Why do people tip? The psychology of restaurant tipping in Switzerland. Sébastien Fernandez, Charlotte de Boer & Lohyd Terrier

Transcription

1 Why do people tip? The psychology of restaurant tipping in Switzerland Sébastien Fernandez, Charlotte de Boer & Lohyd Terrier Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse Occidentale, Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Lausanne

2 What is a tip and why do we tip? Tip: voluntary sum of money given to service workers 2

3 Why is studiying restaurant tipping so important? In the US, it is estimated that $ 42 billion are spent annually in tips in the foodservice industry (Azar, 2008) people working currently in restaurants in Switzerland 4236 CHF: Median salary for restaurant waiters (in comparison to an average of 6118 CHF) Turnover rate of 17.9 % in the restaurant/hospitality industry (the highest) 3

4 Factors related to tip size Meta-analysis conducted in 20 restaurants and involving more than 2547 dining parties in the US (Lynn & McCall, 2001). Service quality and tip size: r =.11; p <.0001 Food quality and tip size: r =.06; p <.03 Other factors commonly related to tip size Bill size (Lynn & Grassman, 1990) Patronage frequency (Conlin, Lynn, & O Donoghue, 2003) Payment method (Lynn & Latané, 1984) Customer having food service experience (Parrett, 2011) 4

5 Aim of the present study Examine the correlation between service quality, food quality (and other factors) and the tip size in Switzerland All the studies were conducted in the US Differences between the US and most european countries (Switzerland): No fixed monthly salary vs fixed monthly salary Norm of 15% vs no norm 5

6 Method Procedure Data collected in an Italian casual-dining restaurant in Lausanne Waiters gave questionnaires to customers at the end of the meal Participants 120 dining tables (valid data) 60.8 % males Age (M= 42.05; SD= 12.32) 6

7 Measures Food quality (Lynn & Graves, 1996; measured on a 5-point rating scale) Appearance, taste, portion size, price, temperature Service quality (Lynn & Graves, 1996; measured on a 5-point rating scale) Appearance, friendliness, speed, attentiveness, knowledge Tip size (in CHF) 7

8 Descriptive statistics Variables %/M(SD) Regular customer 92.5 % Customer having food service experience 24.2 % Payment method (Money) 60.5 % Number of customers 3.42 (2.24) Bill amount (CHF) (73.67) Tip amount (CHF) 2.97 (2.72) 8

9 Results- Correlations Variables M(SD) α Correlation with tip amount Food quality 4.36 (.45).74 r =.21* F Appearance 4.32 (.65) r =.04 F Taste 4.41 (.59) r =.04 F Portion size 4.55 (.55) r =.16 F Price 4.11 (.78) r =.27** F Temperature 4.40 (.65) r =.08 Service quality 4.64 (.39).79 r =.12 S Appearance 4.58 (.56) r =.08 S Friendliness 4.86 (.35) r =.19* S Speed 4.55 (.63) r =.06 S Attentiveness 4.54 (.55) r =.16 S Knowledge 4.56 (.63) r =.08 * p <.05; ** p <.01 9

10 Results - Regression Dependent variable: Tip amount β Δ R 2 Step %*** Customer s age -.06 Customer s gender (1 = Male; 0 = Female).13 Regular customer (1 = Yes; 0 = No).14 Customer s food service experience 1 = Yes; 0 = No.29** Number of customers -.17 Bill amount.49*** Payment method (1 = Money; 0 = Credit card) -.09 * p <.05; ** p <.01; *** p <

11 Results - Regression Dependent variable: Tip amount β Δ R 2 Step %*** Step 2 10 % F Appearance -.09 F Taste.14 F Portion size -.14 F Price.31** F Temperature.09 S Appearance.00 S Friendliness.14 S Speed -.08 S Attentiveness -.13 S Knowledge -.10 * p <.05; ** p <.01; *** p <

12 Discussion Main results The higher the bill the higher the tip Customers having food service experience provide larger tips than customers with no food experience Customers who are satisfied with the price leave larger tips than customers less satisfied with the price 12

13 Discussion Explanation 1: Result is due to the level of income of the customers Explanation 2: People who have the impression that they don t have too much to pay are more generous These results have never been found before in the USA Cultural difference on the dimension of Long term Orientation? (Hofstede, 1991) 13

14 Conclusion Practical implications Danger of overpricing in restaurants Limitations Only 1 restaurant Lots of regular customers (92.5%) Blind to the procedure of survey distribution The future Data in more restaurants analyzed HES-SO fund about influence tactics and tipping Personality and tipping 14

15 THANK YOU FOR LISTENING 15

16 Introduction Tip: voluntary sum of money given to service workers In the US, it is estimated that $ 42 billion are spent annually in tips in the foodservice industry (Azar, 2008) If the tip is not mandatory, why do people tip? To follow the norm or a habit To provide ego gratification to the tipper To reward good service 16