The Game Beyond

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How a game increases tips for hospitality staff using a lemon.

Do you want to increase tips for your Hospitality industry staff? Here is a simple game that only costs a lemon to implement. This game works best in countries that use coins with a high currency value, such as Europe or the United Kingdom.

Balance the lemon game

This game yields the best results if it is placed immediately where customers are receiving their change after a purchase or sale. This game generally works on the customers who are tight with their change, or just greedy.

Place a glass jar or pint glass next to cash out area. Place a handful of coins in the container. Fill the container with water. Place a raw lemon, uncut in the container, and watch it float. Add a sign stating the rules,"Balance a coin on the lemon to win all the money in the jar." You can switch the term for coin and jar depending on what country or container you may be using. For instance in London you could say, "Balance a pound on the lemon tow win the money in the pint."

Watch your customers use the loose change trying to balance it over and over again on this lemon. Some will give it a simple try, some may be more diligent. Most children will get the change from the parents to try. Over and over the lemon will roll the coin off it's back and it will float to the pile at the bottom. Here's a hint, the physics make it utterly impossible to actually balance the coin on the lemon. Having said that, I've managed to do it once, but only after a using some toothpicks. 

At the end of the night take out the extra tips out of the jar. You will see the extra tips plopping in to give to your staff. Or even better, use the same game to grab some extra donations for a local charity. Plus the money is already clean.