When you’re dining out, you’re already in spending mode, and restaurants know it.
Restaurants and servers have perfected the art of upselling, from suggesting premium add-ons to strategic menu placement. The goal is simple: get you to order more, order bigger, or order that extra course you didn’t plan on, so they bring in more money.
Now, one server is revealing exactly how she leverages this psychology to sell dessert—even to customers who insist they’re full.
Server Reveals How She Sells More Dessert
In a trending video with 135,000 views, Arizona server Saydie (@realslimsaydie) shares her method for getting more people to indulge in dessert.
“If you’re a server trying to get that check average up, stop asking your tables if they want dessert,” Saydie says. “Most people are full as f—. And it’s like an automatic, ‘No.'”
Instead of giving customers the chance to decline, Saydie has a different approach. She says she brings the dessert menu over without asking and sets it down with a playful disclaimer.
“Bring that … dessert menu by default. Bring it over, and be like, ‘Just in case you guys have room for dessert.’ And set it down all silly like, ‘Just in case,'” she says, making a coy face and saying you can do a “flirty walk away.”
She says that customers typically respond with something like, “‘Oh god, no, stop torturing us, stop tempting us.'”
The Psychology Behind The Dessert Tactic
The psychology behind the tactic is simple but effective. Once customers have the menu in front of them, they start browsing. And if they spot something they’ve been craving—like tiramisu they haven’t had in a while—they’re ordering it, even if it’s to-go.
“Had you been like, ‘Do you guys wanna see a dessert menu?’ they don’t even wanna see it. They wouldn’t have even known that you had their favorite dessert on the menu,” Saydie points out.
The server emphasizes that the key is not to stand there, trying to convince customers they need dessert or need to see the menu. That makes it too easy for them to say no. Instead, just drop it off casually and walk away.
“They’re gonna be happy that you brought that [expletive] menu over, trust me,” she says.
“I promise if you do this like 1 in 4 people will get it instead of like 1 in 10,” she wrote in the caption.
How Restaurants Get You To Spend More
Profit margins for restaurants are low, so they do everything they can to get customers to spend as much as possible, Food & Wine explained.
Dessert carts exist for a reason: seeing a dessert in all its glory makes it far more tempting than just reading about it on a menu. That’s why The Cheesecake Factory displays rows of sweets near the entrance like “little soldiers ready to sacrifice their slice for you,” Food & Wine noted.
Restaurants also manipulate scent to drive orders. Those sizzling fajitas at Mexican restaurants? The meat wasn’t actually grilled on that skillet. The skillet sits under the salamander (an intense broiler) until the food is ready, then lime juice is squeezed onto the hot skillet seconds before it leaves the kitchen, creating the signature sizzle and smoke.
As servers carry it through the dining room, it creates a scene that makes other customers want to order it, and it’s typically one of the most expensive items on the menu.
One chef at an international hotel chain said he would walk through the restaurant at 4:59pm, right before dinner service, with a pan of sautéed butter, thyme, and oregano. He’d pace the entire floor, making sure the aroma filled the dining room, making customers hungrier than they already were.
Even menu design is calculated. Items with boxes around them or different fonts are typically more expensive options. The word “deluxe” sounds better than “regular,” even when it just means adding lettuce and tomato.
And those free nuts or pretzels at the bar? They make you thirsty enough to order a second drink.
Commenters React
“Hot take: I try not to sell dessert bc I need to flip that table. I dont need a 30 minute camp just to get an extra $2 in the tip. Get out of my section, respectfully,” a top comment read.
“I whisper “cheesecake” in the middle of their meal and walk away. Another is – use a sale to walk it through the section and show everyone the dessert. Make a show out of it. Don’t be shy,” a person said.
“I find dessert just makes them stay longer and lowers the table turnover especially since they share most of the time I’d rather turn the table imo lol,” another pointed out.
“I always bring it and say “alright let’s finish strong here with something sweet” and if they’re hesitant I always say ‘get it to go I know from experience it’s better sitting on the couch’ works like a charmmm,” a server shared.
@realslimsaydie I promise if you do this like 1 in 4 people will get it instead of like 1 in 10
BroBible reached out to Saydie for comment via email and TikTok direct message.