How to earn big tips as a waiter/waitress

I found this article on Ehow, I thought is may be helpful for some students who are currently doing part time job as a waiter/waitress.

1. Step 1

   Introduce yourself by name and welcome the customer. Allow your customers to see you as a person instead of just the entity that brings their food.

2. Step 2

   Smile. This is the most important step to earning bigger tips. Make eye contact and give a genuine smile as often as the situation calls for it. If your smile is fake, your customer will know.

3. Step 3

   Pay special attention to any children at the table. Talk to them, give them crayons and a coloring booklet if you restaurant has those for kids, and allow them to give you their own order. Parent like it when you treat their children like people and not merely an extension of the adults at the table.

4. Step 4

   Check on your table a few minutes after their food arrives. You want to make sure that everything is correct and that there is nothing more they need. Don’t make them flag you down.

5. Step 5

   Bring fresh drinks in fresh glasses. Do not bring drinks that customers can pour into their own cups when their drinks get low. Customers do not appreciate this. It’s lazy.

6. Step 6

   Peek at your tables no matter what you happen to be doing. If your customers do not see happy, go see why. Nothing will get you a bigger tip than showing up at just the right time.

7. Step 7

   Offer fresh drinks to go. This does not mean pouring the old drinks into a to-go cut. Get fresh drinks for everyone. This is also a good time to pick up a few to-go boxes and offer them to your customers.

8. Step 8

   Sign the check. A simple “Thank you, “YOUR NAME”" and a smiley face goes a long way to helping the customer remember you as a person and how good your demeanor and service was.