Do you wander why you make less in tips than people who don’t work as hard? You know what I mean. You may be faster, nicer, and more productive at your job, but when you go to pick up your tip, either literally, or compared to others, you are getting stiffed. First off, keep being better at your job. Don’t get lazy. The fact is that the more productive you are, the better you will be. Please note that I used the word ‘productive’. Many people confuse hard work with productive work. There is a very real difference. But even your productivity is not always what determines what you will make in tips.

The standard advice for making great tips is something like this. Be overly friendly to everybody. Love your work. Be enthusiastic about your job. Be goofy. Compliment everybody you see and try to make small talk.

This is the standard advice. This advice may be decent, but when it comes to putting more money in your pocket, forget it. Here are the facts. Not everybody wants you to be bubbly and talkative. Some people just want a meal or a drink, and would rather be left alone. You don’t have to enjoy the physical act of serving a hamburger to make good money at it (as interesting as it may be). Goofy people are annoying to most adults. Not everybody wants to be schmoozed with an empty compliment. In fact, the less phony and the more genuine you are, the more people will tip you (do not take this as an excuse to be a jerk though. That only works on a small percentage of customers).

So how do you make better tips? First, let me shoot down some myths about making great tips.

You have to be good looking.
You have to be talkative.
You have to be a hustler.
You have to be a flirt.
You have to be rude.
You have to be somebody you’re not.

You may think that you have to be these things, but you don’t. I have seen people with no personality, who say nothing at all, make a killing! They are ugly, uninteresting, and genuinely boring people. But they do have the only thing going for them that they need. They have the proper mindset to make money.

And that is the only thing that you need, the proper mindset. What are you intentions when you go to work? Are you there to make friends? Are you there to get mad at your co-workers? Are you there for recognition of your skills? If you are there for any of those things, great. Keep doing what you’re doing. But know that you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. But most people are there to make money.

Now most people say that this is a no-brainer, but I am shocked by how often people look to get stiffed before they even see a customer. They love the drama. And more often than not, if you have that mindset, getting stiffed becomes self-fulfilling. So if you want a bad beat story, go get an hourly job, go play poker, or go cry to your dog. But don’t keep a job that depends on tipping. And brace yourself here. You will probably get stiffed again at some point in your job. Are you going to let that ruin the potential of the next good tip from the next customer?

In part 2, I offer actual on the job tips to make more money.