With the right knowledge, or appearance of knowledge, a waiter can maximize the money he/she earns in an evening.

As Shakespeare would have said (if there were restaurants in the 1600's) "the Restaurant is a stage!" That means you, the waiter, must be an actor.

A talented waiter is a keen observer and a bit of a pysho-analyst. In order to serve each individual customer in way that will guarantee a large tip, you must first realize how does this particular customer want to be served and "act" accordingly. Contrary to what most managers will tell you, Do not treat every customer the same! Let me explain.

Pretend you work in a college town and you are a male waiter. Lets say two college age guys walk in and sit in your section. They are obviously hung over and you overhear them exchanging stories from the party they attended the night before. A few things you must realize. They are in college and poor, and probably have headaches. Please do not kneel down and get into their face and ramble on about your specials or appetizers. You should realize that these guys are not looking to spend a lot of money. In fact the less money they spend will probably equal a bigger tip for you. They may only have 20 bucks between the them so the lower you are able to make their bill the better off you will be. Play the role of a guy who knows what its like to be poor, drunk, and hungry. You will be rewarded.

Later that evening a middle aged couple arrive dressed up, and you over hear they are on the way to a musical. These people are obviously on a date, probably a new couple since they are still dressing up for each other and going out on the town for an expensive evening. Knowing these things gives you a little insight. You know that the guy is obviously trying to impress this woman and show her a good time and vice versa. Selling alcohol would be your first step here. Realizing that the male is the one that will leave the tip, now you must do your best to insure that this guy will leave your restaurant having impressed this women. So complimenting the guys choice in drink selection, or even mentioning that you just took your girlfriend to the same musical and she loved it (regardless of whether or not you even have a girlfriend) would be a start. Play the role of a guy who knows what it takes to complete a great date, and let the girl know her guy is doing a good job (whether he actually is or isn't is of no consequence). Your efforts for making

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