How waiters use ‘Jedi mind trick’ used by the FBI to get you to pay a bigger tip

If you’ve ever worked in the hospitality industry, you know how much table service depends on tips.

A good or bad tip can make or break someone’s service – in the US it should average 15-20% of what the meal costs, but not everyone sticks to it.

In an effort to help, a TikTok creator has revealed a “true Jedi” psychology tip that he claims can almost double those tips.

The video explaining the method by @citizenscientist, aka Dillon Brooks, has over 590,000 views and almost 1,000 comments.

He explained that the sneaky hack is “always” used by the FBI.

The creator said: ‘If you are a waiter or know someone in the service industry, you will want to know about this psychological hack.

‘Psychological hacks are an art form worth mastering, we are all social beings.

‘A waitress wanted to know which psychological trick would get her better tips? To find out, she tested positive reinforcement versus mirroring.’

First, she tested positive reinforcement — after a group places an order, you respond with things like “good choice,” “no problem,” and “come right up.”

The waitress tried this with 30 groups before testing the other option, mirroring.

Dillon explained that to test the mirroring, she simply repeated the sequence word by word:

‘The results showed that the average tip the waitress received for flipping was 70% more, almost doubling her tips.

“In fact, the FBI uses this all the time and it works so well that they call it a ‘real Jedi mind trick.’

‘By repeating what someone says, you activate their biological need to connect. You create trust, a sense of security and you ensure that they want to build a good relationship with you.’

The TikToker claims: ‘The results showed that the average tip the waitress received for mirroring was 70% more, which almost doubled her tips’

Commenters were divided on whether the tip actually works, with one person writing: ‘This is true.’ the customer has more confidence that you are doing well and will reward you for it.’

Another replied: ‘I reward mirroring because I want my order to be correct. It has nothing to do with the reasons you mentioned.”

One user shared her own tip, which was to ‘compliment everything you like about their person. Maybe even something that she clearly spends a lot of time/money on it. The results are almost unbelievable.’

Someone else believes that mirroring works, but only because it makes you a better server: ‘Mirror tips were better. If you mirror, you are more likely to get the correct order. Therefore, provide more tips to avoid spilling.’

Another advised ‘calling someone by their name also helps, it is like music to the ears to hear our name.’