Sweetening the Till: The Use of Candy to Increase Restaurant Tipping
RESEARCH QUESTION: Does giving restaurant customers a piece of candy after the meal increase the size of tips they leave? If so, why?
FINDINGS: In Experiment 1, giving guests candy increased their tips from 15.1% to 17.8% of the bill (t(90) = 5.25, p , .0001). In Experiment 2, tips increased with the amount of candy given as well as with the manner in which it was given. Customers tipped more when given one piece of candy (per person in the dining party) than when given no candy and they tipped even more when given two pieces of candy (19.0% vs 19.6% vs 21.6%) However, the largest tips were given when the server offered guests one piece of candy and then “spontaneously” suggested that they take a second piece of candy (23%). Receiving candy increased the tips of large groups more than those of small groups. These findings indicate that servers can get larger tips by giving their customers’ candy. They also suggest that this effect is attributable to the customers’ need to reciprocate for the gifts of candy.
RELEVANCE: Restaurant managers rely upon tips as a major source of server compensation. Increasing the tips that servers receive is likely to increase server morale and reduce server turnover. This study examines one potential way of increasing servers’ tips.
HOW STUDIED: In Experiment 1, two waiters randomly assigned 92 dining parties to receive candy or not. In Experiment 2, a waitress randomly assigned 80 dining parties to receive either no candy, one candy, two candies, or one plus another candy. All servers then recorded the tip and bill sizes of those parties.
ACTION IMPLICATIONS: Restaurant managers who want to increase their servers’ tips should provide small candies for the servers to give their customers.