Restaurant Servers Research Articles

Evaluation of Occupational Risk Factors for Healthcare Workers through Analysis of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Claims Database

The purpose of this study is to evaluate occupational risk factors for nurses and CNAs by analyzing the Florida workers’ compensation claims database. Risk factors for the cause of injury, nature of injury, body part injured, and demographic and lifestyle factors were evaluated for a sample of CNAs, nurses, and restaurant servers. The results identified falls, lifting, being struck, and pushing and pulling as major causes for injury among nurses and CNAs as compared to servers. Regarding the nature of injury, sprains and strains constituted the majority of claims for nurses and CNAS with the lower back being the body part most commonly injured in a claim. The results of this study indicate that nurses and CNAs are at far greater risk for physical injury than injury or illness from chemical or biological exposures. It is recommended that emphasis must be placed on interventions for musculoskeletal injuries such as falls and lifting, taking into account environmental factors such as age and lifestyle factors that further exacerbate risk for injury.

A Study of Restaurant Servers’ Perceptions of Asian Customers in the U.S.: From the Perspective of Physical Appearance

A Study of Restaurant Servers’ Perceptions of Asian Customers in the U.S.: From the Perspective of Physical Appearance

A Study of Restaurant Servers’ Perceptions of Asian Customers in the U.S.: From the Perspective of Physical Appearance

A Study of Restaurant Servers’ Perceptions of Asian Customers in the U.S.: From the Perspective of Physical Appearance

Quantification of the Physical Demands for Servers in Restaurants

Serving staff are an integral part of restaurant establishments. Although over 2.2 million individuals are employed as wait staff in the US and experience a considerable number of musculoskeletal disorders each year, little is known about their work-related risk factors for MSDs. Using observational methods, a physical activity monitor, and surveys, this study quantified the physical demands experienced by servers over a shift. Twenty wait staff were evaluated for postures used during serving, tray weight, pain symptoms, and perceived workload. Results showed increases (upwards of 60%) in pain throughout their shift, substabtial time spent standing or walking (~75%), and potentially risky arm/wrist postures during serving, even though a majority of servers indicated lighter than normal workloads during the observation period. While further research is needed, this study provides a first glimpse at the physical demands experienced by wait staff.

The Institution of Tipping as a Source of Employee Agency: The Case of Restaurant Servers

Authors have called for concerted scholarship on how service workers strategically express agency in their work. This article furthers our knowledge of service workers' experiences by analyzing qualitative data derived from in-depth interviews in which restaurant servers discussed how they experience the labor process of serving. We delineate the various ways servers exercise control in an otherwise constraining and emotionally demanding field. We find that servers experience considerable “interactive control” in their dealing with customers by employing techniques strategically to manipulate patrons' dining experiences. Much of servers' behavior is an adaptation to their dependency on patrons' tips. Thus, we advance Rosenthal's (2004) conception of management control as an employee resource rather than a constraint by locating servers' opportunity to express agency within the context of the institution of tipping.

Affect spin and the emotion regulation process at work.

Regulating emotions is one of the most depleting activities that customer service employees are asked to do, but not all employees get burned out by the end of an emotionally laborious day. In the current study, affect spin-the trait variability of an individual's affective states-was hypothesized to increase strain and fatigue associated with emotion regulation, yet weaken the relation between recent strain and immediate fatigue. The authors examined these hypotheses in an experience sampling study of restaurant servers. Sixty-three servers completed surveys on 4 occasions during each of approximately 10 shifts (2,051 total surveys). Multilevel analyses supported the underlying model linking emotion regulation to fatigue at work as well as the hypothesized role of affect spin. Although affect spin reflects greater reactivity to affective events, it also provides some degree of a buffer from the fatiguing effects of these events.

Consequences of empowerment among restaurant servers

PurposeThis study seeks to investigate the impact of empowerment on both organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and average check size per customer for individual restaurant servers in the United States.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical study was designed by using three different sources of information: employees' self‐reports, supervisor‐ratings and system‐generated productivity indexes. The study obtained a final sample of 108 servers who are in charge of table services such as order‐taking and delivering food with a point of sales (POS) system.FindingsThe results demonstrate that influence, a dimension of empowerment, has a positive effect on supervisor‐rated OCB whereas attitude, the other dimension of empowerment, has a positive impact on average check size per customer. In addition, OCB appears to be negatively related to average check size per customer.Practical implicationsThe findings are important given that few studies have examined the impact of empowerment on organizationally meaningful outcomes since past empowerment studies predominantly related empowerment to attitudinal and/or behavioral outcomes measured by self‐reports. The relationship between two consequences of empowerment raises a managerial issue. Given that OCB has a negative relationship with an individual's average check size, it would be problematic to reward servers individually solely based on objective indicators of performance.Originality/valueThis study presents empirical evidence that empowered employees are more likely to demonstrate helping behaviors and generate larger check sizes.

A comparison of Asians', Hispanics', and Whites' restaurant tipping

AbstractAsians and Hispanics are perceived by many restaurant servers as poor tippers. This study tests the validity of those perceptions using data from a large restaurant chain's online customer satisfaction survey. Findings partially support servers' perceptions—Hispanics but not Asians tipped less on average than Whites after controlling for bill size, the customer's own ratings of service quality, and other variables. Discussion centers around the differences between these findings and those of a previous study and on the practical implications of the findings for restaurant managers.

The effects of restaurant servers’ perceptions of customers’ tipping behaviors on service discrimination

Scholars have noted that the institution of tipping may encourage restaurant servers to provide discriminate service. The prospect of receiving an excellent tip from a patron, for example, is thought to encourage servers to discriminately provide excellent service. In contrast, the prospect of receiving a poor tip from a patron is thought to encourage servers to extend service that is commensurately poor. The effects of service workers’ a priori assumptions about customers’ tipping behaviors on service discrimination have however not been adequately assessed to-date. This article addresses this gap in the literature by assessing how server sensitivity to demographic tipping differences affects their proclivities to discriminately provide either excellent or poor service in response to the prospect of receiving an excellent or poor tip, respectively. Using a multilevel modeling technique (HLM), findings show that server sensitivity to demographic tipping differences is predictive of servers’ propensities to discriminately allocate excellent service but not poor service. The implications for the management of restaurant operations along with directions for future research are discussed.

Eat, Drink, and Tip: Exploring Economic Opportunities for Full-Service Restaurants

This exploratory study sought to empirically confirm anecdotal observations by local area full-service restaurant servers, who reported that their tip income was nearly always better when customers purchased alcoholic beverages. Analysis of unambiguous point of sale guest check and credit card receipt data confirmed a positive relationship between alcoholic beverage purchases and servers' tip percentages. This is encouraging news for the restaurant industry, especially during the current economic downturn, because increased tip levels should motivate servers to sell more alcoholic beverages, which are highly profitable. Managerial implications are discussed.

Voluntary tipping and the selective attraction and retention of service workers in the USA: an application of the ASA model

Gratuities paid by consumers are widely used to compensate workers in the service industry despite the fact that this practice permits and even encourages a variety of negative practices – from customer–employee collusion against the interests of the firm to service discrimination against consumers thought to be poor tippers. Such negative effects of tipping raise a question about why it exists – what benefits (if any) do firms receive from tipping to justify this practice? One common explanation for tipping is that it is the most efficient way to provide service workers with performance-contingent rewards and to motivate them to deliver good service. In this paper, we draw upon the attraction–selection–attrition model to describe and test another benefit to firms of this practice, namely that it helps to selectively attract and retain better service workers. Data from a survey of restaurant servers support this selection effect. Concluding discussion calls for more research on this interesting and understudied form of employee compensation.

Taxi Drivers, Cashiers, and Restaurant Servers: A Cross-Cultural Study of Gender Differences

In Western cultures, pronounced gender differences in occupations have been well documented, but comparable differences in other countries have been minimally investigated. The present study used direct observation to compare gender differences in persons performing three occupations – taxi driver, cashier, and restaurant server – in one Western country (the United States) and two non- Western countries (China and Malaysia). Results revealed that in all three countries, taxi drivers are overwhelmingly males while cashiers and restaurant servers are predominantly females. In fact, the gender ratios for these occupations in all three countries were statistically equivalent. While difficult-to-identify social factors may also play a role in determining occupational choices by men and women, the present study seems more compatible with suggestions that evolved neurohormonal factors may be involved. Consequently, the discussion proposes that biological factors incline males toward taxi driving because this line of work makes heavy demands on spatial reasoning skills. Females, on the other hand, are hypothesized to be drawn toward being cashiers and restaurant servers because of the social orientation and social skills required of these occupations.

Want a tip? Service performance as a function of emotion regulation and extraversion.

Surface acting and deep acting with customers are strategies for service performance, but evidence for their effectiveness is limited and mixed. We propose that deep acting is an effective strategy for most employees, whereas surface acting's effect on performance effectiveness depends on employee extraversion. In Study 1, restaurant servers who tended to use deep acting exceeded their customers' expectations and had greater financial gains (i.e., tips) regardless of extraversion, whereas surface acting improved tips only for extraverts, not for introverts. In Study 2, a call center simulation, deep acting improved emotional performance and increased the likelihood of extrarole service behavior beyond the direct and interactive effects of extraversion and other Big Five traits. In contrast, surface acting reduced emotional performance for introverts and not extraverts, but only during the extrarole interaction. We discuss implications for incorporating traits into emotional labor research and practice.

Employment discrimination in upscale restaurants: Evidence from matched pair testing

White and racial minorities with equal qualifications applied simultaneously for 43 waiter/waitress jobs in New York City fine dining restaurants. Applicants of all demographic backgrounds were treated with equal courtesy, but minorities were only 54% as likely as whites to receive a job offer. This discrimination, either conscious or unconscious, was documented in 31% of restaurants tested. Post-hiring differences appear even more widespread, with front of the house minority restaurant servers averaging 12% lower earnings than their equally qualified white peers. Ensuring equal treatment in hiring would expand minority access to good jobs in Manhattan fine dining by 3500 positions but not make it universal.

Racial differences in restaurant tipping: A labour process perspective

Considering the increasing proportion of US workers who depend on gratuities for a substantial amount of their income, it is not surprising that a growing body of literature across a variety of disciplines examines the phenomenon of tipping. Only recently, however, have scholars begun to study variation in tipping behaviours across social groups. The bulk of this research focuses on tipping disparities between white and black restaurant patrons in the USA. Two dominant explanations for such disparities have been posited: one locates the source of race-based tipping disparities in the discriminatory behaviour of restaurant servers; the other framework argues that disparities emerge as a result of African-Americans' lack of familiarity with societal norms for tipping. In this paper, we outline and critique the above frameworks and offer an alternative yet complementary framework that explains race-based tipping differentials in terms of server/customer interactions within the broader labour process of restaurant serving. We argue that black–white variation in tipping behaviours persist as a result of utilitarian processes in which service providers attempt to minimize economic uncertainty and occupational powerlessness by withholding subtle forms of service from patrons whom they view to be unpredictable tippers and thus undesirable patrons. It is suggested that this labour process approach extends the scope of analysis of previously posited explanations for the black–white tipping differential to include other social groups that are also thought to be below-average tippers. We conclude by offering several hypotheses and avenues for future research on disparities in tipping behaviours that derive from the labour process approach we present.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: ‘Because they tip for shit!’: The Social Psychology of Everyday Racism in Restaurants

Teaching & Learning Guide for: ‘Because they tip for shit!’: The Social Psychology of Everyday Racism in Restaurants

Techniques for Increasing Servers' Tips

In a 1996 article in Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Michael Lynn introduced the idea that restaurant managers could increase their servers' tips, and thereby reduce turnover, by training the servers to engage in one or more of seven tip-enhancing behaviors. Since then, the list of tip-enhancing behaviors has expanded, and a manual was produced to help managers train their servers in the use of these techniques. However, empirical support for the effectiveness of these behaviors rests on only a few studies that typically involve only one or two servers at a single restaurant. This study involves an internet survey of 1,066 restaurant servers from across the United States. Results indicate that servers who more frequently engage in the tip-enhancing behaviors report larger tips relative to those of coworkers. These findings support the effectiveness of the behaviors at increasing tips for a variety of different servers working at many different restaurants. Thus, restaurant managers are encouraged to train their servers to engage in these behaviors.

Tipping behavior in Canadian restaurants

This study tested several common stereotypes held by restaurant servers about tipping behavior, using detailed, household-level Canadian recall data on over 73,000 restaurant meals during the 2000–2005 period. Most variation (84%) in tip amounts was explained by a meal's price. Regarding tipping rates, however, two-stage least squares and logistic regressions explained only a small portion of variation. Diners’ previous tipping history was the dominant predictor of tipping rates. Statistically significant results supported each tipping stereotype, but the average magnitude of impacts appeared too low to justify basing staffing or service quality decisions on diner-specific tipping expectations.

Restaurant servers’ perceptions of customer tipping intentions

Customer reactions to service encounters have been studied with surprisingly little emphasis on how servers’ perceive customers. If tips are an incentive to reward service then beliefs about consumers’ tipping habits may impact service delivery. An extensive survey of restaurant servers revealed that regular patrons and males were thought to be the best tippers; teenagers the worst. Females perceived males, African-Americans and foreign customers to be better tippers than did males; self reported tip income for males was greater than for females. Server ethnicity was not a factor. Systematic monitoring of these server perceptions may ensure more homogeneous service delivery.

Restaurant servers, tipping, and resistance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a next step in Greta Foff Paules' groundbreaking analysis of control‐resistance in service work by exploring the work practices of restaurant servers in regard to ways they resist and reshape the tipping system that structures their work life. Specifically, the author explores how workers will attempt to manipulate the system to elicit higher tips from customers and when servers forgo an economic tip, so that they can exercise dignity and self‐respect. Central to this analysis is to highlight the space in between Paules' notions of “getting” and “making” a tip. In this space, servers can exercise resistance and still acknowledge the humanness of the customer.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is participant observation and interviews.FindingsRestaurant servers see their ability to manipulate the tipping system as routes to exercising agency and resistance in work interactions. Moreover, servers see their ability to earn tips (and even forgo tips) by both capitalizing on the organizational structures and capitalizing on the customers' human nature.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focuses on servers broadly, and not on distinctions within groups of servers (i.e. sex differences, age differences or restaurant types).Originality/valueThis paper furthers the understanding of the tipping practice, which is historically viewed in terms of status inequality and control. In contrast, the author highlight how workers in practice, are able to use the tipping system to resist customer and manager demands, assert their creativity, agency, and self‐dignity, and still treat the customer as a social being.