The Homa Files

Dr. Michael Lynn, Cornell School of Hotel Administration says there are 12 tactics servers often use to increase their tips.

Here they are.  Three are common sense: introducing yourself, smiling, and thanking folks. 

The others vary from cute to annoying.

Next time you’re dining out make a game of it — see how many of the antics you can spot.

1. Introduce yourself by name.
2. Smile a lot.
3. Personalize your appearance — wear a funny tie, hat or flower to make you stand out.
4. Kneel down next to tables.
5. Recommend appetizers, wine and other extra items to increase your sales — and resulting tips.
6. Tell a joke or play a game with customers.
7. Touch customers.
8. Draw a picture on the check.
9. Use credit-card tip trays.
10. Call customers by name.
11. Give customers after-dinner candy.
12. Thank customers.

Think these tactics don’t work ? 

Dr. Lynn’s studies indicate that high-quality service has less than a 2 percent effect on tips.

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Source:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1329241

This entry was posted on May 10, 2010 at 7:18 am and is filed under Behavioral Economics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.