How To Earn More Tips When Waiting Tables
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Tipping culture in the US is huge. Everyone tips around 20% as standard. However, here in the UK things are quite different and people often only tip if the service has been exceptional. That said, there are loads of things you can do to increase your chances of your customers tipping. Earn more tips with these simple tricks.
How To Earn More Tips When Waiting Tables
Just starting out as a waitress or waiter? Try these ideas to help you earn more tips when waiting tables
Smile!
Smile at people. A lot. As soon as you see them if they catch you looking at their a table or in their direction. It makes you seem as though you are happy and enjoying your job, even if you are not, and helps create a happy atmosphere.
Be Polite
When talking to customers you need to be extra polite. As polite as you would normally be and then double it. Even if they are being really rude! I find people can be really grumpy when they are hungry – once they have eaten they are often much nicer. There is genuinely nothing worse than a surly waiter that clearly doesn’t want t be doing their job!
Earn More Tips By Making Use Of Your Skills
People love to feel as though you have gone that extra mile for them so if you have any amazing skills show them off! Add a cute doodle or note to their bill or learn to make origami napkins. I found people often asked for a doggy bag to take home leftovers so I learnt to make tin foil swans and handbags (you can find video tutorials on youtube). Most chefs know how to make these but are often too busy with orders to do them.
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Get To Know Your Regulars
People love it when you remember them – whether it’s their names, drinks order or favourite dessert.
It makes them feel valued as a customer and they will hopefully keep returning and remember to tip you for your efforts.
Dress Appropriately
One of my biggest pet hates is going into a pub or restaurant and not being able to tell who the waiting staff are as they are dressed a bit too casually for their job.
A lot of ‘local’ style pubs don’t have a dress code/uniform for their staff and I think this is where this problem can stem from. I also hate it when waiting staff wear vest tops.
Sweaty armpits leaning over my food? No thank you! Hair should ALWAYS be tied up too. Oh, and no waiting cloths over shoulders either – if your hair has been down earlier in the day there will still be bacteria lurking which can easily be passed on to plates. Gross.
How To Earn More Tips: Know The Menu
While I wouldn’t expect waiting staff to know every single ingredient of every single dish, there should be some basic knowledge there such as what the soup of the day is and whether mashed potatoes can be substituted for chips.
Also knowing if any dishes on the menu are unavailable is essential. Waiting staff should either liaise with the kitchen or be briefed for this when they arrive.
With the recent increase in awareness around food allergies, a good knowledge of which dishes contain allergens will always earn brownie points (and hopefully some extra tips too!).
All food establishments in the U.K should have an allergy matrix so simply being aware of this and where it’s kept should a customer ask for it is a good start.
Also as frustrating as fussy customers can be, often this is due to a genuine allergy rather than a trendy food fad and eating a food they are allergic to could cause them serious harm.
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Earning More Tips: Don’t Overdo It
While being attentive is key – there is a fine line between attentiveness and overdoing it. This can also happen in busy restaurants where the waiting staff aren’t communicating properly – no one wants to be asked if their meal is ok three times in ten minutes.
Deal With Complaints Appropriately
Now, don’t get me wrong, some customers can be an absolute pain in the arse.
However, the saying goes ‘The customer is always right’ so grin and bear it and have a rant to the chef/barman whoever at the end of the night if you need to when all the customers have gone home.
One of my biggest pet peeves, when complaining about food or sending food back because I’m not happy, is a waiter who says ‘Well no one else has complained about it’.
Erm, that doesn’t mean mine isn’t cold/over-cooked/tasteless. Handle it professionally and I’ll still tip even if the food wasn’t quite up to scratch.
Time To Say Goodbye. . .
As well as greeting customers on arrival it is also important to acknowledge them as they leave. A simple ‘Goodnight’, ‘Thank you’ or ‘Have a safe journey home’ can make their evening that little bit more memorable and hopefully encourage them to return in the future
How To Earn More Tips: Tips And HMRC
All tips need to be declared to HMRC for tax purposes. You can read more at HMRC: Tips At Work.
DISCLAIMER
This advice is based on my own experience of waiting tables when I was a teenager, in small, privately owned country pubs. The way tips are distributed between staff can vary hugely between employers. Chain pubs and restaurants do things can be very different to what I have described here.
Great post! Tips used to make up 50% of my earnings some nights back when I worked in a pub.
When we both worked at a pub my husband would take both our tips and they would pay for our petrol each week (we car share) they do make a difference, especially when they are on top of wages not making them up (I know this practice is illegal but was still happening unitll recently!)
Wao awesome tips.
Being polite while doing this will even double your earnings.
Have done exactly this waiting table stuff sometimes ago and make cool cash.