Does a Customer by Any Other Name Tip the Same?: The Effect of Forms of Address and Customers’ Age on Gratuities Given to Food Servers in the United States
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Journal of Applied Social Psychology
Volume
43
Issue
8
Publisher
Wiley
Publication Date
8-1-2013
First Page
1592
Last Page
1598
Abstract
This study examined whether different forms of address used by food servers were related to customers' tipping behavior. Food servers addressed diners who paid with credit cards by their first names, titles plus last names, sir/ma'am, or no address. Results indicated that when food servers personalized their service by addressing their customers by name, they earned significantly higher tips than when they used less immediate forms of address, although customers' estimated age mediated these results.
Recommended Citation
Seiter, J. S., & Weger, H., Jr. (2013). Does a Customer by Any Other Name Tip the Same?: The Effect of Forms of Address and Customers’ Age on Gratuities Given to Food Servers in the United States. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43 (8), 1592-1598.