While tipping is the way most servers make ends meet, some customers can, for lack of a better word, be stingy. However, with her self-admitted “morally questionable” methods, TikTok user Katie (@badwitch1126) has gone viral after sharing the ingenious ways she used to secure tips as a server.
She began the clip by saying, “When I was a waitress, I’d do a lot of things to manipulate people into giving me more money—here are some of my favorites.”
What Did She Used To Do As A Server?
Her first trick was to run the price of the order up by using a little reverse psychology. She noted how, when people would order a drink like a margarita, she would start by listing the most expensive tequila and then trail off at the third one. By tapping into people’s “decision fatigue,” Katie says she was able to get a higher bill. This, in turn, became a higher tip.
Her second method involved emphasizing her “small-town Southern girl act.” She did this whenever someone ran up an expensive bill and gave a minimal tip. If this happened, she recounted how she would crouch down by the customer and ask them if she did anything wrong. When they answered, Katie says she would then hold up the check to them and tell them that this was the type of tip one would leave if they didn’t like the service. Consequently, the customers would feel bad and pull out more cash.
However, Katie says her most “infamous” tactic occurred when she accidentally forgot about a table for 30-45 minutes. Seeing they were unhappy, she rushed over and apologized. She then claimed that someone on the patio had a seizure and that she was performing CPR. Their demeanor, she said, completely changed when she fed them that story. They ended up leaving her with a “fat tip.”
The video has garnered close to 1 million views. BroBible reached out to Katie via Instagram direct message.
How Did Viewers React?
One commenter shared how they had seen one of these tactics out in the wild. “Somebody asked us about the ‘What I could do better’ one after we gave them 15%,” one recounted. “It was sooo awkward.”
While a fellow server shared, “If I did the ‘Was there something wrong with the service?’ one I would be fired SO FAST.”
Katie replied, “Oh god, me too. I just didn’t get caught.”
Other servers shared the other white lies they’ve told in the past, which shows that lying to secure higher tips isn’t unheard of in the service industry.
“I’d ALWAYS pick up Mother and Father’s Day shifts just so I could tell my tables both my parents passed away and I work those holidays to distract myself…” a third admitted. “They’re both alive and well.”
“I wore a wrist brace all the time lmao,” a fourth revealed. “Didn’t need one, but got way more tips when I did.”
And a fifth shared, “I used to tell people I was pregnant and going through school to get my GED and it worked every time.”
@badwitch1126 I forgave myself for the last one a decade ago🤭 And for those saying “just give good service” you have obviously never worked in the industry💀💀💀
Server Secures A $170 Tip After Elaborate Lie
Server Dean Redmonds (@deanredmonds) is another example of a server who fabricated someone having a health crisis to cover their own tracks.
In a viral video, he explained how, for one table, the order ticket never made it to the kitchen. But rather than owning up to it, he had a different approach. “I think the normal thing to do is lie,” he said.
Redmonds then told the table that one of the kitchen staff had an allergic reaction. By doing this, he used the fact that one customer had a nut allergy to his advantage.
According to him, one woman told him, “‘You should not be working right now.'”
Redmonds replied, “He was my friend. I just don’t want to abandon the staff right now.”
“They tipped me an extra $170 on top of their bill and literally sobbed over their food when it came out,” he added.