Aubrie Powell
11013088
Anthropology 390
Final Project
December 4, 2013
No calculator for the tip? No problem. Reasons behind why customers tip their servers.
Abstract
Tipping in the United States makes up for billions of dollars in annual income and is thus a topic
of increasing interest. What is the reason for why people tip? This is the question I attempt to answer. In
this essay I present evidence from field research, data from my personal server reports, as well as data
collected from multiple small-scale experiments both done while working as a server in a hotel restaurant
to understand different determinants for tipping, specifically at personalized messages on checks, wearing
of red lipstick, and method of payment. The results of the experiments proved to not be a good indicator
for how the tip is affected by “thank you” messages, but does have better implications about wearing red
lipstick can increase tip amounts. It was also seen that customers tend to tip by credit card almost two
times as much as they do with cash. A theoretical stance is taken at the end to help interpret the findings.
Background and Personal Interest
For almost seven years I have worked more than ten jobs within the food industry holding
positions ranging from fast-food attendant, to sandwich artist, or even food runner a few times. The last
four years of my life I have specifically been employed as a server in a variety of restaurants. It is a job I
enjoy, for the benefits like getting to interact with other people on a daily basis and of course for the
instantly noticeable increase in how much money I was making. However, there are many times where I
catch myself thinking “Why? Why am I submitting myself to this? I can do something else instead.” I
have to remind myself that there are actual benefits to my job. It isn't analogous to some sort of hell all of
the time.
It was exactly one of these described moments I was experiencing on a busy night in September of
this year. However, one way to always vent and level with the misfortunes of my work is by talking with
those who really understand where you are coming from: your coworkers. No one in my life, unless they
are also working as a server, can understand the frustration I incur after viewing a tip line on a $60.00 bill
that reads, “$2.97.” And yes, you are reading that correctly, that is in fact a tip less than 5% of the total
bill. All that runs through my head is mostly thoughts of confusion dabbled with comments of disbelief,
quickly followed by vocal complaints to coworkers. It is so astonishing that we even compete for who got
the worst tip of the night. The worst part was that this was a couple who I had waited on for three hours,
saved a table for them and their kids, and waited on all four of them for another hour and a half. I put a lot
of my time and energy into making sure they were happy, and what did I get for my hard work? A tip that
didn't even cover the amount I would later tip out to the bartender for making their drinks.
However, this is just one instance of many prior and undoubtedly many more to come. I become
end up so shocked and puzzled when this happens and this one night in September I was thinking about
why this is. According to myself, all of my coworkers, and any other server that is currently working in
the industry would tell you that excellent service should receive a 20% tip on the final bill, the average tip
is about 15%, and that anything lower than that means you did one of two things: (1) provided the
customer with bad service or (2) the customer is cheap, ignorant, rude, or even a combination of all three,
only if you provided good service. I began inquiring who made up the “standard” of a 15% tip for average
service, and a 20% tip if the service was perfect? I get upset when I see anything less, especially when the
service was excellent. So then I began to contemplate whether or not the tip actually depends on the
service or perhaps another factor. Does the food or the atmosphere contribute? Do people maybe come in
with a set amount in mind to tip, no matter if the service is wonderful or horrible?
From my questions I began to realize I was not the only one that was so curious about the subject
of tipping and found much research done to try and understand not only the determinants for tipping, but
also the logic for why customers tip their server in the first place. Is it to compliment them on their hard
work? Well no, not all of the time and I am a living example of this. Is it so that they receive good service
the next time they come back? Honestly, I pay more attention to repeat customers that tip me well than
ones that are unreliable, but I work in a hotel so what about the travelers that tip 20% but know we will
most likely never cross paths again. Tipping, especially in the United States, is a social norm held by
many so could it be customers tip in order to conform to the norm and avoid criticism from peers and
feelings of guilt or embarrassment? If you need proof that tipping is a social norm that is regulated by
social constraints just think of the last time you stiffed a server and didn't feel bad or guilty about it. You
may have even gotten out of the restaurant extremely fast so you wouldn't have to face anyone and be
known as, not just a bad tipper, but a bad person. Even if I receive horrible service, I still tip about 10% to
let them know that I thought they did a bad job.
Tipping is a very interesting subject to study because “in U.S. restaurants alone [tipping] amounts
to $27 billion dollars annually” (Azar, 2007) as it also challenges the “traditional assumption of selfish
economic agents who have no feelings and do not care about social norms” (Azar, 2004). As with Azar, I
also agree that people do care and abide by social norms. I believe the reasons for why a person tips their
server are directly related to the desire to feel accepted and avoid punishment, as well as influenced by
factors like status and power. This is what I set out to prove in my research and show that unlike the
commonly held belief, tipping does not relate to the service. It is instead influenced by the adherence to
the social norm of tipping, and is an example of what Mauss calls “prestations” meaning it is an obligated,
reciprocal exchange network that represents prestige and influenced by power.
In order to do this I will look at information gathered through conversation with nine individuals,
data from my personal server reports since March 2013, as well as data gathered from small-scale
experiments I conducted independently while working. These small-scale experiments were influenced by
the work of other researchers who have completed similar experiments on a much larger scale and I was
interested to see if the data I collected would resemble the data in previous experiments. Specifically the
factors I was interested in to see if they affected the tip amount were: personalized messages written on
customer's checks, whether or not I wore red lipstick, and the method of payment. Data collection for the
first two factors involved me personally changing variables that were in my control to see if the tip
amount was influenced. The third factor was drawn from the data present on each server report since
March.
I did these experiments to analyze the reasons behind tip. Researchers such as Lynn and McCall
(2000a),Parrett and many others, all found the relationship between service quality and tip amount “is
positive but tenuous” (Parrett, 2006) I was interested to see if there was more than one factor that
contributed to the tip. If so, this would put less emphasis on the service as being the main reason people
tip.
Field Research
I took field notes from any conversation I overheard or personally had that related to tipping over a
period of nine weeks ranging from the end of September to the end of November. Most of the field notes
were taken during the days I worked at Ripples Riverside Grille inside the Red Lion River Inn located in
Spokane, Washington. The smaller conversations I had and overheard were outside of the restaurant and I
just jotted down notes immediately following the conversation, if not during. The extensive conversations
were held with two of my coworkers Carolyn and Anne.
Anne is the subject who appears most in my field notes due to the fact that we have the same
schedule and work every weekend together for at least an eight hour period. She is also very relevant
because she has been serving for a total of seven years and because our conversations outside of this
research project usually revolved around the same topics that are discussed within the research.
If I happened to be on the subject of serving, restaurants, etc. (conversations I naturally find
myself apart of due to my line of work) I would guide the discussion towards the topic of tipping and ask
many similar questions to all individuals. I would either write field notes down immediately after, or in 5
conversations the individual I was speaking with allowed me to use my cellphone to record our
conversation.
Over the course of nine weeks I spoke to a total of 9 people on the subject of tipping with 5 of the
respondents being females and the other 4 as males. There were only 3 individuals who I did not ask my
rehearsed set of questions to due to our conversations early on in my research. I let these first few
conversations in turn guide what questions I would ask others later on. Some questions asked to 6 out of 9
individuals include “Do you tip servers? How much do you usually tip? Does you tip depend on the
service or something else?”
Data Collection and Methodology
Alongside of my field notes, I also obtained data in two other ways. First I receive a cash out slip, or server report, each time I work
and I compiled my reports back to March 2013. Each server report has valuable information to contribute to the subject of tipping. This
information mostly consists of monetary values like the total amount of items sold, credit card tips, cash tips, how much food, beer, liquor
and wine were sold, as well as the date and day of the week.
As I stated above, I drew influence from a handful of experiments done by other researchers who were also interested in the
relationships between certain factors that may or may not influence the tip amount. The first experiment I chose to simulate on a smaller level
was one done by Bruce Rind and Prashant Bordia in 1995. These researchers wanted to see if tip amounts were at all influenced by a server
writing “thank you” on the bill. I have always written “Thank You!! :)” on every customer's check if time allowed me to do so because I
heard the act could increase the tip amount. I figured now would be a great time to begin to question the idea and see if my results held
consistent with Rind and Bordia's.
The second experiment done was one influenced by the 2012 research of Nicolas Guéguen and Céline Jacob. These two looked at
whether or not tip amounts were influenced by servers who wore red lipstick. As I usually wear lipstick to work, I figured this would be
another experiment that I could control easily and recorded data from nights I wore lipstick and on nights I did not. Due to time restrictions, I
did both of the experiments together over the nine week period. I divided the possibilities into four different combinations that are described
below in Table 1. I did three trials of each combination and recorded the tip percentages from each trial, as well as the credit card and cash
tips.
Combination 1
Combination 2
Combination 3
Combination 4
Wrote “thank you” on
customer's check
Wore red lipstick
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 1: The table above explains the different combinations used to collect data on the influence of writing personalized messages on checks
and wearing red lipstick. For instance, the trials for Combination 1 were the days I wore red lipstick and wrote “thank you” on receipts.
The last factor I was interested in obtaining data on was whether or not customers tipped more
when they paid with cash or with credit cards. This factor was the easiest to gather data because my server
reports provide me with this specific information each time I work. And to my surprise, there has been a
light amount of work done on this very subject by Matt Parrett who did a similar experiment. By having
work done by other researchers that I am able to simulate in my own way I am able to draw conclusions
off of my data, but the data of others as well.
Data
Numerical Data
Much of the data was taken from server reports from March 2013 until November 2013. There are
a total of 72 different working days which contributed to the data. Figure 1 at the end of this section lists
the information used in this research from each of the 72 days. These numbers were the basis used for
calculating everything seen in this essay. Total cash tips against total credit card tips, looking at the
relationship between number of tables and total sales, to simply figuring out the tip percentage from each
day, and more are some examples.
Tip percentage was calculated by dividing the total number of tips earned on one day, dividing it
by the total sales of the same day, then multiplying by 100. The 20% of sales was just used as a way to
possibly judge my own service quality based on my own personal assumptions, individuals one, four, and
five (see outline of questions asked at the end of this essay), as well as “some etiquette books [that] report
that the figure is moving toward 20 percent for excellent service” (Azar 2003).
Payment method was calculated from server reports by adding up the total amount of tips from the
72 days to receive a grand total amount of tips made. Then, each of the credit card tips were added
together to receive a grand credit card tip total. The same goes for cash tips. The grand total for credit card
tips were divided by the grand total amount of tips and multiplied by 100. The same was done for cash
tips.
Experimental Data
Data from experimental research was compiled over a nine week period from shifts I worked from
the end of September until the end of November. This consisted of a total of twelve working days to
perform my experiments. Due to the limited amount of working days, the lipstick experiment coincided
with the personalized message experiment. There were four combinations between wearing lipstick, not
wearing lipstick, writing a message, or not writing a message. Depending on the combination, I was
consistent in my experiment by writing on checks only if the combination called for it and followed
through with it for the entire shift. So if I was doing a trial for Combination 1 or Combination 2, I would
write the same message “Thank You!! :)” on each check for a customer and deliver it in the same manner.
If I was using Combination 3 or Combination 4 I could not write anything on the checks even once. The
same logic is said for the lipstick experiment.
Conversational Data
Conversations with nine individuals were all one-on-one, guided discussions that were based on
the topic of tipping in restaurants. The information was either documented by hand or via digital
recording device if participant allowed. Conversations varied in length and complexity but were very
similar in context. There were 6 individuals who were guided in conversation through a list of nine
rehearsed questions in order to compare answers. Five individuals were 22 years old, one was 23, two that
were 47, and another who was 40. The conversations between six individuals, three males and three
females are listed at the end of this essay and the others were recorded by hand in field notes.
Results
1. Lipstick and personalized messages
There were four different combinations possible for whether or not I wrote on customer's checks and if I wore red lipstick (see Table 1 for combination descriptions). Figure 2 shows the tip percentages received on the day a trial for a specific combination was performed. During Trial 1 of Combination 4 I received 11.8% of my total sales for my tip. The highest tip percentage received in Trial 3 of Combination 1 at 23.68% of my total sales. Combination 1 proved to have the biggest range with tip percentages reach from 16.64% to a high 23.68%. Combination 3 had the least diverse
outcomes with a high of 18.14% and a low of 16.19% which is only a 1.95% change. Combination 4 however was not far behind, with only a 2.07% change in the high and low tip percentages.
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Tip Percentages
Combo
16.64%
17.51%
23.68%
12.04%
16.54%
15.3%
18.14%
16.19%
16.39%
11.8%
12.45%
13.87%
1
Combo
2
Combo
3
Combo
4
Figure 2: Showing the corresponding tip percentages from the total sales of the day a specific trial was performed for each of the four
combinations.
2. Payment Method
Since March 2013, the grand total amount of tips was $7, 175.94. $4998.96 of these came from
credit card tips (69.66%) whereas cash tips did not even contribute one-third of the grand total with
$2176.96 (30.34). A depiction of this very big distinction can be see in Figure 3.
Method of payment during trials of combinations with personalized messages and without
personalized messages was graphed in order to see if one influenced another form of payment more than
the other. This also shows the difference in money made on the days “thank you” was included than on
days where it was left out. Payment methods for days “thank you” was written on checks is depicted in
Figure 4 and for days where it was not included can be seen in Figure 5.
This pie chart shows the total cash tips vs. total tips paid by credit card since March of 2013. These results seem to hint the preferred method
Figure 3
of tipping is by credit card.
Figure 4
Figure 4 is showing the 6 trials that involved writing “Thank You” on every check delivered to a customer. It is obvious that credit card
tipping seems to be preferred over cash tipping when a personalized message is written on the check.
Figure 5
Discussion
My results from my experiments were a bit different than researchers who had conducted this in
the past. This is because I combined my experiments into one because of time, but thinking about it now I
realize there are so many aspects to serving that it is hard to pinpoint one, alter it, and keep everything
else the same. By referring to Figure 6 Combination 1, which was writing “thank you” as well as wearing
lipstick got the best tips by far. However I am unsure if it depends more on lipstick than it does on the
“thank you” message. Although, it is easy to see the difference in doing both than in doing neither if you
look at Combinations 1 and 4. Combination 2 was beat out in tip percentages by Combination 3 in all
trials but one where it barely slipped ahead. So even though comparison between the combinations is
difficult because it is hard to pick apart which factors contributed more to the loss or gain in tip
percentage, I can still draw conclusions. From my data that between wearing lipstick and writing “thank
you” on checks, wearing lipstick will affect the tip more. My data is enhanced by the findings of Guéguen
and Jacobs who found “patrons gave tips more often to a waitress who wore lipstick” (Guéguen et. Al,
2012) but is not completely comparable due to the flaw in combining the experiments. However, I can
argue because the only difference between Combinations 2 and 3 was that Combination 2 did not include
wearing lipstick, and it got beat out in 2 trials by Combination 3, it seems that lipstick has more impact.
The results from
method of payment and tip
percentages I found to be
quite different than other
sources. Parrett found that
the method of payment is “is
found not to be a determinant
of the size of the tip” (Parrett,
2006) and my results
completely clash with his.
Figure 6
Credit card tips were overwhelmingly more common than were cash tips in an eight month period. Parrett
only used survey data, but I feel the reason for paying with credit cards is more unconscious. He did quote
Feinberg (1986) when he said, “evidence [shows] that people spend more when using a credit card”
(Parrett, 2006). Also, my results for influence over the method of payment by personalized messages does
provides evidence from a specific situation that people pay with credit cards more frequently than they do
with cash when a “thank you” is written, or not written, on their checks. However, it does show that when
a personal message is written, people tip more often by credit card.
Another bit of information that adds to this are some conversations with the individuals I spokane
with about tipping. Some of the individuals I interviewed had thoughts on this too. When asked what they
base their tip on 6 out of 9 people said something other than the service, specifically along the lines of
personality and attitude of the server. Individual #6 even mentioned the experience and the food as well.
This is more evidence pointing to there being more than just the quality of the service when it comes to
tipping. If this is what people are basing their tips off of, no wonder writing “thank you” or wearing
lipstick could have such influence over tip percentages.
While my results did not give me all the answers I hoped to receive, I did find that there is no one
single factor that contributes to the amount of the tip, but multiple. This conclusion supports that of Azar
who argued people conform to the norm of tipping, but this is not the only reason. He says customers “tip
not only because this is the norm but also because of other reasons, such as generosity, desire to impress
others, willingness to show gratitude when receiving good service, and empathy for workers who work
hard and earn low wages, such as waiters” (Azar, 2003).
Taking a theoretical stance on the reasons for tipping goes hand-in-hand with the results I obtained
from my data. Tipping is a social norm and thus emits social constraints among individuals in our culture.
Mauss' ideas on social facts and how they present themselves in culture is one of the best conclusions for
the reason people tip, in my opinion. Mauss explains that in exchange networks in societies, social facts
which were defined earlier by Durkheim, were expressed by material objects. “They are used to forge and
maintain alliances, and they replicate the divisions between the people involved in them” (McGee and
Warms, 2012). These exchange networks sound a lot like the act of tipping someone who did you a
service. The tip is a representation of the prestige of the person leaving it. Thus if someone leaves an
enormous tip, I know I would consider them prestigious and by simply making him out to be prestigious I
am replicating the division between them and myself (prestigious vs. the one wishing they had that kind
of money to tip), just as Mauss described.
It is no doubt we are constrained by the social norms around us, but people such as Azar argue
following them is not solely based off of a desire to conform and be liked. Instead he believes other
factors come into play “such as generosity, desire to impress others, willingness to show gratitude when
receiving good service, and empathy for workers who work hard and earn low wages, such as waiters.
that this is not the only reason for why people follow social norms” (Azar, 2003).
This brought my attention to the theory brought forward by Malinowski and his ideas about the
fulfillment of basic needs. Some people view the idea of tipping as strange because while it costs us
something we all still are socially constricted to conform to the norm. Does this seem irrational?
According to Malinowski, nothing is irrational and can be explained based on the fulfillment of the six
basic needs. Perhaps people are tipping to fulfill a basic need, or even a not so basic one like the ones
mentioned by Azar.
There is still much to be learned from studying this interesting social norm of tipping and I am
eager to know if researchers down the road are going to find more data to help support the understanding
of tipping and the reasons behind it.
Bibliography:
Azar, Ofer H. "What sustains social norms and how they evolve? The case of tipping ." Journal of
Economic Behavior & Organization 54 (2003): 49-64.
Azar, Ofer. "The History of Tipping -- from Sixteenth-century England to United States in the
1910s." The Journal of Socio-Economics 33 (2004): 745-64.
Furnham, Adrian, and Rebecca Milner. "The Impact of Mood on Customer Behavior: Staff Mood and
Environmental Factors." Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 20 (2013): 634-41.
Guéguen, Nicolas, and Céline Jacob. "Lipstick and Tipping Behavior: When Red Lipstick Enhance
Waitresses Tips." International Journal of Hospitality Management 31 (2012): 1333-335.
Jacob, Céline, Nicolas Guéguen, Gaelle Boulbry, and Renzo Ardiccioni. "Waitresses' Facial Cosmetics
and Tipping: A Field Experiment." International Journal of Hospitality Management 29 (2010):
188-90.
McCall, Michael, and Ann Lynn. "Restaurant Servers' Perceptions of Customer Tipping
Intentions." International Journal of Hospitality Management 28 (2009): 594-96.
Parrett, Matt. "An Analysis of the Determinants of Tipping Behavior: A Laboratory Experiment and
Evidence from Restaurant Tipping." Oct. 73.2 (2006): 489-514.
Parrett, Matt. "Do People with Food Service Experience Tip Better?" The Journal of Socio-Economics 40
(2011): 464-71.
Azar, Ofer. "The Social Norm of Tipping: A Review." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 37.2 (2007):
280-402. 1 Dec. 2013.
Rind, Bruce, and Prashant Bordia. "Effect of Server’s “Thank You” and Personalization on Restaurant
Tipping." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 25.9 (1995): 745-51.
McGee, R. Jon, and Richard L. Warms. Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Outline of common questions asked:
1. What do you think about tipping servers?
2. What do you think about tipping servers who already receive $9.19 an hour?
3. If you were in a state like Idaho that only gave their servers $3.25 an hour would this change how you tip?
4. What do you consider the average (or standard) tip if there is one?
5. Is there a percentage you usually tip?
6. Would you still tip if you got bad service?
7. Have you ever stiffed a server? If yes, why and how did you feel/react?
8. What factor do you base your tip off the most (e.g. the service, the food, the personality of the server)?
9. Why do you tip servers?
Individual #1
Gender: female
Age: 22
Occupation: Server
1. I don't mind tipping. They are doing me a service so they deserve a little extra.
2. Same as above
3. Yes. I would tip more.
4. Now days 20 percent but most people don't know that
5. 25 to 30
6. Yes but then it's like 10 percent.
7. Never, not even as a teenager.
8. Personality of the server is the biggest one and the amount of times they check on me.
Individual #2
Gender: Female
Age: 47
Occupation: Sales Representative
1. I think that tipping should be based on performance, attitude and likability. If I really enjoy the person it means
as much as them refilling my water timely. Worst performance would still get 7% and best would get 30% or even
40%
2. I have no problem with it at all.
3. It would not change my tipping philosophy at all
4. Standard is 15%, I believe
5. I usually tip about 18%
6. I would still leave a tip, albeit a small one. I don't know, after all if something personal is going on with the
server. Instead of leaving no tip, I would speak to the manager about the service I received. This could lead to a
favorable change more so than not leaving a tip.
7. No, I have not, however I have thought about it a time or two
8. the biggest factor is overall performance and personality is a very close second. I think it's so important if a
server takes the time to open up to customers or spend a little time chatting.
9. Honestly, because it is a custom that I was raised with. It seems to be something that is inbred in all of us. I also
think that it is so vitally important because it gives customers a way to "rate" in you will, a person, or a business.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could rate every person we come in contact with?
Individual #3:
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Occupation: Server
1. I think tipping servers is a normal part or going out and is necessary.
2. Some servers live off of their tips they work hard no matter what minimum wage is and deserve a tip nonetheless
3. Well in states where the minimum wage is less everything else is less expensive to compensate for the low
minimum wage but I believe that if a server has to completely rely on their tips alone you should take that into
consideration
4. 15% but if you don't receive good service you shouldn't automatically tip 15% it should be based on the servers
performance. 5. I usually tip 15% but again it's based on their performance.
6. Depends how bad the service is but if it was awful no I wouldn't tip.
7. I have not completely "stiffed" a server no but if I had completely awful service I would and wouldn't feel bad
about it.
8. The service, how long it takes them to check on me if I have an empty drink and the personality of the server
plays a big part in how I tip if they are rude in anyway I tip them much less.
9. I tip servers mostly because it's the social norm and if they work hard they deserve a tip.
Individual #4
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Occupation: Clinical Research Associate
1. I have no problem with tipping servers. I always do it.
2. I am not against tipping servers who already make $9.19 an hour. Servers, especially those who have worked up
to that position, deserve the extra pay.
3. I would not change the way I tipped if I lived in Idaho where servers make $3.25 an hour. As a college student
with limited income, I cannot afford to spend the extra money for the server who makes less an hour.
4. I believe the standard tip should be at least 15% of the total bill. If the server did an excellent job, they should
receive 20%.
5. I usually tip 20% unless I feel they were not a good server.
6. If I felt they were a bad server (rude, neglectful, lazy), I may leave as low as 10%, but I would never not tip at
all.
7. I have stiffed a server before because I did not have enough money for the tip. I felt really bad and apologized.
8. My tip is mostly based on the attitude of the server. For example, if my food was taking a long time or there was
something wrong with it, I would still leave a good tip if the server was up-front and apologetic.
9. Although I have never been a server, I have worked in customer service. I know how hard it can be to work with
people sometimes, which is the main reason why I tip. I think servers who work hard deserve the tips they receive.
It is a job that not everyone, including me, would be good at; therefore, they deserve the extra pay.
Individual #5
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Occupation: Journalist
1. I feel okay about it
2. I still feel okay about it
3. No
4. 20 percent
5. um, 20 percent
6. Yes, I still want them to like me
7. I have, but that just means tipping a little less. I did it because they sucked probably, and I still felt guilty.
8. How much she pretends to flirt with me. If it's a guy, I don't know. 9. Because I have to
Individual #6
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
1. What do you think about tipping servers? I have no problem with it.
2. What do you think about tipping servers who already receive $9.19 an hour? I tip based on the service
given.
3. If you were in a state like Idaho that only gave their servers $3.25 an hour would this change how you
tip? No, It still comes down to the service provided by the server.
4. What do you consider the average (or standard) tip if there is one? 15-20%
5. Is there a percentage you usually tip? About 15%, but if the service is exceptional 20-30%
6. Would you still tip if you got bad service? I have no problem not tipping if I receive bad service.
7. Have you ever stiffed a server? If yes, why and how did you feel/react? Yes, I felt my experience of the
restaurant reflected the service received.
8. What factor do you base your tip off the most (e.g. the service, the food, the personality of the server)?
Mainly the server's personality, I feel like when I tip it is because they made my experience enjoyable,
whether or not the food was good.
9. Why do you tip servers? I tip because I feel that many servers go above and beyond to make a customers
experience enjoyable.
2.
The service quality was the hardest part of my research to compile because I did not have any way
to measure this besides the idea of when service quality might drop. I argue that service quality, if a
major factor, would influence the tip percentage by decreasing it on busier nights due to a decrease
in the quality of service provided by the server. So in order to see whether or not these variable had
anything to do with one another and then find out if they have some play into the percentage of the
tip I decided to graph them. First was the histogram seen in Figure 6 and with the comparison in
number of tables, total sales, and tip percentage, I argue that it is hard not to see the relationship
between all three.
If service quality matters I believe how busy the restaurant is influences the service quality. I will
explain how it is possible to differentiate between slow and busy nights based off of the data I have
collected: There is a positive correlation between the amount of sales and number of tables. The
days with higher amount of sales and more tables per shift would be the busiest relative to those
with lower sales and fewer tables per shift. Thus, servers would be prone to make more mistakes
and give worse service quality on the busier nights because of the number of tables the server has at
any given time during their shift. Slow nights allow servers to provide better service because they
can pay more attention to each customer than they would on a busier night. Therefore, if service
quality is a large factor in determining the tip amount, there would be a decrease in the percentage
of tips made on the busiest nights compared to the slower nights. However, I did want to try
studying an area that had not been touched on before and this is the relationship between tip
amount and service quality, depending on how busy the night was. Since I have yet to come across
any data or research similar to this I will be making my own conclusions based off the data which I
collected. To differentiate between slow, average, and busy nights the number of tables and total
sales were graphed into a histogram and group together in about equal sized distributions. Slow
groups were those with number of tables from ranges 5-9, 10-14, and 15-19. Average groups were
19-24, 25–29, and 30-34. Busy nights were the nights with the number of tables in the ranges 35-39,
40-44, 45-49 and finally 50+. Total sales were factored in and worked out very nicely with the lowest
sales being in the slowest categories as well as the highest sales being those with the most tables,
thus the busiest nights.
Service Quality
There were 29 shifts that I consider will consider slow. 4 of these were in the 5-9 range, 10
between 10-14 tables, and 15 in the group of 15-19 tables. A total of 30 days are considered average
as they have 8 days with table numbers in the 19-24 group, 10 between 25-29 tables, and 12 within
the 30-34 groupings. The last 13 days are to be considered busy. 5 days were correlated with 35-39
tables, another 5 with 40-44, then only 2 days that had shifts with 45-49 tables, and finally only one
day had more than 50 tables (54). Figure 6 displays a histogram showing this data.
In order to defend the relationship between the service quality and how busy the restaurant
is, I need to show that there is a relationship between table number per shift and total sales. It is a
positive correlation between them and this can be seen in Figure 7.