The Hijabi servers: Customers' perception of employees' physical appearance in restaurants

Abstract

While existing studies have investigated consumer behavior concerning service provider's physical appearance, the current literature appears scant on how consumers react to servers wearing religious attire such as a headscarf. As such, this paper aims to examine the impacts of the headscarf on customers' initial perceptions of interpersonal attraction (physical, social, and task), server confidence, and job suitability in the hospitality industry. Data was collected from 486 respondents via Amazon mTurk were subjected to t-test, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis. Findings indicate that job suitability and server confidence are significantly affected by physical appearance. The social attraction also has a negative impact on job suitability and server confidence. This study adds to the literature regarding the appearance of staff and resulting customer perceptions in restaurants. More importantly, the research taps into the stereotypes and stigma associated with wearing headscarves in the hospitality industry.