A friend of mine worked in nice restaurant for several years in her early twenties. She said they she almost never went home with less than $300 in tips but her fellow waitresses usually made less than $50 -$100.

So what was the difference?

We got to talking about it and she said that the waitresses that flirted with the affluent men often got left a very tiny tip whereas she would act all business like and not flirt with them and get left a huge tip. We delved into the psychology of this a bit and it's a really interesting observation when you think about it and almost couter-intutive until you really think about it deeply.

She also said that keeping the drink glasses full and coffee cups full was a big deal. There was a co-worker of hers who never seemed to fill the coffee cup until the patron asked for it, plus she was one of the most flirtaceous. Guess what her average tips were? About $20 - $50 a night and this was on the same nights my friend would make more than $300.

For me personally, one of my pet peeves in a restaurant is when I feel like I am being rushed. When they want to take my plate while I'm still nibbling or when they come and leave the check and then disappear as if to say, "You're done, get out, no more service for you." I tend to leave a much lower tip under these circumstances.

Another thing that my friend mentioned was always keep a happy face even when you're not waiting on the table. The patrons often do observe their waitress even when they are not at their table. They watch how they interact with other people too. For me, if I see a waitress be rude or cross with an elderly person, I do not feel very generous at tip time.