I'm pretty cool. I worked for three whole hours in the show shack and made. . . wait for it. . . thirteen dollars and seventy-nine cents in tips. OH YEAH! I've perfected the art of getting tipped.
There are many kinds of customers, and you have to treat one a little differently in order to get that extra quarter, or even a dollar out of them. (Every penny counts! If you get 25 cents from every person, think about how much that adds up to at closing.)
The Mother: These are the ladies who look like they need a nice, relaxing the day at the spa. Manicures anyone?? There are 2-9 little children running around asking for bubble gum, cotton candy, tigers blood, or wedding cake (they're hardly creative when it comes to flavor choices). When The Mother first approaches the window, smile and wave to the gaggle of children pulling her arm. Then flatter the kids. Tell the little girl you love her puppy dog slippers she is wearing, compliment the girl who obviously got into The Mother's make up and tell her the burgundy smeared lipstick is "so gorgeous! You look like a movie star!) Moms like it when the kids are happy, and you don't act totally bummed out by having to make forty-five kiddie snow cones.
The Father: Men are so much more likely to tip than women. I don't know what it is. Maybe we're too stingy to part with our shoe allowance to tip the poor college student stuck in a box, shaving ice for minimum wage. But, if The Father comes, he only has 1-2 kids, normally, or he's with his wife. Getting tips from these middle-aged, graying men is a snap. Usually they don't want to carry change around, so pray they get some quarters back (or that you run out of ones and have to give them quarters). Repeat steps from The Mother for similar results.
The Kids: If you see two little kids run up all by themselves, face it, you're not getting a tip.
Working Men: The faster the snow cone is made, the more money is going in your pocket. But, make sure it's syrup-ed to perfection, don't get stingy on them. That's just asking for a disaster to happen. Also, always ask if they have a punch card. If they don't, punch your little heart out and tell them there's some extras for waiting so long, working so hard, being patient, ect.
Date Night: I'm still working on this one. Usually the pay-ee is too absorbed in the date to even think about sharing a morsel of their moolah with the poor college student who has to pay for gas in her gas-guzzling beast.
College Guys: These are my favorite. They'll try to flirt with you, and if you're nice back to them, they'll usually leave you a tip. Sometimes they might want you to sing "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat" though, that's when you just say, "Do you want my number instead?" (This did not happen. Yet. The singing did. The number giving was an afterthought with Haylie.)
Teens: "BUUUUT ALLLLL my friends do it Mom. . ." The same goes for tippage. To really bring in the big buck with a big group of teens, you need to get the first person to order to tip. Once everyone else see that they're going to too. It's a psychological thing. The person in front of me is so nice/rich/popular/smart they gave that awesome/cool/spunky/fun girl a tip, I'm going to too! Getting the first person to tip is pretty simple. If it's a girl compliment her, earrings are a good thing to start with. It's not as creepy as her pants, and not as generic as her shirt. Shoes are good too. Guys, are just guys, smile, laugh, joke around, there's a good fifty cents in your pocket from the first guy. Maybe more if he wants to impress his "bros."
The Drunk: You're getting tipped no matter what. It's going to be pretty big too.
EFY Counselors: You're not getting tipped, and you'll stay 45 minutes later than you should.
I've got it all figured out. Thank you Aloha Snow!
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