5 Ways Servers Get Us To Tip More

The HEAT wave is coming …that means too hot to cook so restaurants here we come. So how and why will you recognize good service when you dine out? People who work mainly for tips truly are at the mercy of the kindness of strangers…but then doesn’t TIPS stand for “To Insure Prompt Service”?I have never worked for tips so I can’t say that I get the way it’s all supposed to work with proper percentage for tips, shared tips, tip taxes, etc. But I do know great service when I

get it and I am inclined to reward that.  However it seems that’s NOT the reason most people tip! According to the Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney.com there are 5 ways we are encouraged to tip more…with apologies to the male servers for number five!

 1. Be Friendly
The friendlier the server, the more likely a customer will leave a generous tip. Friendly behavior includes smiling, greeting and even touching customers and crouching down beside the customers while taking orders.

2. Copycats
Restaurant servers who copy their customers' behavior get double the tips of servers who don't do this. And the No. 1 way to mirror the customer--and get a big payoff for doing it--is to repeat back the order, according to a study from the Netherlands. Mimicry creates bonds between people.

3. Sweet Treats
Leaving candy with the check can result in a higher tip. One study found that tips increase by about 20 percent when servers give diners two pieces of chocolate along with the bill.

4. Pay With Plastic
Diners who use credit cards instead of cash to pay their bills are more likely to leave a more generous tip.

5. Breasts
A study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior showed that waitresses with larger self-reported breast size received bigger tips, while a second study in the International Journal of Hospitality Management found that waitresses' use of makeup significantly increased their tips. Female servers can also increase their tips by drawing a smiley face on the check--but this doesn't work as well for male servers.