ATTITUDES OF GRATITUDE THAT

AFFECT GRATUITIESTim HustyAlison Lin

Researcher in Consumer Behavior Looks at Attitudes of Gratitude that Affect GratuitiesBy Franklin Crawford

Michael LynnAssociate professor of consumer behavior in Cornell’s

School of Hotel AdministrationReceived his Bachelor’s in psychology and economics from

University of Texas at AustinEarned his Ph.D. in social psychology with a minor in

statistics, philosophy, and sociology

Turned study of tipping into an academic career

Why Study Tips?

Idea came to him through undergraduate school waiting tables at a press club in Austin, Texas

Wrote his master’s thesis at Ohio State UniversityBased on data collected at an IHOP in Columbus, OH

We don’t have to do it “Tipping is an interesting behavior because tips are voluntary

payments given after services have been rendered”$16 billion in tips a year

“Gratitude and Gratuity : a meta-analysis of research on the service-tipping relationship”

16th study on tipping

Published in The Journal of Socio-Economics

Co-author – Michael McCallProfessor of Business at Ithaca College

Based on 7 published and 6 unpublished studies

2,547 dining parties, 20 different dining establishmentsMostly casual

Tipping is unpredictable and is an unreliable measure of server performance

Data Collecting

Food Server recorded data for 2 ½ month

Located in a suburban shopping mallOne of a national chain, served a varied menu

244 customers

Offered nonsmoking section

During various days and times

Amount of Bill

Amount of Tip

Gender

Size of Party

Tipping Based on Gender

If a Female is the server, what kind of tip should she expect?Correlation: 0.069475

Weak Positive

Slope: 0.008840 Intercept: 0.157651

Y=0.008840y+0.157651

RSQ: 0.004827

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.20.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

f(x) = 0.00884018932462746 x + 0.157650547004297R² = 0.004826793820217

Tipping Based on Gender

Tipping Percentage

0=

Male

1=

Fem

ale

Smoking or Nonsmoking

If a Smoking party is served, what kind of tip should be expected?Correlation: 0.030820

Weak positive

Slope: 0.003868 Intercept: 0.159328

Y=0.003868x+0.159328

RSQ: 0.000950

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.20.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

f(x) = 0.00386758245766265 x + 0.159328462179215R² = 0.00094985162500516

Smoking Preference

0=non smoking1=Smoking

Tip

Perc

enta

ge

Day Time or Night Time

If the party is served at night, what kind of tip should be expected?Correlation: (0.033914)

Negative relationship

Slope: (0.004610) Intercept: 0.164128

Y=(0.004610)x + 0.164128

RSQ: 0.001150

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.20.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

f(x) = − 0.00461013938272753 x + 0.164127928162505R² = 0.00115018156726221

Day or Nite

0=day1=nite

Tip

Perc

enta

ge

How to Tip?

GenderFemales should generally expect a tip ranging from

approx. 12%-22%

Smoking vs. NonsmokingSmoking parties should generally give a tip ranging

from approx. 6%-26%

Day vs. NightParties at night should generally give a tip ranging

from 6%-24%

Lynn’s Findings

1) Tip percentages-weakly related to customer’s ratings of service quality in restaurant settings

- Poor measures of customer satisfaction

2) Nonverbal server behaviors indicate liking of customers

-substantial increase in tops

3) Tipping more common in countries

-achievement-oriented

-status-seeking

-extroverted

-neurotic

-tenderhearted

4) “I tip 15 to 20 percent—depending on how much I like the server.”

Questions??