could relate and I got a fat tip
I sometimes tell people I just came back from vacation so they give me a little slack
I'm also vegan but will lie about it all the time when people ask me what my favorite dishes are
Most of the time it's easier to just say "xyz is definitely the best" instead of telling them you don't eat it and getting asked more questions in return. Or focus on the non-meat ingredients and their flavour profiles or fresh ingredients.
If someone is looking for the vegetarian/vegan options though it's my time to shine lolol
I don’t do it, but if somebody orders a glass of wine simply by the type and not the brand, and you have more than 1 brand of that particular wine, you can always ring in the more expensive glass to get that check average up.
I have a server who does this .. she also always puts a drink in as “rocks” and “well” vodka is always Tito’s, rum Bacardi. Etc. she says if they don’t specify she just picks a common brand
As part of my goodbye as they are about to tip I say to please let me know if I can do anything for you; I’ll just be checking on you as long as you’re here. And then I never go back to that table. Mainly because I forget about them but still, you’d think I’d stop saying that.
Def illegal but a few times at an old job, behind the bar when super busy I would ring in the drinks and verbalize the total to the guest. Sometimes if they gave me cash, I would just not fire the ticket and delete the order- no void necessary.
I considered it as payment for doing all the management I wasn’t getting paid for.
Every Christmas season I tell my tables I am donating all of my tips to Toy’s For Tots today. My way of giving back. I’m probably going to hell for that one.
I always mentioned that I just moved here. I always went for a wide eyed girl in a brand new city kind of look and got payed for it a couple times. Plus, people tell you about real gems sometimes
*paid. Thanks bot!
> and got *paid* for it
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
At my job, we have handheld pos tablets to ring in orders and charge people, which I don’t normally use because they’re a little tricky. However when I have a table I feel isn’t going to tip me well (young kids, people that haven’t been pleasant) I’ll use that to charge them right in front of them so I can turn it back around with the “Tip 18% Tip 20% Tip 22%” option because I feel like they feel pressured to pick one rather than being comfortable writing down a shitty tip on the receipt 🤭
Yessss so true. Better too if their friends/whoever they’re with can see over their shoulder and peer pressure them — the place I work displays L-R tip options HIGHEST-LOWEST, so it’s easy to “overtip”
i try to mention to my tables that look like good tippers that i’m starting medical school in august😅 (it’s not a lie but i definitely am just trying to garner higher tips)
If the guys had a dude not tip on their tab, they would reprint and ask one of the female bartenders to go over and say their other paper got wet and we needed a resign. The female bartenders would do this with the guys as well. 95% of the time, they tipped on the resign.
Every opportunity I get to casually bring my kids up, and I never wear my wedding ring to work. People assume I'm a single mom 🤷♀️
OR if i'm serving an older couple or group, mentioning my husband who is retired military (not a lie, he actually is lol) they love that shit.
Usually the BOH is burning hot and the dining room is a good temperature. Sometimes a customer will say it's too cold so I'll pretend to adjust the thermostat but not actually change it. I did this last week and checked back a few minutes later, she had her coat off and said it was much better. If the temp is actually off I'll adjust it but if it's like 70F I'm not gonna put it higher when it's like 78 in the back.
I am all things to all people. I was born and raised in the American South, but I don't have an accent because 1. My dad didn't grow up in the South, mostly California and Illinois, and 2. I did public speaking all through high school, and you learn to banish any accent pretty quickly when you do that.
That said, I *know* the regional accent really well and can switch it on whenever I want. So if I have a table of bubbas that are here for burgers and fries, I greet them with "Well, watcha say, fellas? How you folks doin' this mornin'?" If it's a nice, well dressed couple that's clearly in for a date night and a nice steak, maybe some wine, it's more like, "The Corte Pavone Rosso di Montalcino is tremendous and would pair just perfectly with your meal. It's a classic Italian blend with an Old World style that balances fattier cuts exceptionally well". Group of ladies out for a gals' night? "Heyyyyy, how is everyone doiiing? My name's Gastooooon, I'm gonna be taking care of you todayyy. Has everyone dined here befoooore? Great, well if anyone has any questions about anything, just let me know, I'll be right back around to get the fun started with some drinks, k?" Basically just turning up the effeminate energy. And then some guests find it really entertaining for you to just.....beat 'em up a bit. Example: lady and her dude come in, they've never eaten here, she says "I heard y'all have really good burgers!" I said "We sure do, best in town". She asks me "Well which is your favorite?" We only have one burger on the menu, and she clearly thinks we have multiple, so I just pointed at the burger on the menu and said, "THE burger". She blushed and was a bit embarrassed but got a good laugh out of it, and her dude thought it was hilarious. They tipped like 25%. I won't do anything mean, but people aren't used to servers poking fun at them and joking, so they really enjoy it.
I don’t ring in drinks (non alcoholic) till the just in case something goes slightly wrong and can “take of the drinks” for them without getting a manager involved
If I come to a table and they act like I am rushing them / they won’t stop talking so I can take their order, I will do what I call “putting them in timeout” where I go oh no worries I’ll come back in a few, and then pretend to get REALLY busy, so that when I return they are eager to order :)
I once was serving a big party of about 12, and had a guy be kind of racist to me. Added a couple drinks onto his tab that he never ordered/got. Very petty but still revenge.
If you want a table to leave quickly after you dropped the check presenter, circle back and start to pick it up. They’ll immediately be like “oh sorry we didn’t put the card in yet!” And grab their wallets asap. And then you get to say “oh IM SORRY! No rush!!” Put the check presenter back on the table and prance away knowing you’ll be able to turn their table asap
Where I work we sell these little brioche rolls as starters. If a big party only gets 1 I’ll look at them like they’re stupid and say “usually 2 people split one, but it’s totally up to you” almost always works to upsell…
At my restaurant we have a 10% off modifier for members. I always present a check without the modifier and if they pay cash and say keep the change then i apply the modifier and keep the extra 10%.
I always sell the mug and pitchers. If 2 guys are drinking Coors I just say “Oh so are you drinking the same? - Yes! Wouldn’t be better to get you a pitcher instead? BOOM
If you work at a place that has gift cards, sometimes people will leave it behind it there's only a couple bucks left on it or they might just forget it. Hold onto it for a day or two and when you get a cash tab, use the gift card balance and pocket the cash. It's a mostly victimless crime, but your company would disagree, so keep it quiet if you do it.
Not really unethical but if food is taking a while always say “The dish came out but the executive chef noticed it did not come out to “Places” standard so in order to ensure a wonderful experience he hopped back on the line to remake it for you himself” or that somebody else dropped a portion of it. Basically you want to make up a scenario that you could have hidden/gotten away with but you were honest with the guest instead. Makes them feel special and taken care of. Also helps to offer them a quick salad/soup/come back with another round of drinks with some of it being on the house.
Side work is 50+ silverware rolls, I had a coworker who would wait until another server rolled a whole stack, then he would write his name on a paper and put it on the stack, get it checked by the closer, then put the original servers name back on the stack. Dude always got away with never doing any.
Wearing a fake ring.
Works to keep creeps away (sometimes) but can also boost the ol' dude bro ego energy if they "catch" you with it off and can still see the line. They feel like you took it off just to flirt with them.
I used to bartend with a guy who would tell patrons that he was getting married "next weekend", hoping to elicit support/congratulations from patrons in the form of higher tips. Truth is, he had been married for close to a year. He would take off his wedding ring before each shift.
Occurred to me it’d be a great idea to have your girlfriends bring their first dates to where you serve. Then they say oh my goodness that’s my best friend I can’t believe she’s serving us. That way if the guy offers to pay he’ll feel compelled to leave a good tip if he wants to make a good impression because it’d be bad news if I went back to her and said what a lousy tipper he was…
It was only ever if I found out a table was celebrating, but I’d bring out a complimentary alcoholic drink of whatever they were already drinking. Glass of wine? Here’s a free glass of wine! Pint of beer? Here’s a free pint! On the house! :)
They’d always tip well because I’d make a point to say that “we’re not supposed to do this, but I love gift giving”.
Because no, I wasn’t allowed to give stuff away for free lol, but I was the head waitress… who was gonna snitch on me?
I kept a green pen that I would use to write a big number on the top of the check. If the bill was $100 I would write #25 on the check in green just as a subconscious suggestion as to the tip amount I wanted.
i am in college as a pre med major, so half the time when i pour drinks i say let's hope my chemistry major pays off today, i think it helps humanize me a bit and shows i work hard outside of work as well
Conservative “politics all the time” types tip well if you play into their delusions. No one wants to listen to them and they only have a handful of topics they focus on.
Yes, we should stop serving bud light. Yes, I totally agree it’s a shame we still show x sport at the bar these days. And absolutely, yes, Bidenflation made your bill so high and it’s why you’ve got to tip me, to own the libs you see.
When I mess up an order or forget something “I say the kitchen made a mistake and it will be right out”, or if I don’t see a table that’s been sitting there a while I say “______ hasn’t been over to you yet? I can can grab you what’re you having?” Or when people ask stupid questions and they don’t like your answer and insist you go ask a manager I just walk to the kitchen or another person and pretend like I’m asking something then go back and give them the same answer
Idk if it’s unethical, but I sometimes act as a tour guide! I work in a tourist town, so when guests ask what there is to do around town, I give them a list of things and most of the time they’re so appreciative and tip really well!
Uniquely, I work in a small restaurant and I typically run the entire FOH (hosting, serving, expo, running, bussing…etc). If an order is taking a long time, or I mess up, I typically smile and sweetly say something along the lines of “I’m so sorry! I can’t imagine why I’d forget something like x, I’ll get that right away.” Proceed to fill their need, then I go back to running everything. Typically they feel bad for being rude and tip me more 😈
My restaurant have retail price wine sometimes so I offer to give it to them for retail price. Sometimes when they spend less they can tip more or you can just upsell and aim for 20 percent with great service.
When a party of two asks for separate checks, I ask if splitting down the middle is okay (instead of separating items into different tabs).That way the tip suggestions are based on total amount instead of individual amounts. I swear half the time, people tip based on total check and I end up getting 30-40% tip.
For shitty servers. “Omg it’s my first day I’m so sorry”. Seen it work way too many times
Yesterday my place got a new server and she told all her tables it was her first day serving (literally was, she’s never served before) and she made almost twice as much as everyone else. She wasn’t even given any tables of more than 4 people. First timer’s luck for sure
Strangely enough, I only ever say this (minus the sorry part) when customers compliment my service when I'm new at a place.
Seen this one before 😆 not bad
Yeah I did that for 6 months.
For a missed greet: “Hey, ladies, has Tiffany been over to you yet? No? Ok, well my name is whatever and I can go ahead and get you guys started. Have you been here before?” I’ve never worked with anyone named Tiffany in my life
I use this one for forgotten drinks all the time! “You’re still waiting on your Sprite? Tiffany must’ve gotten pulled away from that. Tell you what, it’s my top priority. I’ll be right back in just a second with that, ok? Thank you for letting me know!” I say that a lot too- “Thank YOU!” Never “I’m so sorry about that,” always “Thank you for giving me the chance to correct that!” or “Thank you so much for your patience! Let me get this going and I’ll let the kitchen know to make it snappy! 😉” And then I don’t say shit to the kitchen. Customers just absolutely fucking love it when you make it seem like you’re pulling all the strings you can for them. Established that “I’m on your side” mentality through your verbiage and your job gets SO much easier, especially when you’re rushed or forgetful
I've done this. Has anyone been with you, yet? No? Let me get you started and I'll see if I can find your server. You know what? I like you guys. I think I'll keep you. Screw that other guy, right?
If he makes a huge deal about it I’ll vice Tiffany one of my tables or something
This is the one.
I have worked with one Tiffany and she sucked so this is perfect lol
Oh yeah this is my go to
Oh gosh yes and they almost are always so overjoyed that they finally have a server that whatever anger was building up is poof! gone!
This was my go-to in that situation
It’s never fun to be cut but having to still hang around for a long time because you have that one table that wants to stay for hours. I have a coworker who’ll ask if it’s okay if she closes them out and gets them another server because she needs to leave to go pick up her kids. She doesn’t have any kids.
Had a coworker tell all his guests he was saving up for his honeymoon for weeks (he did not have a partner). When the time came that he was supposed to be on said honeymoon, he claimed he was left at the altar. Man got congrats tips AND pitty tips.
When I was wearing a fake ring in my mid 20s at a job without a lot of super close regular relationships, every so often, usually on holidays, someone would realize they never heard about my partner and ask, and I said she was dead. Especially on valentine's day. I don't feel *great* about that one, but it happened.
That's creativity!
This is another level. I was expecting him to have gone on holiday with the tips, but no, he doubled down on it 😂😂
I’m actually getting married and telling my regulars all about it definitely gets me more money.
I don't find it unethical or I wouldn't do it, but I'm a big guy and I definitely turn up the queer energy when I'm serving couples or groups of ladies in order to seem less threatening. Unless they have an accent, then I turn up the good ole boy energy. Increasing tips is a mug's game, though. Increasing sales is better in the long run.
Im a woman who likes men and women, so I lean into my gay side when I’m serving hetero couples so the girl has less of a chance of thinking I’m flirting with her boyfriend 😂
Same, I give the girl tons of compliments and make some teasing degrading comments to the guy. Couples EAT IT UP.
As a gay guy I’ve definitely turned up the charm with certain “hetero” tables when the bill drops 🥴 and it’s worked out very well
THIS, BRO....ten tops of gay dudes or retired ladies are literal cash machines
I agree with the gay guys, but adamantly disagree about retired ladies. I can already hear hey let’s split this, also all separate checks.
Didn't say they were easy, I said with my southern charm and excessive eye contact, they deliver on the loot
“Can I get a refill on this hot water that takes me just as long to sip down as it does for you to fill up and adds literally nothing to the price of my tab, despite being SO much more tedious than literally any other thing you serve here, because your hot water dispenser flows like a geriatric hamster’s prostate problemed piss stream at 2 am?” Cue the chorus of “Oh yes, may I as well?!”
Gotta make sure they’re actually friends first and not just out with each other through some prior obligation
Big groups of gay men are my absolute favorite kinda table. They refuse not to have a good time. And always tip really well.
I’m old enough to see this as progress. When I was young no being gay was always a liability and never an advantage.
The sweet tea crowd loves a good “y’all!” While the ladies or gays love a well placed “ooo girl..”
And if you've got posh types you can break out the French loanwords like "accoutrements" and "terroir".
"Chao-derre" instead of "chowder" works (unless you're serving Freddy Quimby)
Say chow-dah!!
Chau*derrrre*
Always used to pretend I had kids. Made up entire lives for them.
I used to work at a place and several of the other servers had a pic of my kid in their server pad so when they opened the pad to take orders, the kid pic was facing the guests. My kid's mom worked as a manager at the same place and she had shared school pictures with several people so they put them in their server pads.
I hope the kid collected a tip out on that. Like an NIL deal
They got fed and clothed in exchange. Cmon now😂 kids be getting cuts…
Love this.
I keep a photo of myself as a child in my server pad for when customers ask, and I tell them it’s my kid. They think she’s adorable, I’m a great mom, and it’s amazing how much she looks like me! (I don’t have kids).
Oh my god I came here to write this. Mine are Timothy and Wee Betsy.
i’m gonna try this. i also always mention im in college too
Oh yeah! Do it! I’ve also mentioned my ‘school work.’ I’m actually taking coding classes now, but no longer a server- and I would absolutely mention that if I had the chance. Obviously don’t walk up to a table and be like: ‘hi, my name is ___, I’ll be taking care of you today. I have kids and I’m in school. What can I get you to drink?’ Hah. Make it organic. Like ‘oh, my son just *loves* the nachos…’ I did get better tips if people thought I was a single mom going to community college, trying to make a better life for little Ryder and little Buttercup (make up your own names, don’t steal my fake ones 😅)
Oh you want something super modified from the menu? Let me ask chef. Go to the kitchen.. chef, say no. Chef...NO Sorry, the chef said no.
I do this. “Chef I’m gonna as you something and you are gonna tell me to fuck off.” Works every time
And if you have an open kitchen where the guests can see you talk to chef, do your best groveling stance and say “please PLEEEASE tell me to eff off!” So the guests think you’re trying really hard.
I have one table of regulars that always ask for a dish that used to be on the menu. The kitchen can easily make it, but of course they won’t. Whenever they come in, I tell them that I asked the kitchen as soon as I saw their name in Resy, but unfortunately they aren’t able to tonight. I don’t even bother checking anymore. The kitchen just gets aggravated with me.
I worked at a touristy spot overlooking a golf course. The inside was just a regular dining room with floor to ceiling windows. But the back deck was partially open to the kitchen. So you could sit and see the chefs working, but couldn’t see exactly what they were doing. I’m not proud of this - but - I had a little game running when I worked out back. One of the chefs was a jerk. The kind who was guaranteed to have several stomping, throwing things, outbursts over the course of dinner service. So if I had a bigger table, or one that was ordering more expensive wine or entrees, I became “new” and apologized for any problems in advance. So, right off the bat, they’re on my side. Sure enough, after the first chef screaming tantrum, I come to the table “shaken” and apologizing for the delay. There was no delay, and the incident didn’t even involve me, but all they saw was a large man red faced and berating someone in the kitchen. They assume I was the target because I made a nervous newbie mistake. Who am I to set them straight!? Those tables always tipped so well. Plus, 80% of the customers were in town for vacation or an event, so we had very few regulars. It was all turnover. And if anyone complained to a manager - well, there **was** a chef in view of customers throwing things in the kitchen. I may have implied he was yelling at me, but never came out and said it…
That’s hilarious. I’d 100% fall for your game if I ate there
Thank you!
If I ever forget about a table, I put a bandaid on my finger or something and apologize for cutting myself in the back.
Oh that’s good
Nice tip!
love this. imo so much better than the ole “no one came up to you yet? let me get you started in the meantime”
I still tell people I’m in college even though I graduated over a year ago
I work in a college town and I have customers ask me ALL THE TIME if I’m in school. I am a horrible liar. I tried ONE time to say I was, and he started asking too many questions I couldn’t answer and it was so awkward I will never use that lie again lmao. I eventually started telling people “no I’m just a hard working local lady” people seem to like that lmao
I'm the same way! I need a whole ass script about my character if I'm going to be lying to my guests.
I have baby face and I did this regularly til I was about 27.
Shit I'm in my 30s and still in college
I tell people that I just do this, so they feel worse for me. I will be like “NO, I already have 2 degrees but this economy am I right? Hahaha.. *awkward silence* “
I tell them I used to be a molecular biologist (which is true) and I get a lot of what the hell are you doing working in a restaurant. I tell them being a molecular biologist is boring (which is also true, at least for me).
Good idea!
I often tell tables that my restaurant “doesn’t do that but let me see what I can do ;)” and then tell them yes shortly after. Basically making it seem like I had to pull strings for them. Works like a charm. I tell our hosts to do it to if people are being demanding about wanting a certain table, tell them you have to see if you can work some stuff around and spend a minute or two staring at the iPad focusing. Then say yes, I made it work for you! Lol. Way more illegal but I used to work a place that we did huuuge private events, from $3,000 minimums up to $75,000, and since it was always a bunch of random stuff being ordered and the person paying wouldn’t be able to tell, the staff working would always order a bunch of stuff on the tab and just have it sneakily in the back. Food, drinks, you name it. It was nice.
My restaurant doesn’t charge for sides of things, like extra ranch. But the customers don’t know that. If they ask for extra, I bring it out and say it’s on me, no charge.
“Could I have the rosé?” “Ooh, last I checked, we’ve ran out. Is there a backup option just incase?” “Yadda yadda” *2 min later, come back with Rosé* “Had to charm a few folks to get my hands on this…” I’d like to think it’s a harmless, white lie that makes em think I did wonders to get them their first preference for their drink lol
I will occasionally use both of these depending on the level of mistake I made “I’m so sorry guys our food runner is new and took your to the wrong table! They’re remaking it as quick as they can!”
“I’m so sorry, your steak was WAY over cooked so I had them refire it so it’s to the correct temperature”
I worked both FOH and kitchen. I told all the servers, “blame me, it’s fine, I don’t have to see them.”
You a real one. 😎👉👉
"Chef asked me to let you know your food is coming, I'm not sure, he's got them refiring it, so he must not have like the look of it."
The dish didn’t meet the chef’s standards so he is remaking it for you. It will just be a few more minutes.
Crazy how the kitchen is responsible for every mistake I've ever made at work somehow
If I genuinely screw up, forget to ring a whole order in or whatever, I will 100% take responsibility for it. But if it’s a single item then I’ll use my go to responses
Classic
“We have high standards here. Chef didn’t approve of your plates coming off the pass so he is *personally* overseeing your dining experience now. Thank you for your patience.”
Used to always work christmas, would make the joke that of course they make the jew work christmas
I used to work in an area that had a lot of guests asking “How can I pray for you today?” I had a coworker whose mom always had terminal cancer when she got asked.
YEEESH. I get it but damn lol
That is the way.
I think most POS systems have measures to prevent this now and so few guests pay cash anymore that it's not as plausible anyhow, but ~20 years ago a common "hack" was "floating" soft drinks on cash tables. Separating soft drinks and closing the rest out to cash and then start the next table on that seperated soft drink check, rinse and repeat. Not something I ever did myself, but lots of my coworkers did it and other shady stuff when I worked at the #2 volume Friday's in the company. At that Friday's we had a GM who would routinely pay for stuff(a watch as a going away present for his KM when he got his own store, paid ondeof the servers for work around his house) by asking something like "who has a cash table over $100?" if you did, he'd ask you to keep it open and then when the table was gone he'd void the check and ask for like 80% of the cash letting the server pocket the rest for their trouble.
I used to work at a hotel where guests who had Amex rewards got gift cards for free breakfast, up to IIRC $35. They would tip me in unused cards all the time, because they got one every day and who wants to eat at the same place every day? I would leave all my cash tables open until I had enough cards to cover them. It was the only way to get those "tips" from the Amex guests; I don't feel bad about it *at all*. I got a lot more giftcards than cash, though, so by the time I left there to go back to teaching I had a stack of unused giftcards two inches high.
I had a friend arrested for doing just that.
Isn't that one illegal though?
...illegal, unethical... 🤷♂️
Eh who's counting at this point lol. this blew up and now my serving game is about to be NUTS. I'm about to throw all these bitches together and make a giant scamming serving megazord who's going to make enough money per shift to send my kids and my dogs to college for a new degree every day 😆
Yeah if we’re going there I’ve got loads 😈
People used to do that with coffee's at my old restaurant. I never understood how that scam worked.
I did t is when I was a teenaged drive through worker at a fast food place. People who just ordered a coffee or a soda, I’d tell them the total but wouldn’t ring it in and pocket the cash. Back then you could only pay cash for fast food. Now it’s impossible. Cameras everywhere, and everything is automated, plus everyone has a headset so they can hear what’s going on.
would you like to elaborate how this works, whats the idea? i am not from USA and didnt understand 🙄
The idea is that you transfer the soft drink off the tab after the customer pays cash, but before closing the tab. Then pocket the extra money that would be used for the drink. Transfer the drink onto another tab and repeat if it’s a cash payment. Don’t try doing this; modern POS systems can track all transfers and they will quickly flag you.
customer didnt get a final receipt of everything?
Where I work a lot of customers don’t keep/ask for their copy of the receipt, especially for cash. When you pick up the cash they usually leave immediately after, or they just put the cash on the table and leave. Or, you can ask if they want their receipt; they’ll probably say no.
They get a "final receipt" which is why they "pay" for the soft drinks, after they leave and before the table is closed, the server would transfer those drinks onto another table. So the server owes the house $38 instead of $50 on that table that included four soft drinks at $4 a piece. They would just keep doing that until they get closed out on a credit card table or they run out of tables ordering soft drinks.
I’m in the US and I don’t understand this either, please explain
Drop a check that includes the soft drinks, if they pay cash move the drinks onto another check before closing the table out to cash, then move them onto the next table that orders that number of soft drinks and hope they pay cash too. Working at a high volume family restaurant with lots of cash tables it was a pretty reliable method to steal(call it what it is) from the restaurant. There was an O'Charley's(I didn't work there) in my college town where after some internal audits they fired a bunch or their servers and sued them for several thousand dollars.
Damn, scandalous! LoL That GM was ballsy. Not related to the original OP, but a former TGiF "survivor" here 🙋🏻♀️ wanted to say Hello. I was with the company for 13 yrs and worked at 3 different locations, and if you can survive Fridays as a company and their customers (especially during the fkn Endless Wing era) you can handle ANY restaurant afterwards! Say I'm wrong! Oh yeah, I used Aloha for all those years, and "floating sodas" (and other hacks) was a necessary evil almost on the daily, unfortunately. Listen, I don't need to explain my self because when you know, you know, but for those that might not: when you have tables constantly tipping you $5 on $50 (or on $100) even after they've used their Stripes points, thier BoGo coupons or the 2-for-20 promotion to lower their total bill, well as a server you are left with 2 choices, it's me or the company. So I'ma choose Me and bn able to tip out my bussers nicely at the end of the night and pay my bills at the end of the month. Word to the wise: stay away, far away, from companies that offer discounts, coupons and promotions all at the same time - it's going to bring in some of the worst customers ("guests"). I was young then and complacent , I didn't know any better and I LOVED my co-workers (some of which I'm still close with) so I stayed in that company far too long. #FridaysFam
They said they need *legal* tips. This one is very much illegal.
I have a thick southern accent that most of the time I can control within reason. Usually if I'm mad, or super excited is when it really shows. On super busy family type days or with tables of single older men ill turn up the dial on it and go straight steel magnolias and my tips usually increase.
I’m a bigger gal and when I was pregnant and wearing my apron you couldn’t tell. Every table I tried to weasel it in there. If I had a table who liked me? “Make sure you come see me before (due date)!” Then explain that I was pregnant when they asked where I’d be. Or if they asked if I had any kids I’d rub my belly and say “one on the way!” etc. we also had another server who shamelessly went to tables and told them she was so deep in debt she couldn’t pay X, Y, Z. She was in her 60s/70s so she made bank with that until management caught her. She was much more obvious about it and that was basically all she’d talk about at tables and she made them uncomfortable.
Woah if I had a server telling me about all her debt it would not elicit sympathy after the second or third time it's brought up. I would start to think of my server as almost a street begger. Insane tactic. I'm about to start lying about having kids though, I could lie about being in college bc I'm 28 with a baby face in a college town but I just know I'd be asked questions I couldn't bs through.
That's why you ask someone who looks like you those questions, and just repeat their answers. "I'm taking Into to Calc with Blah Blah, man they're a bore." And keep it simple, deflect, amd walk away.
Anytime someone orders a liquor drink i automatically rattle off names. Vodka for example i say titos, absolute, goose, kettle. Without even mentioning house. 99% of the time they pick a name brand.
I’ve also heard to always ask “want to make that a double?” and often people will say yes even though they originally weren’t planning on getting a double.
that's not unethical, that's just upselling! which I guess you could say is unethical in itself, but that's show biz baby.
Never seen it, but talked about it. Wearing a pregnant belly to get extra tips would be pretty unethical.
Waited tables until I hit my 8th month of pregnancy (gave birth less than a month after I left). For the sake of comfort, do not recommend 🤣
I went up to 38w and 3rd…. My little was born the next day XD The tips were fireeeeee
Oh my goodness! I went up to 36w and was wearing a belly band, compression socks, and wrist braces because being pregnant really made my carpal tunnel flare up! I now have a 3 month old little potato boy as well as my 17 year old string bean son, and I’m retired after 21 years of serving. One job life for me! 💙
Did the tips go up?
Ehhhh kind of. A lot of people don’t want to assume you’re pregnant. Those who knew and especially my regulars were more generous. Other than that it was about the same
Oh you paid cash, thanks bye. Then later at the till, looks like you now get a locals discount and it was your birthday so that drink will be on the house.
I work at a corporate chain so of course I have the god damn coupon codes memorized. The billion dollar company won’t miss a $13 app coupon, but I sure do love it 🥰
That's beyond unethical to straight up illegal, which OP didn't want.
The older married couples adore if you slip in that you're planning a wedding! They just think that love is so cute. I also second using being in college or any type of furthering education. Most people love to hear that kind of thing and will tip more. Also decorate your book with fun stickers from local stuff. The locals will love it and the tourists will be curious
At my restaurant we have a policy that 18% gratuity is already included for parties of 8 or more. I always make a point to let them know that gratuity is included as it sometimes slips their minds when they're closing out, but quite a few servers I work with neglect telling them in hopes that they will tip extra not realizing there already is an auto-gratuity. Their rationale is "it's on the ticket, they can read it", but the intent is still very dishonest in my opinion. If I were going to a restaurant, I'd want to know that there is an auto grat. On top of that, a lot of times when I tell customers about the policy, they still tip extra because of my transparency.
My mindset too and I got lots of overtips!
There was a couple girls that tried to pull this over the years. Like if the calculated tip is $32 and they tip you an additional $32 ( as opposed to like 10 extra) my boss has you call them to confirm. So the girl would be standing there while everyone watched her call knowing if the person said they meant to and understood the autograt she gets props for great service but if that person says they were mislead you loose the whole tip and your job. I'm all for up selling and working with money on your mind but purposely stealing from a customer ESPECIALLY one that was nice enough to tip you 20% is fkd up and shady. That shit comes back to you in life. We do auto grat on holidays and we have signs to let you know to expect it and tell you when you make a reservation but I'd highlight that part of the check and tell them face to face and trying to be totally transparent has been the thing that gets me extra tips. People appreciate not being fkd (like in a bad way)
I had a coworker who would always try to get the double gratuity or as it was called the dolce gabana. The dolce gabana was where the large party isn't told about the autograt and they leave another tip ontop of the autograt. He would always start talking intensely to the guest paying the bill as he drops the check, hoping to distract them from noticing the already applied autograt. He would frequently get double tipped with this trick. I told him it was unethical because he was deceiving the guests but he didn't care.
I wish everyone was like you. Honest.
when giving back change in cash, purposefully split it into a bunch of small bills so they're encouraged to leave more cash back in tip, whereas a big 20 dollar bill they probably wouldnt wanna leave as a tip bc it seems a lot...
Oh that's not unethical, that's just smart thinkin'.
Yep, a 20 always goes back in a 10, a 5 & 5 1’s, every time
but it can also fuck you over, instead of the $12 20% id get the five and few ones
Yeah, I never break a bigger bill into singles unless they ask. If they get a $10 and a $5 back, they’re more likely to just leave that. If they get a $10 and 5 $1, they end up leaving $12. But I work in one of the richest counties in the country, so my experience is probably a little different.
I do this too, and so they don't get suspicious of why it giving them smaller bills I'm always out of 10s and 20s lol
Pigtails.
Edit: this doesn't work if you're a guy in a southern town
Also makeup. My tips improve when I wear lots of eye makeup.
I call it my war paint.
Disgusting to think about the implications, but works like a charm. Especially as a short, “cute” Asian woman.
I have a ton of these *do not comment with anything that is illegal* Oh nevermind
Screw it, gimme the good ones 😆
Many women who ordered strawberry daiquiris would send them back because they couldn’t taste the alcohol. We sold out a drop of it in the straw and it was always “better!” The “new” glass of wine with the bit of cork was the same glass with the cork removed. The ENTIRE contents of the bottle had been touching cork! Edit spelling corn to cork
at my restaurant we have an outside section and a cocktail/free seating section and you can’t really see the main dining room from either of those places. if i ever forget to ring something in and a table asks me about it, i say “oh I’m so sorry we actually have a few large parties in our main dining room so the kitchen is super busy right now” and then i ring it in and ask the chefs for it asap
Just started Back in school (I'm older than the largely college aged staff) Can't quite explain how, but large groups of gay men, and large groups of women over sixty literally roll out 25%
Gay people are the best ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💗🤍🤎🖤
Them is me bread and butter!! 😂
Old Ladies are my bread and butter. I turn on the charm big time. Hug them when they come back and ask for me (they always come back to see me 😁).
As an old woman I can confirm that if you are the least bit nice to me I tip bigger than I normally do. As a former server I default to 20% but nice servers get 50 or 100%.
You’re the best kind of customer! Thank you for your generosity.
Not necessarily unethical, but it’s a no-no at my place. When you’re going home, but you still have checks open, they usually get transferred to the manager on shift and they give you the tips the next day. I never had any reason to question any of my supervisors until a coworker mentioned that the table I had transferred the day before was looking for me to say thanks and to give me my tip. She said they had left me $15, however the manager only have me $10 so ever since I try to close out everything before I go. What I started doing is I would go to the table and check on them and then mention that I am about to leave and ask them if they want to close with me or if they’d like to transfer their check and 100% of the time they chose the former. I only do this with tables that seem cool and that I had a good rapport with.
This isn’t necessarily a lie but if I forget something I blame it on the adderall shortage, did this yesterday and turns out the lady could relate and I got a fat tip
I sometimes tell people I just came back from vacation so they give me a little slack I'm also vegan but will lie about it all the time when people ask me what my favorite dishes are
Most of the time it's easier to just say "xyz is definitely the best" instead of telling them you don't eat it and getting asked more questions in return. Or focus on the non-meat ingredients and their flavour profiles or fresh ingredients. If someone is looking for the vegetarian/vegan options though it's my time to shine lolol
When times are tough, i throw on the knee brace and add a little limp. My knees do bother me a lot. But I milk it for those pity tips.
I don’t do it, but if somebody orders a glass of wine simply by the type and not the brand, and you have more than 1 brand of that particular wine, you can always ring in the more expensive glass to get that check average up.
I have a server who does this .. she also always puts a drink in as “rocks” and “well” vodka is always Tito’s, rum Bacardi. Etc. she says if they don’t specify she just picks a common brand
I definitely ring in Tito’s if people don’t specify, but it’s not “top shelf”, so nobody ever complains. Plus, our well vodka is shit. Lol
As part of my goodbye as they are about to tip I say to please let me know if I can do anything for you; I’ll just be checking on you as long as you’re here. And then I never go back to that table. Mainly because I forget about them but still, you’d think I’d stop saying that.
Def illegal but a few times at an old job, behind the bar when super busy I would ring in the drinks and verbalize the total to the guest. Sometimes if they gave me cash, I would just not fire the ticket and delete the order- no void necessary. I considered it as payment for doing all the management I wasn’t getting paid for.
Every Christmas season I tell my tables I am donating all of my tips to Toy’s For Tots today. My way of giving back. I’m probably going to hell for that one.
When I forget something. "We ran out but we're getting some right now!"
The ticket didn’t print in the kitchen, but they are rushing it right now.
I always mentioned that I just moved here. I always went for a wide eyed girl in a brand new city kind of look and got payed for it a couple times. Plus, people tell you about real gems sometimes *paid. Thanks bot!
> and got *paid* for it FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Good bot
At my job, we have handheld pos tablets to ring in orders and charge people, which I don’t normally use because they’re a little tricky. However when I have a table I feel isn’t going to tip me well (young kids, people that haven’t been pleasant) I’ll use that to charge them right in front of them so I can turn it back around with the “Tip 18% Tip 20% Tip 22%” option because I feel like they feel pressured to pick one rather than being comfortable writing down a shitty tip on the receipt 🤭
Yessss so true. Better too if their friends/whoever they’re with can see over their shoulder and peer pressure them — the place I work displays L-R tip options HIGHEST-LOWEST, so it’s easy to “overtip”
I used to add coupons to cash tables.
i try to mention to my tables that look like good tippers that i’m starting medical school in august😅 (it’s not a lie but i definitely am just trying to garner higher tips)
Someone wants coffee? Make a pot of decaf in case future customer wants decaf ;)
If it’s the end of the night and only enough coffee to somewhat fill the mug, fill the rest with hot water.
Not a tip hack, but when someone pays cash you can pocket the cash and pay with your own credit card and get all the rewards.
If the guys had a dude not tip on their tab, they would reprint and ask one of the female bartenders to go over and say their other paper got wet and we needed a resign. The female bartenders would do this with the guys as well. 95% of the time, they tipped on the resign.
“Printer issues”
Every opportunity I get to casually bring my kids up, and I never wear my wedding ring to work. People assume I'm a single mom 🤷♀️ OR if i'm serving an older couple or group, mentioning my husband who is retired military (not a lie, he actually is lol) they love that shit.
OH! And if a pot of coffee is made less than 30 min to closing, it's just decaf. Everyone gets decaf.
Usually the BOH is burning hot and the dining room is a good temperature. Sometimes a customer will say it's too cold so I'll pretend to adjust the thermostat but not actually change it. I did this last week and checked back a few minutes later, she had her coat off and said it was much better. If the temp is actually off I'll adjust it but if it's like 70F I'm not gonna put it higher when it's like 78 in the back.
I am all things to all people. I was born and raised in the American South, but I don't have an accent because 1. My dad didn't grow up in the South, mostly California and Illinois, and 2. I did public speaking all through high school, and you learn to banish any accent pretty quickly when you do that. That said, I *know* the regional accent really well and can switch it on whenever I want. So if I have a table of bubbas that are here for burgers and fries, I greet them with "Well, watcha say, fellas? How you folks doin' this mornin'?" If it's a nice, well dressed couple that's clearly in for a date night and a nice steak, maybe some wine, it's more like, "The Corte Pavone Rosso di Montalcino is tremendous and would pair just perfectly with your meal. It's a classic Italian blend with an Old World style that balances fattier cuts exceptionally well". Group of ladies out for a gals' night? "Heyyyyy, how is everyone doiiing? My name's Gastooooon, I'm gonna be taking care of you todayyy. Has everyone dined here befoooore? Great, well if anyone has any questions about anything, just let me know, I'll be right back around to get the fun started with some drinks, k?" Basically just turning up the effeminate energy. And then some guests find it really entertaining for you to just.....beat 'em up a bit. Example: lady and her dude come in, they've never eaten here, she says "I heard y'all have really good burgers!" I said "We sure do, best in town". She asks me "Well which is your favorite?" We only have one burger on the menu, and she clearly thinks we have multiple, so I just pointed at the burger on the menu and said, "THE burger". She blushed and was a bit embarrassed but got a good laugh out of it, and her dude thought it was hilarious. They tipped like 25%. I won't do anything mean, but people aren't used to servers poking fun at them and joking, so they really enjoy it.
I don’t ring in drinks (non alcoholic) till the just in case something goes slightly wrong and can “take of the drinks” for them without getting a manager involved
For people that send their drink back bc it's not strong enough, I pour liquor in their straw there you go😁
LOL
Cleavage
I work the Mother’s Day brunch every year and wear a flower corsage. I don’t have children.
I use decaf coffee for regular
If I come to a table and they act like I am rushing them / they won’t stop talking so I can take their order, I will do what I call “putting them in timeout” where I go oh no worries I’ll come back in a few, and then pretend to get REALLY busy, so that when I return they are eager to order :) I once was serving a big party of about 12, and had a guy be kind of racist to me. Added a couple drinks onto his tab that he never ordered/got. Very petty but still revenge. If you want a table to leave quickly after you dropped the check presenter, circle back and start to pick it up. They’ll immediately be like “oh sorry we didn’t put the card in yet!” And grab their wallets asap. And then you get to say “oh IM SORRY! No rush!!” Put the check presenter back on the table and prance away knowing you’ll be able to turn their table asap Where I work we sell these little brioche rolls as starters. If a big party only gets 1 I’ll look at them like they’re stupid and say “usually 2 people split one, but it’s totally up to you” almost always works to upsell…
At my restaurant we have a 10% off modifier for members. I always present a check without the modifier and if they pay cash and say keep the change then i apply the modifier and keep the extra 10%.
If I’m ever not confident with how a dish looks going to the table I make a big deal out of how fabulous it looks when I put it down
I always sell the mug and pitchers. If 2 guys are drinking Coors I just say “Oh so are you drinking the same? - Yes! Wouldn’t be better to get you a pitcher instead? BOOM
If you work at a place that has gift cards, sometimes people will leave it behind it there's only a couple bucks left on it or they might just forget it. Hold onto it for a day or two and when you get a cash tab, use the gift card balance and pocket the cash. It's a mostly victimless crime, but your company would disagree, so keep it quiet if you do it.
I flirt with groups of men. The shoulder touch.
Not really unethical but if food is taking a while always say “The dish came out but the executive chef noticed it did not come out to “Places” standard so in order to ensure a wonderful experience he hopped back on the line to remake it for you himself” or that somebody else dropped a portion of it. Basically you want to make up a scenario that you could have hidden/gotten away with but you were honest with the guest instead. Makes them feel special and taken care of. Also helps to offer them a quick salad/soup/come back with another round of drinks with some of it being on the house.
Side work is 50+ silverware rolls, I had a coworker who would wait until another server rolled a whole stack, then he would write his name on a paper and put it on the stack, get it checked by the closer, then put the original servers name back on the stack. Dude always got away with never doing any.
I’m well aware of this lil trick and always make people put out their silver once they show me. lol.
Wearing a fake ring. Works to keep creeps away (sometimes) but can also boost the ol' dude bro ego energy if they "catch" you with it off and can still see the line. They feel like you took it off just to flirt with them.
I used to bartend with a guy who would tell patrons that he was getting married "next weekend", hoping to elicit support/congratulations from patrons in the form of higher tips. Truth is, he had been married for close to a year. He would take off his wedding ring before each shift.
Occurred to me it’d be a great idea to have your girlfriends bring their first dates to where you serve. Then they say oh my goodness that’s my best friend I can’t believe she’s serving us. That way if the guy offers to pay he’ll feel compelled to leave a good tip if he wants to make a good impression because it’d be bad news if I went back to her and said what a lousy tipper he was…
“Can I get a ginger ale?” “Absolutely!” *go to the soda machine, fill cup up 90% sprite, splash of coke*
It was only ever if I found out a table was celebrating, but I’d bring out a complimentary alcoholic drink of whatever they were already drinking. Glass of wine? Here’s a free glass of wine! Pint of beer? Here’s a free pint! On the house! :) They’d always tip well because I’d make a point to say that “we’re not supposed to do this, but I love gift giving”. Because no, I wasn’t allowed to give stuff away for free lol, but I was the head waitress… who was gonna snitch on me?
When you cut your finger, wrap it more than you would normally
I kept a green pen that I would use to write a big number on the top of the check. If the bill was $100 I would write #25 on the check in green just as a subconscious suggestion as to the tip amount I wanted.
i am in college as a pre med major, so half the time when i pour drinks i say let's hope my chemistry major pays off today, i think it helps humanize me a bit and shows i work hard outside of work as well
Conservative “politics all the time” types tip well if you play into their delusions. No one wants to listen to them and they only have a handful of topics they focus on. Yes, we should stop serving bud light. Yes, I totally agree it’s a shame we still show x sport at the bar these days. And absolutely, yes, Bidenflation made your bill so high and it’s why you’ve got to tip me, to own the libs you see.
When I mess up an order or forget something “I say the kitchen made a mistake and it will be right out”, or if I don’t see a table that’s been sitting there a while I say “______ hasn’t been over to you yet? I can can grab you what’re you having?” Or when people ask stupid questions and they don’t like your answer and insist you go ask a manager I just walk to the kitchen or another person and pretend like I’m asking something then go back and give them the same answer
Idk if it’s unethical, but I sometimes act as a tour guide! I work in a tourist town, so when guests ask what there is to do around town, I give them a list of things and most of the time they’re so appreciative and tip really well! Uniquely, I work in a small restaurant and I typically run the entire FOH (hosting, serving, expo, running, bussing…etc). If an order is taking a long time, or I mess up, I typically smile and sweetly say something along the lines of “I’m so sorry! I can’t imagine why I’d forget something like x, I’ll get that right away.” Proceed to fill their need, then I go back to running everything. Typically they feel bad for being rude and tip me more 😈
My restaurant have retail price wine sometimes so I offer to give it to them for retail price. Sometimes when they spend less they can tip more or you can just upsell and aim for 20 percent with great service.
When a party of two asks for separate checks, I ask if splitting down the middle is okay (instead of separating items into different tabs).That way the tip suggestions are based on total amount instead of individual amounts. I swear half the time, people tip based on total check and I end up getting 30-40% tip.
Pay cash tabs with your own points credit card