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

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If you've ever worked in the hospitality industry, you'll know how heavily much table staff rely on tips.

A good or bad tip can make or break someone's shift - on average in the US it should be 15-20% of what the meal cost, but not everyone abides by it.

In an attempt to help, a TikTok creator has revealed a 'real life Jedi' psychology tip that he claims can almost double those tips.

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

He explained that the sneaky hack is used by the FBI 'all the time'.

A TikTok creator has revealed a 'real life Jedi' psychology tip that will supposedly almost double your tips

The creator said 'If you're a waiter or know someone in the service industry, then you're going to want to know about this psychology hack.

'Psychology hacks are an art form worth being mastered, we are all social creatures.

'A waitress wanted to know what psychology trick would give her better tips? To find this out she tested positive reinforcement vs mirroring.'

First, she tested positive reinforcement - after a group orders, you reply with things like 'great choice,' 'no problem' and 'coming right up''.

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

Dillon explained  that to test mirroring, she would simply repeat back the order word for word:

'The results showed that the average tip the waitress received for mirroring was 70% more, nearly doubling her tips.

'In fact, the FBI uses this all the time and it works so well that they refer to it as a 'real life Jedi mind trick.

'By repeating back what someone says, you trigger their biological need to connect. You trigger trust, a sense of security, and you make them want to built a good relationship with you.'

The TikToker claims 'The results showed that the average tip the waitress received for mirroring was 70% more, nearly doubling her tips'

Commenters were divided on whether the tip actually works, with one person writing 'this is true. the customer feels more confident you're going to get it right and then 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 stated.'

One user shared her own tip, which is to 'compliment anything you can find to like on their person. Maybe even something that they clearly care for or spend a lot of time/money on. The results are almost unbelievable.'

Someone else believes mirroring works but only because it makes you a better server: 'Mirroring tips were more bc when you mirror you are more likely to get the order right. Therefore make more tips for not fudging up'.

Another advised 'also calling someone by their name helps to, its like music to our ears to hear our name.'