How to make a lot of money waiting tables
So if you wait tables, deliver pizzas or caddie at a golf course, tips may be the biggest part of your income. One way to accomplish that is to work at the right place. Increase the size and frequency of those gratuities. Michael Lynn, of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, wrote a research paper reviewing 14 studies of tipping behavior.
Although the studies he reviewed focused primarily on restaurant servers, the conclusions may apply to other tipped positions. But what if you already have the job? If you drive a limo, sell the upgraded service. You should sell more to make bigger tips, but with one important exception.
Otherwise, boost the bill size to boost your tip income. In one French study, it was as simple as giving customers a card with a joke written on it.
Researchers tested this idea at an Italian restaurant in New Jersey. Some customers had the following written on their bills: I hope you enjoy the day! Those customers who received the note tipped an average of In another study, customers who were thanked by name tipped more.
At least two studies found that tips increased significantly when customers were given candy.
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The biggest increase came when customers were spontaneously offered a second piece. Researchers speculate that other gifts may have a similar effect.
The experimental evidence reviewed by Lynn suggests that the following can also help you get bigger tips. Former FBI behavioral analyst John R.
Schafer points out that good service means something different to different customers. Some want to be left alone while others want you to check on them often.
The real trick, then, is to learn to read your customers. He notes that the ability to read people is also important when implementing the tactic of touching customers.
In other words, regardless of what the statistical data shows, you need to pay attention to the responses you get and provide the kind of experience each customer wants. All of the suggestions above have to do with how you interact with customers.
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But there are also three structural changes you can make in your work, and each is likely to add significantly to your tip income. They have to do with when you work, your position and the kind of customers you typically have.
When delivering pizza many years ago, I made at least twice as much per hour in tips on weekend night shifts versus working on weekend afternoons.
Naturally, I did what I had to do to get more work on Friday and Saturday nights. You may already know which shifts are best for tips where you work. If not, ask other employees and experiment with working at different times.
If you have any say in the matter, try to work all of the best hours. When I drove an electric tram for a retirement community , I made less than a dollar per week from tips. Meanwhile, the college kids who set up chairs and umbrellas at the beach sometimes made hundreds of dollars per day in tips.
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I first received tips as a pizza delivery driver, and quickly learned to grab orders going to good tippers. But the worst part for us minimum-wage drivers was that we got a tip of just 35 cents every time, no matter how fast the service or friendly the approach. For example, some pubs have several different bars, and the customers who tip big may tend to congregate at one or the other. If you work as a massage therapist, tour guide or in any position where the customers can choose you on their next visits, provide the best service possible to the big tippers and only to them if you want to be truly mercenary.
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