Search engine results are one of the most amusing parts of writing a blog. I get to see what people are searching for that lands them on this page. Almost every day someone lands on this page looking for sales techniques. Upon closer examination I am seeing a trend of the phrasing of the searches. “How to get servers to sell” and similar phrasing lead me to believe that a lot of these searches are from managers attempting to get their servers to sell more.
For the sake of managers reading this blog, I will share my first rule of restaurant management.
Read the full post at Tips for Improving Your Tips
Tips on improving your Tips 
Jun 16, 2010 @ 17:00:08
“The more you try to manage them, the more of their energy will be diverted from the guests and towards defying you.”
HAHAHA! Truer words were never spoken.
The standard “incentive” is “higher ticket prices mean higher tips for you”. That’s true on meal and beverage items, but I find it is NOT true for desserts. I absolutely HATE selling desserts since they are time consuming to make (don’t even get me started on ice cream desserts) and at best they will increase my tip by less than a dollar. NOT WORTH MY TIME!
Jun 17, 2010 @ 17:36:46
Better watch it or I will be tempted to write up a post on the reason to sell desserts. Well I will probably write it anyway, but I will blame it on you when I do. The idea of selling a dessert is not the percent you make off the dessert, but the mental shift that occurs when people order a dessert. Dessert turns a meal into an experience. Making the exception to buy a dessert will often lead to making the exception in the normal tip ceiling. In other words when people loosen their belts they also loosen their wallets.
Jun 18, 2010 @ 15:57:16
It will have to be a very convincing post. Remember, in the summer I am a table turning monster. Desserts slow me down and they keep people at a table longer than I’d like.
In Defense of Selling as a Server (Part Three) « Tips on improving your Tips
Jun 18, 2010 @ 15:22:00
Jun 19, 2010 @ 12:28:44
As a customer, I agree that managers should sell something first. It’s the difference between a flat “Our special is the fish” and a sincere “The special is this great citrus-seared swordfish, oh, it’s sooo good!” It’s pretty obvious when a server actually thinks a dish is good.
How Money Motivates « Tips on improving your Tips
Jul 03, 2010 @ 14:24:41
What Motivates Servers: Autonomy « Tips on improving your Tips
Jul 04, 2010 @ 18:10:35
The Index « Tips on improving your Tips
Jul 29, 2010 @ 13:02:00
The Lost Art Of Suggestive Selling « Tips on improving your Tips
Nov 18, 2010 @ 09:56:55