Thursday, March 28, 2024

Race and Sex Appeal Prevails in How Much We Tip, Study Says

tipping study*For anyone thinking that the quality of service of restaurant servers determines how much customers tip, guess again.

A study from professors Zachary W. Brewster and Michael Lynn paints a different picture, with a person’s race and how he or she looks being the thing folks consider before opening their wallet to tip, according to TheGrio, which notes the educators got their findings from an exit survey they conducted of the “tipping decisions” made by about 400 diners.

“Our results indicate that both white and black restaurant customers discriminate against black servers by tipping them less than their white co-workers,” the study stated. “Importantly, we find no evidence that this black tip penalty is the result of inter-racial differences in service skills possessed by black and white servers.”

News of Brewster and Lynn’s study surfaced last year after New York restaurateur Danny Meyer rocked the restaurant world last year when he published an open letter declaring he was getting rid of tipping at his restaurant chains. The reason for the decision, Meyer said, was so his employees would be compensated in an “equitable” and “competitive” way.

Needless to say the announcement came as a shock to restaurant owners who have long argued about how they cannot afford to pay a higher minimum wage to their employees as well as others who say that tipping incentivizes good service. Nevertheless, Meyers looks to be taking a cue from Brewster and Lynn’s study.

Adding to the situation is a Cornell University study that pointed out the difference in tips when sex appeal is involved. From that study it was found that tips vary based on “breast sizes … ages, waist-to-hip ratios and body sizes.”

So with all of this, what say you? Should tipping abandoned in favor of equal pay for equal work for restaurant servers, as Meyer believes or should things remain the way they are?

What factors play into how you tip someone serving you at a restaurant? Sound off below:

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