Cheesecake Factory server is using psychology on customers – and lo and behold, the big tips keep rolling in

Cheesecake Factory server Wesley Twiggs is absolutely dominating the competition and raking in higher tips by ditching the traditional pen and notepad in favor of memorizing massive food orders using mental imagery. This is the definition of working smarter, not harder, and it’s a strategy any service industry worker can start using today.

Twiggs, who is a TikToker and has been working at the popular chain for four years, recently shared his technique, explaining that it’s the reason he consistently holds the No. 1 sales spot at his location. Servers rely heavily on customer generosity, so having a psychological trick up your sleeve that makes you stand out is a huge advantage.

You might think memorizing 12 separate dessert orders is impossible or just a fancy parlor trick, but it’s actually rooted in powerful psychological principles. This technique is formally known as associative memory, which is the brain’s ability to recall relationships between concepts using visual and verbal information, per Brobible.

Never forget the story that gets tips

Twiggs detailed his approach using a real-life example from a recent shift: a table of 12 people who all decided to order a slice of cheesecake. He didn’t pull out the usual notepad. Instead, he created a wild, funny story right there in his head to keep the dozen disparate orders straight.

He had to remember a truly chaotic list of desserts, including Godiva, Red Velvet, Oreo, Strawberry, White Chocolate, Pumpkin, Chocolate Mousse, Tuxedo, S’mores, and Salted Caramel. To keep those straight, he constructed a visual narrative.

He started by picturing “God (Godiva) dressed in velvet (Red Velvet),” who was rolling an Oreo into a Strawberry field. That’s already a great visual! He continued the saga, explaining that in that strawberry field was Snow White (White Chocolate) singing into a Pumpkin. Then an Oreo flies out of the pumpkin and lands on the antler of a moose (Chocolate Mousse). The moose eats a strawberry and gets some of it on his tuxedo before sitting down to roast some S’mores and then adding Salted Caramel on top.

To master this technique, Twiggs advises anyone wanting to try this to take the menu home and start creating preset images for every single item. This way, you can quickly associate those images and create a new story on the fly during a busy shift.

It’s a better way to get a tip than to have to participate in mean jokes on customers, but it is hard to do. When you have to deal with rude customers, this may not always be a win, but it is nice to see a good tip.