How to Get Better Tips as a Waitress

Being a waitress is a difficult, often thankless job that doesn't always pay the best salary. If you are a waitress, you know how important tips from your customers can be and the difference it can make in the kind of money you take home to pay your bills and help take care of your family. There are things you can do to increase your chances of receiving more handsome tips from those you serve and provide you with the kind of monetary rewards your hard work deserves.

Things You'll Need

• Politeness

Instructions

1. Look as attractive as you can. Even in waitressing, the way you look can work to your advantage. Wear makeup, make sure you look neat and that you smell good. Not surprisingly, people generally tend to react to you more positively when you look your best.

2. Smile at your customers and present a pleasant front. Being personable and having a sense of humor makes people more willing to let down their guards. Remember, one of your main objectives is to get your customers to like you; the manner in which you present yourself can make a big difference in how they respond to you.

3. Always be very nice to kids, if they are part of a table. If your restaurant has special treats for them, such as activity books and crayons, offer them to the children to keep them occupied and quiet.

4. Familiarize yourself with your restaurant's menu. There is always somebody who is going to either ask you to recommend something or about the specifics of a menu item, such as what ingredients are in it. Customers appreciate a person who can answer their questions.

5. Subtly suggest appetizers, drinks, soups, salads, etc., for customers to try while they wait for their main menu items. The more things you serve, the larger the check will be, which means that your tip is likely to be larger.

6. Do your best to get the customer's order right. Repeating his order back to him before you go to take it to the kitchen can help you avoid making mistakes. Once you bring the order back, know who gets what. In other words, make sure you know what person ordered what dish or menu item. If you are serving a table that has a lot of people, getting this right is pivotal to making them satisfied with your service. You don't want anyone to get frustrated by mixing up orders.

7. Make sure that you check on your customer. No one likes the feeling of being ignored and disregarded, so returning to the table every few minutes lets your customer know that he is not forgotten and that you are interested in doing your best to meet his needs. Do drink re-fills, ask if there is anything he wants and find out if he is ready for his bill.

8. If it is taking too long for an order to arrive or your customer is unhappy about something, apologize right away and let him know that you will be more than happy to find out what is causing the problem. If you are unable to do this, inform the customer that you will get the manager immediately to rectify any issues he may have. Going out of your way to appease a customer is a good way to get in his good graces, which could translate into a bigger tip.