A restaurant server recently discovered an unusual trick for getting better tips—tell customers she has kids, even though she doesn’t.
The server, Deirdre (@ddeirdreee), shared the tip with her TikTok followers in a recent video. She recommends the white lie for fellow service workers, too.
In the video, Deirdre explains that she works at a brunch restaurant that attracts a lot of families with children. Recently, she was serving a table with a couple of messy kids and their apologetic parents.
“For some reason, instead of saying my usual, ‘Oh, that’s OK, I’ll clean it up,’ I said, ‘That’s OK, I have little ones at home,'” the TikToker says.
The customers asked how old Deirdre’s kids were, and she lied, saying she had a two-year-old and a four-year-old. She made up that they were “really cute” but “don’t understand that you can’t be pouring stuff all over the place.” When the customers left the restaurant, they left Deirdre “such a good tip,” she says.
“And I did that all day, and my tips were so much higher than they usually are,” Deirdre says in the video. “For the record, I’m 22, and I do not have children.”
@ddeirdreee doing what i can💯💸 #fyp #foryou #server #serviceindustry #waitress #losangeles #serverhack ♬ original sound – deirdre🕊
The TikToker isn’t the only server lying to make better tips—other service workers commented that they do the same thing.
“I lie about anything that’s convenient at the time. Serving is [sparkle emoji] performance art [sparkle emoji],” one viewer wrote. In reply to the comment, Deirdre said, “there’s a reason so many actors were servers before they got famous.”
“When I was a server I lied and said I was a single mom, 2 kids, and a college student.. best tips ever,” another user commented.
Someone else wrote, “I used to do this when I was a nanny so I had pics of the kids handy if the guest ever asked (permission of the parents ofc).
Some users seemed cautious about using the hack too often.
“Until they ask to see pictures of them,” one user said.
“Definitely try to keep the storyline consistent just in case [laughing emoji],” another wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Deirdre via TikTok comment.
