Many  people working in the service industry, particularly in the United States, rely on tips to make up their wages. This has led to the adoption of a number of interesting and amusing ideas for maximising tips which you can see by visiting – http://news.distractify.com/jake-heppner/when-i-tip-youtip-wetip-tip-jar-clever/

Not only will you find good ideas for getting tips here, but some of the techniques have wider applications for anyone working in the field of persuasion – that’s everyone by the way! You’ll see examples of  persuasion techniques involving attention grabbing, distraction, competition, alternative closing, humour, involvement devices and guilt. Plenty to learn from and adapt here.

The spa industry in the United States is  targeting children in a big way. Adult spas are adding separate menus of services for girls, usually aged  4 to 14. The International Spa Association, which tracks industry trends, says  that 25 percent of the country’s approximately 20,000 spas now offer services specifically for the under-13 ‘s  – up from 15 percent just four years ago.

This is clearly a growing trend across the Atlantic and one that can be expected to grow here too. How could you cash in?

Thinking more broadly, what other traditionally adult services might lend themselves to a teen or child-friendly version?

We’ve talked about a number of innovative ways in which companies can charge for their products and service here, and I’ve just found another one. But I’m totally bemused by it. Perhaps you might be able to enlighten me.

A restaurant in Chongqing China,  has started a promotion which entitles male diners over a certain weight to discounted food. The discounts also apply to thin female consumers.

The policy says, for male diners, the more they weigh, the more discounts they are entitled to. If a male customer weighs more than 140 kilograms, then the meal is free.

For female diners, things are a bit different. The less they weigh, the more discounts they are offered. If a female customer weighs less than 34.5 kilos, then she is exempt from paying for food.

Aside from generating a lot of free publicity (which isn’t to be sniffed at) I’m struggling to see any logic to this. I can perhaps see the sense of feeding small women for free because they probably won’t eat much and won’t be dining alone. But why try to attract fat blokes with the lure of free food?

I’m probably missing something. Someone will tell me what it is.

In just four years, Drybar has gone from four salons in  southern California to over forty salons across the United States. Turnover has risen to $50 Million. The company simply provide blow drying and styling with no cuts or colouring. So why do over 120,000 women pay $40 for something they could do for themselves?

The company founder  Michael Landau puts it down to the experience they provide… “What we’re selling at Drybar is a feeling and an experience. For 45 minutes you get to relax and be pampered, drinking a mimosa and indulging in the guilty pleasure of the latest chick flick or celebrity magazine while someone washes and brushes your hair.” He describes it as like a movie in which lighting, set, sound and everything else has to be just so.

Could this work in the UK? Why the heck not. If you have experience of the hairstyling market (or even if you don’t) this looks like a business you could investigate, learn from and copy. With so many hairdressers competing for business, something like this could provide a lucrative competitive advantage.

Idea on its head. What about a Parties For Boys company?