Vault: The Little Lies Your Server Tells to Get a Bigger Tip

Summary

The Bert Show — “Vault: The Little Lies Your Server Tells to Get a Bigger Tip”

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

---

Overview

This episode of The Bert Show dives into the world of “tip tales”—the little white lies (and sometimes big ones) that servers, entertainers, and other gratuity-based workers tell customers to coax out bigger tips. The hosts share personal stories, invite listeners in similar jobs to spill their secrets, and debate whether these fibs cause harm or are just part of the game.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

- Personal Restaurant Experience Sparks Debate (00:30–03:25)

• The show kicks off with a host recounting a disappointing Saturday night dinner at a crowded restaurant, where the service was particularly bad.
  • Host B: "We had decided... the tip wasn't going to be generous. It was gonna be less than the standard 15%." (01:07)
• The server, sensing trouble, apologizes and claims, "It's only my second night working." Feeling sympathy, the host tips 15% anyway.
• Later, a friend reveals the server has worked there for over a year—making the “new guy” story a clever ploy for mercy and tips.
  • Host B: "He's worked here for a year and a half. He works every Saturday night." (03:19)

- The ‘Sympathy Story’ in Gratuity-Based Jobs (03:26–05:47)

• Hosts note this is a common phenomenon across tip-driven jobs—like cab drivers, who always seem to have a tale of hardship.
  • Host A: "I can't think of the last time I took a cab and the cab driver didn't give me some insight on his life and how he's struggling." (03:40)
• The debate: does telling these stories justify a tip? Or should only exceptional service be rewarded?
  • Host C: "If you keep tipping for crap work, it discourages them from actually doing better." (05:29)
• Hosts and callers admit that, despite poor service, they often still feel compelled to tip, sometimes out of guilt.

- Listener Confessions: Behind the Lies (05:55–10:14)

1. Pretending to Be a Mom on Mother’s Day (05:58–06:53)

• Cassie: Cracker Barrel server admits to showing guests a photo of her friend’s baby on Mother’s Day and claiming it as her own to elicit bigger tips.
  • Cassie: "I take a picture of my best friend's baby... and I tell them that it's mine and I have to work on Mother's Day." (06:08)
  • She confirms: "It works." (06:25)

2. The ‘Dancer in School’ Story (07:01–08:15)

• Megan: Former dancer calls in, stating it's almost universal for dancers to pretend they're putting themselves through college.
  • Megan: "You will not ever hear the truth from a dancer. I used to tell them I was putting myself through school... when I was not in school." (07:05)
  • Host B: "How many dancers are actually in college?" (07:27)
  • Megan: "None... Zero percent." (07:42)

3. The Sob Story at the Hair Salon (08:45–09:20)

• Angie: Used to shampoo hair with her mom, who fabricated hardships to increase tips (e.g., looming car repossession).

4. Bartender/Server Excuses (09:53–10:10)

• Another caller admits to routinely blaming the bartender for late drinks, or pretending to be “in training.”

- Social and Psychological Dynamics (09:20–10:19)

• The hosts note: Anytime there’s time for a small interaction, a story may arise.
  • Host A: "If you're in a gratuity-based job and have any interaction over a minute, that's when you're gonna get hit." (09:01)
• Sympathy works—customers are less likely to under-tip someone they feel sorry for.
  • Host C: “You poor thing.” (09:42)
• The potential for a fake student ID business is jokingly proposed to keep up with all the so-called “students” in adult entertainment.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Host B (on being duped by the server):
  "He's worked here for a year and a half. He works every Saturday night." (03:19)

• Host A (on cabs):
  "Don't ever ask a cab driver how he's doing to be nice... my gut says that they're making some of this up so you get an extra tip." (04:59)

• Cassie (Cracker Barrel server):
  "I take a picture of my best friend's baby... and I tell them that it's mine and I have to work on Mother's Day." (06:08)
  "It works." (06:25)

• Megan (ex-dancer):
  "Dancers are the biggest liars ever. You will not ever hear the truth from a dancer." (07:05)
  "None... Zero percent [are actually in school]." (07:42)

• Host B (about dancers and men):
  "Guys are just really dumb if there's a boob nearby. And that's all it takes." (07:51)

• Host A (on small talk/interaction):
  "If you're in a gratuity-based job and have any interaction over more than a minute, that's when you're gonna get hit." (09:01)

• Host B (joking about a business idea):
  "Fake student IDs to adult entertainers." (10:14)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30–03:25 — Restaurant anecdote and being duped by the “new server” story
• 03:26–05:47 — The tipping/guilt debate and common service industry stories
• 05:58–06:53 — Cassie’s “pretend mom” confession
• 07:01–08:15 — Megan’s “going to school” dancer stories
• 08:45–09:20 — Hair salon hard-luck stories
• 09:53–10:10 — Blaming the bartender/“in training” excuses
• 10:14 — “Fake student ID” business joke

---

Tone and Takeaways

The show maintains its usual breezy, irreverent tone—with lots of jokes, good-natured ribbing, and honesty. The episode illustrates:

• How easily customers can be manipulated by a well-told hard luck story,
• The ubiquity of “sob story” strategies in tip-dependant jobs,
• Most customers, even when aware, still feel compelled to tip out of basic empathy or guilt,
• There's a shrewd, calculated aspect to some of these tales—but also a playful acknowledgment that it’s just part of the restaurant and service culture.

---

If you’ve ever left a bigger tip because of someone’s sob story, this episode will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe look at your server’s tales a touch more skeptically next time.

Transcript

[A]

Tyler redick here from 2311 Racing. Another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chumba. Jump [e-mail]. let's Chumba. No purchase necessary. BTW group void where prohibited by law. CTNC 21 sponsored by Chumba Casino. Support is available 247 with VRBoCare. We're here day or night, ready whenever you need help. Because a great trip starts with the right support.

[B]

The Birch Show. I was out this weekend with Jessica, and we went to a restaurant that had a. Had a bar, and. And there was a long wait. So he had a couple drinks at the bar. And then. So by the time we sat down to eat, we were ready to, you know, put our order in, get our food. It was lit, was late dinner, you know, and then we were ready to move on to the next spot. We just had awful service. I mean, it was packed. It was a Saturday night. And Hooters, right? Yeah. You know, it was a romantic night out, and it was just. It was just. I'd be much more patient with the waitresses at Hooters. That's where you want bad service. Oh, I'm sorry, honey. I had to be there two hours, but things were just moving real slow. And we had decided kind of, you know, privately between, you know, us, that the tip wasn't going to be generous. It was gonna be less than the standard 15%. Because I think I usually err on the side of over tipping, you know, and when you're married to Jessica shops spending, any additional money gets flagged. So she's like, don't over tip. Don't even tip 15%. This is a 10% experience.

[C]

Yeah. Why tip? Well, you got bad service.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I always feel obligated, even if I get bad service.

[C]

Really.

[B]

I know.

[A]

I do too, man. I really struggle with it, and I always end up camping.

[C]

I will. Cause if somebody calls me out on, it's like, well, you sucked as a server.

[B]

I mean, they totally forgot her entree. Like, it was just a tough night, but.

[C]

I know, but. But it has to be extreme for me to have that strong of a stance, because most of the time, even if they're running a little behind, you know, I won't be too hard.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, this was. This would have been one where I think, Bert, you would even had the question, like, they brought my entree, and they brought my entree and my salad at the same time. They didn't bring anything for Jessica. Then when they did bring it, it had the wrong side dish.

[A]

With it just everything, I mean, head to toe goes on.

[B]

Yeah. So I was eating my. They took them forever. Like I. I ordered another beer. It was just. You would have been okay with not, not leaving a great tip. And the server says, as he brings the bill, he's genuinely. He says, guys, I'm really sorry about the bad service tonight. Saturday night. It's only my second night working. I don't know why they put me on such a busy night, but I feel really bad about the terrible service. And I took your salad off or whatever. He adjusted the bill and he said, oh, no, actually he didn't. I had to point that out to him that he screwed up the bill. And when he brought it back, he said, I'm really sorry, this is my second night. I'm just trying to get the, the gist of everything. I said, cool. And I felt bad. So I tipped him.

[A]

New guy, kind of understand, it's a busy night. He got the second night, he's all stressed out, screwing things up.

[B]

So I tipped him 15%, which is standard, right? 15 to 18% or whatever. So I tipped him 15%. And by this point it was late enough that we didn't want to go anywhere else. So we just went back to the bar or the restaurant. And I happened to know one of the people who worked there and had a conversation with her. And she goes, how was your dinner? And I explained to her that dinner was great, but the service was yucky. But it was cool because our waiter was. Was only second night. Our server's second night. And she goes, looks over and goes, it was him. And I go, yeah. And she goes, he's worked here for a year and a half. He works every Saturday night.

[D]

Oh, he got duped.

[A]

Duped, Pwned.

[B]

Yeah. So I brought this up. I was telling the story to Burt and he's like, oh, yeah. He goes, I totally thank people in gratuity based businesses. And Bert brought up the example of the cab driver.

[C]

Always. And I think about it until you said that.

[A]

I mean, I can't think of the last time I took a cab and the cab driver didn't give me some insight on his life and how he's struggling.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

And I'm.

[B]

He's the octodad or he's starting his own business or he's trying to buy his own cab. But something to make you feel like you gotta take out an extra five bucks.

[A]

And this is the question that we wanna ask this morning. Does this happen if you are in a gratuity Based job. Are you making crap up and you're telling your, your clients just so you can get a little extra cash? And I wanna know what the stories are too. I'm assuming in the dancing world.

[B]

Adult dancing, adult entertainer world.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm assuming some of those stories are made up.

[B]

Sure. Like, oh, yeah, I'm really struggling. My parents threw me out. Blah, they dropped. I'm just trying to get back into college. I lost my scholarship, blah, blah, blah. And when you think once that's. Even if you find out after the fact that that's not true, you know what's, what's a bill for dinner and a couple of Beers, you know, 40 bucks. So 5% of that is $2. What am I gonna do? Go hunt down that waiter and go, dude, put $2 back on my Visa card? So once, once they make up the story, they got your money. What are you gonna do? Try find that cab driver. You know, find out the truth. Or call them up and go, oh, my extra $3 back.

[A]

But have you guys been in a cab where they start to share their life story? Yes.

[B]

Every single time.

[A]

Don't ever ask a cab driver how he's doing to be nice. Hey, how you doing, man? Well, you know, the wife's all over me. I got four kids. I'm not even sure. Yeah, I'm telling you, I really now with every cab that I've ever been in, and that might be honest, but my gut says that they're making some of this up. So you get an extra tip.

[D]

I always over tip even. I mean, the service can be so crappy. But I'm like, maybe she's having a bad day. Maybe he's not doing so well today. And I'm like, if it was my situation, I'd want a good tip. If I was just doing a poor job.

[C]

I think that's discouraging. I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, being a purist, it discourages them from actually doing better, you know, because then what if you have this fantastic server and that always has your glasses full, always checking on you, even to the point where you're like, you know, seriously, I'm okay. Then you want to make sure that they get tipped much better, you know?

[A]

404-741-Q100. We want you guys to be honest with us. If you're in a gratuity based job, are you making stuff up?

[C]

What lies are you telling us?

[A]

Hey, Cassie. Good morning.

[E]

Good morning. I work at Cracker Barrel and on Mother's day, I take a picture of my best friend's baby.

[B]

Oh, no.

[E]

Yep. And I tell them that it's mine and I have to work on Mother's Day.

[B]

Oh, you're telling your nose. That would work on me every now and again. Our first call is our last call,

[A]

and that could be a call.

[B]

And it works.

[E]

It works.

[A]

So you're at Cracker Barrel. You've got a picture of somebody else's baby, and you're working on Mother's Day, and you're telling moms as they come in there that you're a mother also. So they'll give you.

[E]

Yeah, I keep it in my book. So they see it and they say, oh, is that your baby? And I say, oh, yeah. Named Haley. She's two,

[B]

dude.

[D]

I mean, that's smart. Using your brains.

[A]

Your honesty is refreshing. Thank you.

[B]

It's a perfect end, too. People are all celebrating with families. They've got their own babies there.

[C]

I'd feel bad.

[D]

They feel bad that you're not home with your baby on Mother's Day.

[A]

We are getting played. Megan, good Morning. You're on Q100.

[E]

Good morning, guys.

[A]

Good morning.

[E]

Yes. I used to be a dancer, and dancers are the biggest liars ever. You will not ever hear the truth from a dancer. I used to tell them that I was putting myself through school by myself and it sucks, and I need books and this and that when I was not in school.

[B]

What percentage? Because that's. I think that's the big dancer story, right? I'm just doing this while I'm at school or I'm trying to get back into school. Percentage wise, how many dancers are in college?

[E]

None.

[B]

Zero percent.

[E]

I've never met not one dancer that is actually in school.

[D]

Wow. Women are smart.

[A]

Thank you for calling.

[D]

You guys are getting played.

[B]

No, guys. Women don't have. You don't have to be smart. Guys are just really dumb if there's a boob nearby. And that's all it takes.

[A]

I don't think any guy actually buys that anyway. I mean, we've heard it a million different times.

[B]

Sure they do.

[A]

Oh, come on.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You have bought that story before.

[B]

I don't know if I have, but I can guarantee you that. But there are guys out there who are like, look, I talk to her. She's not just.

[C]

Well, guys want to come in and save the day, so. Oh, if you're going through school here, I'll help.

[B]

I know you know. You guys know her as Mercedes. I know her real name. Star. And she. And Star, you know, she's in College. She goes to Georgia Tech. She's going to be an engineer. But the problem was with the economy. She lost her federal scholarship. So I go in there, I help her out. You know, I've been there.

[C]

I visit every evening. You know, just, you know, just check in on her.

[A]

She can't even spell tech in Georgia Tech. She's filling with a K. Hey, Angie. Good Morning. You're on Q100.

[C]

Hi.

[E]

Yeah, I used to shampoo hair and I worked in the salon with my mother. And every time I turn around, she was telling customers that she needed that she had to pay her title payment or she's gonna lose her car and all this kind of stuff.

[F]

Oh, no.

[A]

But I think that the theme is the same, that if you're in a gratuity based job and you're in a position where you have any interaction over more than a minute, that's when you're gonna get hit. Like the stripper. The cab driver's got you in the cab, she's shampooing the hair. So, you know you're gonna be in there at least two, three minutes. So they have time to tell you the story.

[B]

And it's also the justification. Like the, like the guy, like the dude who was waiting on me, he's like, oh, man, I'm so sorry. I forgot this and did that and did this and did that. But second day at work, like, he's. Because then all of a sudden. Then you're like, all of a sudden. I went, oh, my God. They put you on a Saturday night

[A]

and you feel bad for him.

[B]

That's so wrong.

[C]

You poor thing.

[B]

Get your manager over here. Let your heart.

[C]

Here's my money.

[A]

Go ahead. You'll be the last call. Yellow.

[E]

Hello.

[B]

Yeah, hello.

[A]

Go ahead.

[E]

Yeah. I would always tell people I was training or if, like, the drinks were late, I would say, oh, bartender messed up your drink. You know, really sorry.

[A]

So now the problem here around Atlanta for the next couple of weeks is anybody that actually tells you that they're training, you're gonna think bs Even though they're really training, Right?

[E]

Aw.

[D]

So every waitress is now getting a 5% tip.

[A]

Don't use it as your excuse.

[B]

And I just thought of a great business, a side business that I'm gonna start.

[C]

What?

[B]

Fake student IDs to adult entertainers. Because now all the guys are going to be rolling into the bars going, hey, you really. So you're going to Georgia Tech, huh? And you don't have your. Let me see your student id.

[A]

Where are they going to keep the ID right?

[B]

You really want me to answer that right now? The Birch show what's up foos?

[F]

Main Event J uso here from the wwe when it's just me between matches it's day one ish and that means it's Chumba time. With hundreds of casino style games and new titles arriving weekly, there's old always something fresh to try at Chumba Casino. The daily boost make it even more fun and have me bout to get em all during my downtime. Ready for a fun way to chill out and enjoy a few minutes for yourself?

[A]

Let's Chumba no purchase necessary. VGW Group Voidware prohibited by law. CTS and C's 21+ sponsored by Chumba

[G]

Casino Tired of juggling sales tools or spending hours on prospecting just to book a few meetings? Meet Apollo, the go to market platform for finding leads, connecting with buyers and closing deals all in one place. Apollo gives you access to over 210 million contacts and AI that handles all your busywork finding leads, drafting emails and even prioritizing your day. So stop paying for five different sales tools when one does it all. Visit Apollo I.O. and sign up free today at Energy Trust of Oregon.

[H]

We know it isn't easy the tremendous weight of today's operating costs, working in cold, drafty spaces with inefficient heating systems or under lights that have seen brighter days. But we also know how to help you upgrade those systems, lower those costs and meet the demands of your business with smart energy efficient solutions. Find cash incentives at energytrust. Org Energy Trust of Oregon More power to you.