Tips for Tips
So many of you will already know that I have a slightly ‘academic’ leaning
(Oxford University and all that) and this explains my occasional sesquipedalian
tendencies (that’s means I like to use long words) and the amount I write and talk, as
well as slightly questionable dress sense and my inflated sense of self importance.
Traditionally being ‘academic’ was not necessarily an advantage for bartenders but
with increased training, product knowledge and the amount of new recipes around at
the minute, the ability to understand the ‘science’ of spirits and to be able to find your
way around the internet when searching for information is a boon. So while ploughing
through books on Neuro Linguistic Programming and the societal effect of Phylloxera
I came across the Cornell Hotel Research Association and the studies it had done on
tipping. Now I know I have written about Tipping before (“Tipping is not a city in
China” Flavour XX) but figured that if I could point out some of their suggestions and
also back it up with numbers then you would not mind reading, learning and
earning…
There are many studies into Tipping and at a basic level there is an
understanding that there is not much correlation between quality of service and tip
levels… but they have found many things that waiters and bartenders can do to
increase their earnings… try out some of these tips for tips:
1. Try to look or dress distinctively. Whether it’s a flower in your hair, an
interesting hat or tie or even one of the many charity bands that are springing
up on wrists everywhere they have proved in scientific studies that tips
increase by an average of 17% if you look different to your fellow servers…
However always check with management as your favourite Porn Star t-shirt
may well not go down too well with everyone…
2. Introduce yourself. Now I don’t mean a mechanical “Hi, I’m XXX and I will
be your bartender tonight” but a genuine and friendly greeting, a shake of the
hands and some eye contact has been shown to increase tips by 10%.
Introductions can make you appear more friendly, as a person and not just a
server and can create a sense of empathy with your guests. It can be a bit
annoying when everyone is screaming for you all night but the cash is flash…
3. Try to copy the movements of your guests… try to copy their body language,
maintain good eye contact and get close to them (lean in or over the bar
towards them). The keys to ‘non verbal’ communication are postural similarity,
more eye contact and proximity… if taking an order at a table, squat down to
the guests’ level, if from the bar then copy the guest and they have been shown
to increase their tip by 5%
4. Repeat the order. Although imitating or copying people can be annoying by
repeating their order, either as you take it or at the end, has been shown to
increase tips by nearly 30%! And of course it means that less mistakes are
made by checking that you heard correctly.
5. Smile. Sounds so very simple does it not and yet I regularly see great
bartenders not smiling when working or even worse, not smiling when talking
to or greeting guests… studies have shown that smiling people are perceived
as more attractive, sincere, personable and efficient than those who don’t…
forget all that “it takes 27 muscles to frown but only 7 to smile”… instead
think of the tip increases of 140% that studies have shown are possible…
6. Sell. Again it sounds very simple but more often than not a tip is more like a
service charge and the greater the bill within reason) then the greater the
tip…Suggestive selling, selling food items, positive and creative use of
language, use of the menu as a selling tool and of course good product
knowledge will increase bill sizes by roughly 30% and normally leads to a
similar increase in tips.
7. Touching guests. A rather tricky one here and on the whole touching is a very
powerful type of interpersonal relationship and if done successfully can be
very beneficial. In a test researchers found that if a guest as not touched at all
then tips were 12%, if they were touched lightly on the shoulder (the most
accessible part of the body) then tips rose to 15% and when touched on the
hand then it grew to 19%. Younger guests seemed more amenable than older
ones and females should always try to touch bill paying females…
8. Be an Entertainer. I do not mean song and dance routines but increasingly bars
are seen as a form of entertainment and thus those that work in them should be
entertainers in some way… slight of hand magic tricks, small puzzles for
guests to try and work out while sitting/waiting or even the odd joke has been
shown to increase tips by over 50%…
9. Use the bill as a ‘blank canvas’. Rather than being the ‘unpleasant’ end of a
drinking or eating session the bill can be a great way of rounding off in style.
For example if you write tomorrow’s weather on the back of a bill then tips
increase by 20% and by 40% if it is favourable (sunny)… it is about increasing
the ‘perceived’ level of effort on the part of the bartender; if you write Thank
You or some witty personal sign-off then tips increase by 30%, but oddly if a
man draws a smiley face on a check then his tips decrease by 25%…
10. use tip trays with financial logos or insignias. In a study they found that people
added up to 5% more to their tip if the tray the bill or Credit card came on had
a Visa/MasterCard etc etc logo on it…
11. If you know your guest’s name then use it: it is immensely flattering and
enjoyable to be recognised and acknowledged… tips increased by 10% just by
using the guest name…
As a sceptic and a cynic I have always been wary of cheesy hat/badge-wearing
muppets who try to make me laugh or sell me loads of stuff I don’t need but I am also
a believer in the appliance of science and when applied correctly then many of these
‘tricks’ can be very successful… do yourselves a favour and put some of them to the
test…