‘That alone will get you the higher number’: Arizona psychologist tests a sneaky psychology hack on a Scottsdale bartender mid-shift, and it works instantly

An Arizona woman named Samantha Harper (@sam_e_peace), who says she is a psychologist, shared a tip for servers and bartenders to make more money during their shifts. She took herself on a date to a restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she decided to test a psychology hack on a bartender she was interacting with. The hack is simple: say the higher number first when trying to upsell a customer.

While at the restaurant, Harper observed a bartender asking her and another patron about their drink preferences. She told the bartender to say the higher number first when asking about glass sizes. The bartender then asked, “Do you want a 20-ounce glass or a 16-ounce glass of beer?” It worked right away, and the patron chose the larger size.

According to Brobible, Harper said in the TikTok video that she worked in sales before studying psychology and used these same tactics to become the top salesperson in her field. She reached out to the bartender after he mentioned working at the restaurant for “11 years,” and she said he was “really receptive” to the hack.

Anchoring bias and other sales tricks give bartenders and servers a real edge in upselling

The reason this hack works comes down to something called anchoring bias. According to SimplyPsychology, anchoring bias is a mental shortcut where people rely heavily on the first piece of information they hear when making a decision. When the higher number is said first, it becomes the anchor, pulling the customer’s thinking toward that option rather than the smaller one.

Harper’s approach also takes advantage of the primacy effect, where people tend to remember the first item they hear on a list more than the ones that follow. Together, these two psychological effects make saying the higher number first a quietly powerful sales tool. 

Another well-known technique that works on a similar idea is the Sullivan Nod, developed by Tom Sullivan, explains Smart Capital MInd. This involves nodding slightly when a particularly desirable item is mentioned on a list. The nod is meant to be subtle enough not to be obvious, but still visible to the customer. 

According to Sullivan, customers respond to the nod around 65% of the time, buying the suggested item regardless of its price. Arizona has no shortage of interesting stories coming out of its service and hospitality scene, much like the case of an Arizona woman who had a frustrating experience flying Southwest with her family that went viral online.

Other commenters on Harper’s video shared their own upselling tricks. One commenter wrote, “As a bartender when anyone orders a drink with a spirit I was automatically just say “double?” I don’t even mention single. 9/10 they always get the double.” Another person wrote, “I used to say glass or glass and a half. Nobody ever said a glass..” 

This approach works by using an assumption rather than offering a choice, skipping the question of whether the customer wants it at all. Arizona also makes the news for more serious reasons, such as when an Arizona hiker needed emergency airlifting after bee stings left him in critical condition.

Some commenters went even further and suggested removing the choice altogether. If a bartender only tells customers about the larger or more expensive option, it becomes easier to get a yes, since there is nothing cheaper being offered as a comparison. 

Others pointed out that combining these tricks, such as pairing the higher number first with a confident, assumptive tone, can make the upsell feel completely natural to the customer. These small but deliberate changes in how a question is framed can have a surprisingly big impact on what a customer ends up ordering and how much a server takes home at the end of the night.