"How To Get Bigger Tips..."

Gregory Morrow said:

chicagotribune.comchiOpen ↗
0404250508apr25,1,1369042.story?coll=chi-travel-hed

Server tips: How to get more out of customers

By Jane Engle

April 25, 2004

Your waitress tells jokes, touches you on the shoulder and
draws pictures on the check. Does she have a thing for
you? Think again. She may be angling for a bigger tip,
using a list of 14 suggestions from a researcher's new
booklet.

"Mega Tips: Scientifically Tested Techniques to Increase
Your Tips," by Michael Lynn, an associate professor at the
Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in
Ithaca, N.Y., is based on more than 25 years of studies by
Lynn and others.

Among other tactics Lynn suggests to servers is to
recommend higher-priced entrees, wear unusual clothing,
introduce themselves, call customers by name and even
offer sunny weather forecasts.

You may be wondering where service fits in. It doesn't.
Which is the most surprising conclusion in Lynn's work. If
you thought you were, at most, mildly confused about how
much to leave servers, read on. It turns out that we don't
know our own minds, much less the mores of tipping.

People typically say they tip to reward good service, Lynn
said, which seems logical, "but it's obviously not true."

In his studies, he asked diners to rate their server's
performance based on attentiveness, knowledge,
promptness and other measures. Then he tallied the tips.
The two numbers had little correlation. Service quality
accounted for only 4 percent of the differences in
diners' tips, he found.

What does boost tips, he said, are higher meal tabs and
servers' actions that help them connect with their
patrons.

Research shows the bill's total accounts for about 70
percent of the differences in tips--hardly a shock, given
that most people tip on a percentage of the check; the
usual recommendation is 15 to 20 percent. That's one
reason savvy servers prompt diners to choose pricier
entrees and extras such as appetizers, after-dinner drinks
and desserts.

Such suggestive selling works well during slow times.
During busy times, the best strategy is "get 'em their
entrees, get 'em out," said Lynn, who worked his way
through college as a bartender, busboy and waiter. Better
to have a table of four wolfing down $20 rib-eye steaks
than dawdling over $2 coffees and $5 slices of cake. No
wonder some diners feel they're being rushed out the door
on Saturday nights. They are.

But it's the customer-server rapport that's really
revealing. What we're buying with restaurant tips is not
service, Lynn contended, but social approval from our
server and tablemates. The motive: "I don't want them to
think I'm a cheapskate and a bad guy."

If we feel a personal connection with a server, we care
more about what she or he thinks of us. We're willing to
pay more for that approval, so we tip more, Lynn said.

Many of Lynn's tactics will sound familiar to frequent
diners. His advice to servers:

- Wear something unusual. "This will help customers
perceive you as an individual rather than a faceless
member of the staff." In one study, waitresses who wore
flowers in their hair earned 17 percent more in tips
than those who didn't.

- Introduce yourself by name. This can "make you seem
friendly and polite and make the customer feel more
empathy for you." In a study at a Charlie Brown's
restaurant in Southern California, taking this step
increased average tips from $3.49 to $5.44.

- Squat next to the table. This makes you more equal to
the customer, brings your face closer and improves eye
contact. In one study, this action earned about $1 more
per table in tips.

- Touch your customers, preferably on the shoulder (which
feels less private than other zones) for a second or
two. Effect on tips: As much as 17 percent was left, up
from 12 percent. Diners may flinch at this idea, but
that's because "people don't know what they like," Lynn
said. They may not even notice they're being touched,
but no matter, they'll still tip more.

- Repeat customers' orders, word for word. This increases
others' "liking for and interpersonal closeness to the
imitator." In a Netherlands study, it also doubled tips.

- Call customers by name. It's flattering--and profitable,
earning 10 percent more in tips at several Kansas
restaurants studied.

- Draw on the check. A "smiley face" personalizes the
transaction and improves customers' mood. In a study at
a Philadelphia restaurant, this increased waitresses'
tips by nearly 18 percent but, oddly, had no significant
effect on waiters' tips.

- Smile. At a Seattle cocktail lounge, a waitress earned
140 percent more in tips when she sported a "large, open-
mouthed smile."

- Write "thank you" on checks. This may make diners "feel
obligated to earn that gratitude by leaving larger
tips." In one study, the average tip went up from 16 to
18 percent on a "thank you."

- Give customers candy. "People generally feel obligated
to reciprocate when they receive gifts from others."
Effect on tips in one study: 23 percent instead of 19
percent.

My favorite suggestion is to write a favorable weather
forecast on the check.

"Sunny weather puts people in a good mood, and people in a
good mood leave bigger tips than those in a bad mood,"
Lynn's booklet says. The payoff in one study: 19 percent
more in tips.

Manipulative?

"Of course," Lynn said.

He acknowledged that there are insincere servers "who
hate a customer's guts, and yet they smile, write `thank
you' on the check and `come again.'" But more common, he
said, are servers who like their customers and want to
please them but aren't sure how. That's where his
pointers come in.

Diners who don't care to become best friends with their
server or who cringe at being touched by a stranger may
find Lynn's work dispiriting because it looks as though
"Hi, I'm Mike, I'll be your waiter" isn't going away soon--
at least not at the middle-brow eateries that Lynn's
studies focus on.

Lynn, by the way, takes his own advice. He tips 15 to 20
percent or even 40 percent if he's at a regular lunch
spot, he said.

"It really depends," he added, "on how much I like the
server."

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------

I don't know about anyone else, but I tip 20% for good
service, a little more for excellent service, 15% for fair
service, 10% poor service and nothing or maybe a dime for
bad service.

Things that may decrease the tip:
- Cold plates or coffee cup,
- Asking me if I need anything else or asking how the meal
is,
- The above counts double if the waitperson interupts my
conversation to ask and will result in a tip of no
more than 15%
- Trying to upgrade me to more expensive wine or entree
- Cold food or entrees ariving at different times.
- Kitchen gossip unless I specifically ask for it.

Things that may increase the tip:
- I normally ask for a small portion and actually getting
it. this surprisingly seems to be very dificult because it
rarely happens.
- Calling me by name, which I expect the waitperson to know
if i have been in the restaurant more than a few times.
- Steering me away from a bad entree, ie. the fish isn't
fresh, I've had a couple complaints on that tonight, etc.
- Knowing my preferences, particularly in wine without me
having to explain if I come fairly often to that
restaurant. The restaurant that I go to most often keeps
three or four different wines on hand which are not on the
menu, just because I like them.

--
JakeInHartsel

God gave us Cholesterol who am I to refuse his gift?

This sort of thing drives me nuts. I'm sure the studies
are all true. By following around one waitress using
one strategy one day and another strategy the next,
they can discover what yields the most tips from the
majority of customers. I want them to follow me around
as I dine different places and discover what gets the
best tip out of me.

I'm generally polite, and I do tip, but I despise the burden
of having to be intimately friendly and considerate of a
total stranger. I don't want to have to laugh at someone's
jokes. I don't want to learn that someone's name. I want to
order off the menu without knowing what my server thinks I
would like or should eat. I especially hate people I don't
know touching my shoulder. I want the food delivered timely
and hot. I want the server to be around should I need to
catch his/her eye for the check. And that's it. When they
squat by my table, I think they're one step away from
pulling up a chair with me. I want to eat enjoying the
company of the companions I walked in with, not the staff at
the restaurant.

If the server gets that chummy, I put up with it with a
smile. I might object to the shoulder patting, but I won't
say anthing about the other techniques. Still, I tend not to
go back to restaurants where I have a bad time, and I do tip
less over all when the server bothers me.

--Lia

Quoted message said:

If the server gets that chummy, I put up with it with a
smile. I might object to the shoulder patting, but I won't
say anthing about the other techniques. Still, I tend not
to go back to restaurants where I have a bad time, and I do
tip less over all when the server bothers me.

--Lia

You obviously tend to gravtitate towards low class
establishments... perhaps if you'd be willing to pay more
for your dining experience you'd encounter more
professional service.

The typical family chain restaurant where one pays $15-$20
for a full dinner and is served by part timer college
students is not the scenario where one encounters
professional wait staff, let alone professionally prepared
food... you need to spend a few more bucks for your entire
dinner than the price of an appetizer at a 3 star eatery
before you earn the right to [censored]. You sound like the
typical all you can eat w/salad bar clientele, and I'm being
generous... more likely you dine at Wendys.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED
NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life would be
devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Sheldon said:

The typical family chain restaurant where one pays $15-
$20 for a full dinner and is served by part timer college
students is not the scenario where one encounters
professional wait staff, let alone professionally
prepared food...

I was under the impression that the survey was conducted at
those "typical family chain" restaurants. In fact, it
seemed to me that the entire survey could have been done at
a TGI Friday's.

Comparing those establishments to fine restaurants is
comparing apples and oranges. But college students can
make EXCELLENT wait staff. I recently dined at Farallon in
San Francisco, and was hugely impressed with our waitress.
She didn't squat or touch anybody's shoulder, and she wore
the same outfits as every other person on the wait staff.
But her recommendations for our meal were PERFECT; the
items which I got and which my dinner companion got were
well-matched so that we could share. The wines she
recommended matched the food excellently as well as
matching our tastes in wine. She was attentive without
hovering and friendly without being chummy. Our food
arrived at the appropriate time and the appropriate
temperature. When I called the restaurant for another
reservation and asked to be seated in her section, I
learned that she's a full-time college student.

Here's another example: At the Marine Room in San Diego, my
dinner companion (the same one, as it happens) flagged down
a waiter to ask where the Ladies' Room was. He started to
give directions, but saw the uncertain look on her face,
instantly broke off his directions and said, "Right this
way, ma'am." Then he proceeded to personally guide her to
the Ladies' Room. THAT'S good service, and it's not
something you see at Applebee's or its ilk. And that's the
kind of service which gets a good tip from me.

Bob

[email hidden] (Gregory Morrow) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Among other tactics Lynn suggests to servers is to
recommend higher-priced entrees, wear unusual clothing,
introduce themselves, call customers by name and even
offer sunny weather forecasts.

It reminds me of the Jennifer Aniston character in Office
Space, and her manager badgering her about her "flair".

--

Il faudrait que tout le monde réclame Auprès des autorités
Une loi contre toute notre indifférence Que personne ne
soit oublié

Carla Bruni, «Tout le monde»

Michel Boucher said:

[email hidden] (Gregory Morrow) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Among other tactics Lynn suggests to servers is to
recommend higher-priced entrees, wear unusual clothing,
introduce themselves, call customers by name and even
offer sunny weather forecasts.

It reminds me of the Jennifer Aniston character in Office
Space, and her manager badgering her about her "flair".

That was so funny! More buttons on your shirt! More
"flair". Silly.

Michel Boucher said:

It reminds me of the Jennifer Aniston character in Office
Space, and her manager badgering her about her "flair".

I has a nice treat nice light. My mother took my wife out to
dinner last night. She took us to a recently opened branch
of a chain. While lacking the "flair", our waiter made a
point of introducing himself to us. His name was Jamie, and
he had the gift of gab. He took our orders, brought our
wine, and for the next hour I was wonder where the F&^k is
Jamie with our food?

Gregory Morrow said:

chicagotribune.comchiOpen ↗
0404250508apr25,1,1369042.story?coll=chi-travel-hed

Server tips: How to get more out of customers

By Jane Engle

April 25, 2004

Your waitress tells jokes, touches you on the shoulder and
draws pictures on the check. Does she have a thing for
you? Think again. She may be angling for a bigger tip,
using a list of 14 suggestions from a researcher's new
booklet.

That's all very interesting. However, any server using those
suggestions usually gets less of a tip from me.

So: I don't want the server touching me or calling me by
name unless I'm a regular or introducing themselves or
trying to get me to spend more than I choose and I don't
give a toss if there is a 'smiley' (that's incredibly
unprofessional) or a 'thank you' written on the bill.

What earns a server more gratuity from me is: genuinely
professional service such as getting the order correct the
first time, clearing the table properly if there are no
bussers and a professional demeanor, rather than fakey
smiling and being overly 'familiar'.

"PENMART01" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If the server gets that chummy, I put up with it with a
smile. I might object to the shoulder patting, but I
won't say anthing about the other techniques. Still, I
tend not to go back to restaurants where I have a bad
time, and I do tip less over all when the server
bothers me.

--Lia

You obviously tend to gravtitate towards low class
establishments...

perhaps if

Quoted message said:

you'd be willing to pay more for your dining experience
you'd encounter

more

Quoted message said:

professional service.

The typical family chain restaurant where one pays $15-$20
for a full

dinner

Quoted message said:

and is served by part timer college students is not the
scenario where one encounters professional wait staff, let
alone professionally prepared

food...

Quoted message said:

you need to spend a few more bucks for your entire dinner
than the price

of an

Quoted message said:

appetizer at a 3 star eatery before you earn the right to
[censored]. You

sound

Quoted message said:

like the typical all you can eat w/salad bar clientele,
and I'm being generous... more likely you dine at Wendys.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move
UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon ```````````` "Life
would be devoid of all meaning were it without
tribulation."

Some of your 'higher quality' restaurants don't bother
wondering if you will tip the wait staff, they automatically
add it in, under the assumption you are dining at their
excellent facility, you received excellent service and
include in your final tally a tip commesurate as such. Le
Bec Fin in Philly has done this for years.

Just because you go all out for a meal doesn't mean you
can't have a sucky waitperson. The tip should be up to your
discretion. I have walked out of a restaurant without
leaving a tip because the service was gawd awful. The
maitre'd followed us out to 'remind us' we forgot to tip.
She was 'reminded' that a tip isn't mandatory and if she
really wanted a 'tip for the waiter' it would be to find
another profession.

=Ginny

Bob said:

I was under the impression that the survey was conducted
at those "typical family chain" restaurants. In fact, it
seemed to me that the entire survey could have been done
at a TGI Friday's.

Comparing those establishments to fine restaurants is
comparing apples and oranges.

<dope slapping own forehead> Of course! Usually whenever I
read about a survey or study, I'm immediately suspicious
about the circumstances. I want to know exactly how the
questions were worded, the order of the questions, how the
participants were selected, etc. With this one, I skipped
over the procedural stuff and assumed the study was done in
a broad range of restaurants. I'd love a real study that
gathered data on what techniques work in which types of
restaurants from the TGIF style to the more expensive
French. I'd also look at tipping habits amongst groups of
diners. Maybe effective techniques differ depending if the
diners are at a business lunch or with their families or
young people on dates.

--Lia

Arri London said:

That's all very interesting. However, any server using
those suggestions usually gets less of a tip from me.

If a server ever touched me intentionally I would tear off
his arm and bludgeon him with it.

(I value my personal space)

--
John Gaughan johngaughan.netjohngaughan.netOpen ↗
[email hidden]

Arri London said:

Gregory Morrow said:

chicagotribune.comchiOpen ↗
0404250508apr25,1,1369042.story?coll=chi-travel-hed

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Server tips: How to get more out of customers

By Jane Engle

April 25, 2004

Your waitress tells jokes, touches you on the shoulder
and draws pictures on the check. Does she have a thing
for you? Think again. She may be angling for a bigger
tip, using a list of 14 suggestions from a researcher's
new booklet.

That's all very interesting. However, any server using
those suggestions usually gets less of a tip from me.

So: I don't want the server touching me or calling me by
name unless I'm a regular or introducing themselves or
trying to get me to spend more than I choose and I don't
give a toss if there is a 'smiley' (that's incredibly
unprofessional) or a 'thank you' written on the bill.

What earns a server more gratuity from me is: genuinely
professional service such as getting the order correct the
first time, clearing the table properly if there are no
bussers and a professional demeanor, rather than fakey
smiling and being overly 'familiar'.

Drives me nuts... I remember a time when the server sat down
in the booth next to me to take our order. She said "My feet
are sore, mind if I sit?" Uh, excuse me, yes, I mind if you
sit! I've been a server and would *never* have thought of
doing such a thing, let alone telling a customer my feet
were sore.

Worked with another server who didn't last long - she was
bumming cigarettes from customers at her table and telling
them she'd run out of Xanax. Hello? You're not their
friends, you are there to bring them food and drink.

OTOH, I was often asked to tell the 'hush puppy' story.
Seems word got around.

Jill

Jill said:

I was often asked to tell the 'hush puppy' story. Seems
word got around.

Well? What's the story?

Bob

Bob said:

Jill said:

I was often asked to tell the 'hush puppy' story. Seems
word got around.

Well? What's the story?

Bob

Legend has it, a couple hundred years ago now, there were
fisherman out along the banks of the Mississippi River. They
had their dogs with them, as all good old boys are wont to
do. In the evening, they'd fry up the catch there by the
river, coating the fish in a cornmeal batter. The dogs would
howl and cry, wanting some of the fish. So the fishermen
fried lumps of cornmeal batter and tossed it to the dogs,
calling "Hush, puppies!"

Note: I never said it was a particularly good story LOL

Quoted message said:

Gregory Morrow said:

What does boost tips, he said, are higher meal tabs

Well, duh! I'm sure the vast majority tip a percentage
of the total bill. The only time this doesn't happen is
on small orders like a just a beverage where people
probably tip a minumum amount which is higher than the
percentage would be.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Such suggestive selling works well during slow times.
During busy times, the best strategy is "get 'em their
entrees, get 'em out," said Lynn, who worked his way
through college as a bartender, busboy and waiter.
Better to have a table of four wolfing down $20 rib-eye
steaks than dawdling over $2 coffees and $5 slices of
cake. No wonder some diners feel they're being rushed
out the door on Saturday nights. They are.

And when that happens to me the tip goes down.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But it's the customer-server rapport that's really
revealing. What we're buying with restaurant tips is not
service, Lynn contended, but social approval from our
server and tablemates. The motive: "I don't want them to
think I'm a cheapskate and a bad guy."

I think that is more a guy thing. I don't think women care
what the others think.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Introduce yourself by name. This can "make you seem
friendly and polite and make the customer feel more
empathy for you."

Not me. I hate it. Although I usually don't penalize them
for it because I attribute it to management making them do
it. If I thought they were doing it on their own, I'd dock
them for it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Squat next to the table. This makes you more equal to
the customer, brings your face closer and improves eye
contact. In one study, this action earned about $1
more per table in tips.

This is so obnoxious it's not even funny. Do not squat next
to my table. Tip going down as you do.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Touch your customers, preferably on the shoulder
(which feels less private than other zones) for a
second or two. Effect on tips: As much as 17 percent
was left, up from 12 percent. Diners may flinch at
this idea, but that's because "people don't know what
they like," Lynn said. They may not even notice
they're being touched, but no matter, they'll still
tip more.

Don't you dare touch me! This might work with a female
waiter touching a male diner's shoulder but I don't want a
male or a female waiter touching my shoulder, even if the
male waiter is a hunk. And don't even think about putting
the napkin on my lap. I'll smack you silly.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Repeat customers' orders, word for word. This
increases others' "liking for and interpersonal
closeness to the imitator." In a Netherlands study, it
also doubled tips.

Duh. I should hope so. And get it right when you come back
with the food and don't ask who gets what. You should know!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Call customers by name. It's flattering--and
profitable, earning 10 percent more in tips at several
Kansas restaurants studied.

It's not flattering, it's obnoxious. For one thing a waiter
I don't know has no business calling me by my first name and
if they use my last name (which they would only know from my
credit card so they wouldn't be able to use it at all until
the next time I came and if I happened to get the same
waiter and that waiter could remember it from the last time
I was there) they don't know which honorific I prefer. As an
older woman I would get either Mrs. or
Ms., both of which I hate as I'm not a Mrs and I just don't
like the sound of Ms. They don't need to know my name.
If I want them to know it I'll introduce myself to them
(not likely).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Draw on the check. A "smiley face" personalizes the
transaction and improves customers' mood. In a study
at a Philadelphia restaurant, this increased
waitresses' tips by nearly 18 percent but, oddly, had
no significant effect on waiters' tips.

Annoying. Will reduce tip in my case.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Smile. At a Seattle cocktail lounge, a waitress earned
140 percent more in tips when she sported a "large,
open-mouthed smile."

Smile, yes, but "open-mouthed"??? What does than mean? I
don't want to see their tonsils. Can't they just smile and
be pleasant without going overboard?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Write "thank you" on checks. This may make diners
"feel obligated to earn that gratitude by leaving
larger tips." In one study, the average tip went up
from 16 to 18 percent on a "thank you."

Thank you, is nice, but it's not going to up my tip. I tip
the same percentage every time unless I reduce it for
egregious behaviors or increase it for special
circumstances.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Give customers candy. "People generally feel obligated
to reciprocate when they receive gifts from others."
Effect on tips in one study: 23 percent instead of 19
percent.

Won't work with me. And besides it's usually some kind of
mint which I don't even like.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My favorite suggestion is to write a favorable weather
forecast on the check.

"Sunny weather puts people in a good mood, and people in
a good mood leave bigger tips than those in a bad mood,"
Lynn's booklet says. The payoff in one study: 19 percent
more in tips.

Manipulative?

Give me a break! Again, when it's obviously a ploy for a
bigger tip, I'm more likely to reduce the tip to the
bare minimum.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Diners who don't care to become best friends with their
server or who cringe at being touched by a stranger may
find Lynn's work dispiriting because it looks as though
"Hi, I'm Mike, I'll be your waiter" isn't going away soon--
at least not at the middle-brow eateries that Lynn's
studies focus on.

Almost makes me glad I can't afford to eat out all that
often. ;-)

Okay - what I want in a waiter is

1. Prompt, efficient, knowledgeable service. (But this
doesn't mean stopping by every five minutes to ask if
everything is all right. I means taking the order
promptly - not making me wait all night to place my
order - and getting the order right, knowing about the
food on the menu so they can answer any questions I have
about ingredients, etc., and serving the food without
having to ask who gets what dish.

2. Don't tell me your name and don't call me by mine.

3. Be pleasant, not surly, but don't squat by my table or
tell me jokes or write weather reports on my check or
draw smiley faces or anything else on my check or smile
so I can see your tonsils.

4. Never, ever, ask me if I want change when I give you the
money to pay my check. This will mean no tip whatsoever!
You may think you're saving me the trouble of figuring
out the tip or you may think if you suggest it I'll give
you all the change even if it's way more than I normally
tip but you'd be very, very wrong. It's very
presumptuous of a waiter to do this and can lead to no
tip at all.

Kate, the tip grinch

--
Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead
already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey
really *is* what it's all about? "][email hidden]

Virginia Tadrzynski said:

Just because you go all out for a meal doesn't mean you
can't have a sucky waitperson. The tip should be up to
your discretion. I have walked out of a restaurant without
leaving a tip because the service was gawd awful. The
maitre'd followed us out to 'remind us' we forgot to tip.
She was 'reminded' that a tip isn't mandatory and if she
really wanted a 'tip for the waiter' it would be to find
another profession.

=Ginny

Beautiful! I love it. I totally agree with you. And when
I have been to restaurants that include the tip for you
the service has not been particularly good in my
experience. Kate

--
Kate Connally “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead
already.” Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.” What if the hokey pokey
really *is* what it's all about? "][email hidden]

On 2004-04-25, Glenn Jacobs <[email hidden]> wrote:

Here's a tip ...trim your posts!

nb

Jill answered me:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I was often asked to tell the 'hush puppy' story. Seems
word got around.

Well? What's the story?

Legend has it, a couple hundred years ago now, there were
fisherman out along the banks of the Mississippi River.
They had their dogs with them, as all good old boys are
wont to do. In the evening, they'd fry up the catch there
by the river, coating the fish in a cornmeal batter. The
dogs would howl and cry, wanting some of the fish. So the
fishermen fried lumps of cornmeal batter and tossed it to
the dogs, calling "Hush, puppies!"

Note: I never said it was a particularly good story LOL

Oh, THAT story. Having grown up in Florida Cracker Country,
I was already familiar with it. I thought you had a "hush
puppy" story about your days as a server, e.g., accidentally
dumping a bunch of ants into the hush puppy batter or
something similar.

Bob

jmcquown said:

Legend has it, a couple hundred years ago now, there were
fisherman out along the banks of the Mississippi River.
They had their dogs with them, as all good old boys are
wont to do. In the evening, they'd fry up the catch there
by the river, coating the fish in a cornmeal batter. The
dogs would howl and cry, wanting some of the fish. So the
fishermen fried lumps of cornmeal batter and tossed it to
the dogs, calling "Hush, puppies!"

Note: I never said it was a particularly good story LOL

That exact same story is used on the back of the cornmeal
hushpuppy mix I use (rarely).

-sw