Making Tips Without a Job

By Steve Gillman

A friend once told me how she made tips serving drinks even though she didn't have a job. Babs (not her real name) said she and her sisters were at a busy tavern and they were almost out of money. Noticing that there were no servers on the floor and customers had to go to the bar to get a drink, she hatched a plan.

First she got all the cash that the three of them had, Then she walked up to a table full of men and, pretending to be their waitress, asked them what they wanted to drink. She ordered the drinks at the bar, borrowed a tray and served the men, who paid her and tipped her several dollars.Within the next thirty minutes she had made enough cash to keep herself and her sisters drinking for the rest of the evening.

Now if you want to do this, I should warn you about a few potential problems. First, if there is wait staff on duty and you try this, you're going to get some waitresses very angry. Second, Babs was a pretty woman who smiled easily--don't think you'll do as well if you are less-than-friendly. And the owners of most places will not appreciate the help--even if they need it. Also, most bartenders today can only give you one or two drinks at a time, making this a slower process, and a soon as they see you returning so quickly, they'll know something is up. Finally, the whole scheme might be illegal, since you are not on payroll and are therefore not serving the alcohol under the license of the establishment.

So while we cannot recommend this practice, it might work in some places, especially if you order from several different bartenders. In fact, if the bartenders and wait staff are overwhelmed with business, they may even let you volunteer to help out for tips only.

How Much Can You Make?

Babs made about $20 in thirty minutes, but making tips is about your personality, appearance, the nature of the bar and crowd, how fast you move and how busy the place is. In other words, there is no way to say what you can make, but it will be quick cash in any case.

Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities | Tips

You could try to apply this idea to other settings. I know a bartender who offered to serve drinks at a friend's party recently, and he put out a tip jar. He made $50 while drinking for free. You might do this at an outdoor concert as well, since these often have beer for sale but don't have wait staff. Once again, though, both of these examples are cases where you might be breaking the law, so we offer them only as interesting reading.

Qualifications / Requirements

The only qualification might be the courage to walk up to strangers and pretend you are their waiter, but in addition it is recommended that you check on the legality of doing this and/or get put on payroll as a temporary employee.

First Steps

Find a bar and give it a try (but to be safe, ask for permission first).

Resources

http://www.make-better-tips.com - Information on how wait staff can make more tips.

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