tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/waiters-61493/articlesWaiters – The Conversation2021-09-22T20:00:18Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1676142021-09-22T20:00:18Z2021-09-22T20:00:18ZWorker shortage? Or poor work conditions? Here’s what’s really vexing Canadian restaurants<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422252/original/file-20210921-17-tgwmo9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=421%2C18%2C4894%2C3987&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A waitress wears a mask while carrying drinks for guests inside the Blu Martini restaurant in Kingston, Ont., in July 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Restaurant operators across Canada are struggling to find enough staff to run their operations. This labour crisis has been <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/deflated-by-inflation-and-paying-good-money-to-do-nothing-with-your-money-1.6180401/profit-sharing-signing-bonuses-and-health-benefits-food-service-bosses-try-it-all-to-lure-workers-back-1.6182637">highly publicized</a> by Canadian media as a “labour shortage.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/restaurants-are-key-to-restoring-canadas-pre-pandemic-employment-levels/">A recent survey</a> by Restaurants Canada found that 80 per cent of food service operators were finding it difficult to hire kitchen staff and 67 per cent were having trouble filling serving, bar-tending and hosting positions.</p>
<p>Prior to the pandemic, Canada’s food service sector employed <a href="https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/a-third-of-canadas-foodservice-workforce-is-still-out-of-work/">1.2 million people</a>, and according to Statistics Canada it currently needs to fill <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210826/t003a-eng.htm">130,000 positions</a> to reach pre-pandemic levels. That said, the Canadian restaurant industry has been <a href="https://www.restaurantscanada.org/labour-shortages-second-greatest-concern-foodservice-operators/">struggling with hiring and retention problems</a> for many years. </p>
<p>Should the chronic hiring struggles of Canadian restaurants be referred to as a labour shortage, or can it be more accurately portrayed as a retention issue fuelled by a lack of decent work? Does the use of the term labour shortage take the onus off of restaurant operators for creating these shortages, and instead place it on Canadian job-seekers?</p>
<h2>First job for many Canadians</h2>
<p>A 2010 Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association <a href="https://m3.ithq.qc.ca/collection/00000240.pdf">report found</a> that 22 per cent of Canadians worked in a restaurant as their first job — the highest of any industry. The study also found that 32 per cent of Canadians have at one point worked in the restaurant industry.</p>
<p>These statistics show that millions of Canadians have been introduced to restaurant work and the industry has enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of labour for decades. So why is it that the restaurant industry is burning through so many people?</p>
<p>Our research on restaurant work conditions shows that working in a restaurant is difficult, requiring the sacrifice of work-life balance due to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15378020.2021.1950507">long hours and unpredictable schedules</a>. While restaurant work can be rewarding and fun, it can also be low-paying, stressful and physically demanding, all of which can have a negative impact on <a href="https://www.thestar.com/life/2021/07/02/for-those-in-the-restaurant-industry-theres-relief-at-coming-back-but-anxiety-about-whats-ahead.html">mental health</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A waiter wearing protective equipment collects the bill" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422681/original/file-20210922-25-1b2pl5g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A waiter wearing protective equipment collects the bill at a restaurant in Saint-Sauveur, Que.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Many restaurant workers spend at least eight hours a day on their feet with no time for breaks or meals. Workers are also required to forgo their social and family life by having to work late nights, weekends and holidays. </p>
<p>Many restaurant workers almost never know precisely when their shifts will end, and tend to be placed on unpredictable split shifts or “on call” shifts to save labour costs. </p>
<h2>Toxic work environment</h2>
<p>The restaurant industry has also been rampant with sexual harassment, abuse and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-after-the-pandemic-is-over-lets-not-rebuild-chef-culture/">toxic work environments</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2018412-eng.htm">A Statistics Canada study</a> found that hospitality workers have the worst job quality out of any industry. This was largely due to low earnings, the inability to take time off, no paid sick leave, a lack of training opportunities and no supplemental medical and dental care. </p>
<p>This same study found that 67 per cent of hospitality workers work in jobs with work conditions that fall below decent work levels.</p>
<p>So what exactly is “decent work?” It’s a concept established by the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/decent-work/lang--en/index.htm">International Labour Organization</a> and is linked to the United Nation’s <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal8">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. Decent work establishes universal conditions of work that are central to the well-being of workers. </p>
<p>These conditions are considered to be minimum labour standards that include living wages, work hours that allow for free time and rest, safe working environments and access to health care. Decent work is considered a human right but based on the conditions of restaurant work, it appears the Canadian restaurant industry is struggling to provide it to all of its employees. </p>
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<img alt="Bartenders and wait staff, all wearing masks, inside a restaurant." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422682/original/file-20210922-27-15dfjc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Bartenders and wait staff wait for the lunch hour rush as patrons sit on the patio of a Toronto restaurant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
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<h2>Exodus of workers from the industry</h2>
<p>Through our research on restaurant work, and via conversations with many restaurant employees across the country, we’ve learned that many are <a href="https://ugsrp.com/2014/12/31/why-are-young-managers-leaving-the-restaurant-industry/why-are-young-managers-leaving-the-restaurant-industry-1/">fleeing the industry</a> because the work is a grind. What’s more, they don’t see any future in a job that will continue to hinder their well-being.</p>
<p>The pandemic allowed workers time to find <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/food-and-drink/food/toronto-restaurants-have-a-hiring-problem-and-it-goes-way-beyond-cerb">jobs in other industries</a> that provide more stability and feature regular work schedules, vacation time, higher pay and benefits.</p>
<p>These workers often felt neglected, and that their employers did not believe they were worth investing in. </p>
<p>While there are certainly good restaurant employers, the industry as a whole has failed to improve working conditions because historically, there were always new people to fill roles. </p>
<p>That raises the question: Could the continuous reference to a labour shortage in the restaurant industry actually be creating a lack of urgency in addressing longstanding issues of work quality?</p>
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<img alt="A waitress wearing a mask serves patrons." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422680/original/file-20210922-27-148c4l7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A waitress serves patrons at a restaurant in Carstairs, Alta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
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<p>If restaurants want to operate at full staff in the post-pandemic future, they need to invest in their employees because, after all, it’s impossible to run a restaurant without people working in it. </p>
<p>The restaurant industry has always spent money, time and resources to attract customers and increase revenues. It’s long past time for restaurant operators to consider their employees internal customers, and put as much effort into providing great experiences for them as they do for their external customers. </p>
<p>A good place for operators to start is by providing decent and dignified work for all that provides decent wages, benefits and healthy working conditions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Gordon is a volunteer with the Canadian Restaurant Workers Coalition. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce McAdams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Should the chronic hiring struggles of Canadian restaurants be referred to as a labour shortage, or can it be more accurately portrayed as a retention issue fuelled by a lack of decent work?Bruce McAdams, Associate Professor in Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, University of GuelphRebecca Gordon, Graduate Student, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1640172021-07-11T12:28:39Z2021-07-11T12:28:39ZAt the tipping point: It’s time to include tips in menu prices as restaurants reopen from COVID lockdowns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410228/original/file-20210707-25-1sc4sr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5609%2C3742&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tipping, a popular cultural practice in Canada, can have hidden consequences for food service workers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Tipping is a cultural practice strongly supported in Canada, with most patrons feeling good about their experiences. However, gratuities can have hidden consequences for those working in food service.</p>
<p>With staff recruitment a problem as the easing of pandemic guidelines are allowing restaurants to re-open, our research suggests it may be time for the industry to think seriously about how to manage tipping differently. And incorporating tips as part of the price of a meal should be an option. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sites/agri-food/Tipping%20Study%20(June%2019%202021)%20EN.pdf">report</a> released a few weeks ago on the future of tipping was a pulse check of patrons’ perceptions of food service tipping and their anticipated behavioural changes as we exit the pandemic. </p>
<p>While our survey plainly asks how people are feeling about tipping during the pandemic, prior research provides evidence of how tipping contributes to detrimental working conditions for restaurant staff.</p>
<p>Some are suggesting that the sector needs a <a href="https://troymedia.com/business/restaurants-face-a-great-reset-thanks-to-covid-19/">“great reset”</a>. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted Canada’s food service industry. With restrictions, limited hours, take-out or delivery-only options, revenues have dropped significantly. Many businesses have taken on substantial loans in order to stay afloat. </p>
<p>In a May report by <a href="https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/raising-our-voice-restaurants-canada-calls-for-sector-specific-survival-measures-at-federal-finance-committee-meeting/">Restaurants Canada</a>, 10,000 food service businesses have permanently closed. As vaccination counts increase and provinces begin to relax restrictions, resuming our previously normal behaviours may in fact become a problem. </p>
<h2>A pro-social behaviour</h2>
<p>Our report investigated tipping as a pro-social behaviour, in which giving money results in positive feelings.</p>
<p>Though 71 per cent surveyed did not anticipate changing their tipping habits, 20 per cent are planning on tipping more and are happy to do so. Additionally, 60 per cent of respondents contribute the same tip percentages in all restaurants, but 40 per cent tip more in their favourite restaurant. </p>
<p>In the short term, this is good news for servers in restaurants. Patrons may have the financial security to tip more as personal savings rates have increased dramatically over the pandemic, according to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610011201&pickMembers%5B0%5D=2.1&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2018&cubeTimeFrame.endMonth=01&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2021&referencePeriods=20180101%2C20210101">Statistics Canada</a>. But this may not last. </p>
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<img alt="Masked and gloved waitress stands before two seated restaurant patrons" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C116%2C3114%2C1959&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410224/original/file-20210707-15-1vkt79x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A new study from Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab examined attitudes and perceptions of tipping habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Beyond the customers’ ability to tip, tipping also has a <a href="https://troymedia.com/business/the-dark-side-of-tipping-your-server/#.YNX6yBNKh24">darker side</a> to it.</p>
<h2>Cultural expectation</h2>
<p>There is evidence that tipping is a strong cultural expectation in Canada, to which patrons willingly conform — and some are even motivated to exceed expectations.</p>
<p>However, there are issues that are not evident when patrons are paying the bill. Tipping has been documented to <a href="https://youtu.be/kOk2C4n4eMQ">play a contributing factor</a> in income instability, high employee turnover rates, discrimination — and even sexual harassment. </p>
<p>Food service typically deals with a 70 per cent turnover rate, which has likely increased due to the pandemic. Tip-dependent incomes have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. About 80,000 workers are still technically employed, but have no hours according to <a href="https://www.restaurantscanada.org/industry-news/raising-our-voice-restaurants-canada-calls-for-sector-specific-survival-measures-at-federal-finance-committee-meeting/">Restaurants Canada</a>. </p>
<p>Studies from tipping behaviour researchers have shown that there are not only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0010880403260105">racial</a> and gender prejudices about tipping amounts, but tipping creates a power dynamic in how patrons and servers treat each other and perceptions of service quality. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/01/sexual-harassment-is-pervasive-in-the-restaurant-industry-heres-what-needs-to-change">Harvard Business Report</a> publication cites 90 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men report experiences of sexual harassment as food service workers, with most going unreported to managers due to the culture of “the customer is always right” or it’s just “part of the job.”</p>
<p>Additionally, the food service sector is behind all others in terms of recovery. As of May, Statistics Canada revealed there are still over <a href="http://www.restaurantscanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/infographic_RC_Final.pdf">300,000 jobs</a> to fill in the sector. This means a new, inexperienced population are likely to fill food service jobs, unaware of the challenges facing them.</p>
<p>As patrons, we are largely unaware of the negative consequences, and tipping remains a pleasurable experience.</p>
<h2>Feeling the ‘warm glow’</h2>
<p>Termed a “warm glow” by researchers <a href="https://dunn.psych.ubc.ca/">Elizabeth Dunn</a> of the University of British Columbia, <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/psychology/about/people/profiles/laknin.html">Lara Aknin</a> of Simon Fraser University and <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=326229">Michael Norton</a> of Harvard Business School, the effect we feel from tipping fulfils a basic human need of feeling in control, seeing the immediate effect of your decisions, and feeling a social connection through the exchange. </p>
<p>Respondents prefer to follow their own tipping formula, though some do not like included tips or service charges. Most surveyed feel like their tips make a difference and that tipping makes the job worthwhile or contributes to motivation. Tipping yields positive feelings that justify current and future behaviour for the patron. </p>
<p>Even so, more than one third of those surveyed indicate they do not support tipping in food service and would like to see it prohibited or regulated.</p>
<p>Restaurants Canada reports that nearly 50 per cent of Canadians know someone in food service and 22 per cent choose food service as their first job. With so many people experiencing tipping firsthand or through people they know, it is surprising that the support for tipping is still so high despite <a href="https://troymedia.com/business/the-dark-side-of-tipping-your-server/#.YNX6yBNKh24">previous research</a> indicating high support for tipping alternatives. </p>
<h2>What’s the true cost?</h2>
<p>The true cost of the bill currently includes other social burdens that are not evident at the time of the tipping experience. Increasing tips, while with good intentions, will only prolong dealing with the issues of income instability, employment security, discrimination in all its forms and sexual harassment. </p>
<p>If we want to address these issues, we need to acknowledge the less visible impacts of our actions. By encouraging our restaurants and delivery services to move away from tipping, we are doing more in the long run to make sure that our restaurants and their staff have a sustainable, long term future that will survive the next large scale disruption.</p>
<p>Because menu prices would go up by incorporating tips, such a change would require a policy shift coupled with support from industry. However, our data shows we still have a long way to go. </p>
<p>The pandemic has proven we can get through challenges together and we can still feel that “warm glow” by knowing that when we pay the bill, everyone benefits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tipping has often-overlooked consequences for food service workers. The industry should turn its attention to underlying issues if it wants to ensure a sustainable future.Sylvain Charlebois, Director, Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Professor in Food Distribution and Policy, Dalhousie UniversityPoppy Nicolette Riddle, Research associate, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1588452021-04-27T12:13:00Z2021-04-27T12:13:00ZAirbnb hosts, Uber drivers and waiters who are more politically conservative get slightly higher ratings and tips<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/396385/original/file-20210421-21-blze7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=78%2C48%2C1934%2C1240&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Do your driver's political beliefs affect the service he provides?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PhoenixAirportRideHailing/49ca592b8443413d9a768dd1a9f99813/photo?Query=uber%20AND%20driver&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=962&currentItemNo=60">AP Photo/Anita Snow</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Customers give higher ratings and tips to politically conservative Airbnb hosts, Uber drivers and waiters than to ones with more liberal leanings, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1233">new peer-reviewed research</a> I co-authored. That’s despite evidence we found that consumers may actually expect the opposite. </p>
<p>To reach the first conclusion, a colleague and I conducted four different studies. The first involved poring over about 50,000 Airbnb listings in 16 U.S. cities. We examined average ratings and compared them with the percentage of Republican voters in the city, based on recent elections. </p>
<p>We found that Airbnb hosts in cities with a greater share of Republican voters tended to have higher ratings. Specifically, an increase of one percentage point in a city’s proportion of Republicans correlated with a 0.12 increase in its average Airbnb rating. While that may seem small, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s11002-020-09546-4">Airbnb ratings are often quite high</a>, which means a small change can be significant.</p>
<p>While we controlled for other factors that could influence average ratings such as housing prices, there are other possible explanations for our results.</p>
<p>So we surveyed 183 Uber drivers and 119 servers using <a href="https://www.mturk.com">Amazon’s Mechanical Turk</a> survey platform. We asked the drivers to state their rating and waiters to report the percentage of tips they received per bill over the previous week, on average. Besides general control questions like age, income and gender, we asked participants to identify themselves on a seven-point scale that measured their political ideology.</p>
<p>In both cases, those who identified as conservative or tended to vote Republican reported higher ratings and tips than more liberal or Democratic participants. The differences were small but statistically significant.</p>
<p>We wondered what was driving this pattern, so we conducted a fourth study to see if we could find an explanation. </p>
<p>Past research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2008.00668.x">suggests that conservatives score higher</a> on a personality trait commonly associated with good customer service: conscientiousness. So we surveyed 167 Airbnb hosts from across the country. We asked them to report their rating and assessed their ideology by asking <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082131">how they feel about 12 political issues</a>. We then measured their conscientiousness based on a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00046-1">measure of the five main personality traits</a>. </p>
<p>Again, the more conservative hosts tended to have higher ratings and higher conscientiousness, which our results imply were linked.</p>
<p>A fifth study we conducted suggests consumers, however, may actually expect better service from liberal providers. We recruited 249 participants and told them they would have an upcoming appointment with a new doctor. Half were told that the doctor would be liberal and the other half conservative. We found that an overwhelming number of participants – including many conservatives – expected better service from the liberal doctor.</p>
<p>Although there were limitations to our studies, we replicated our findings across several control variables, separate sources of consumer data, varying measurements of political orientation and different service contexts.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Political flareups between service workers and customers happen a lot. Some recent examples include an <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/irl/video-driver-homophobic-passenger-biden/">Uber passenger berating his driver</a> for saying he voted for President Joe Biden, a Target <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/target-employee-says-n-y-customer-demanded-she-remove-black-n1232597">shopper yelling at an employee</a> wearing a mask with “Black Lives Matter” written on it and a California restaurateur <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/427917-california-restaurant-owner-wont-serve-customers-wearing-maga">refusing service to customers wearing MAGA hats</a>. </p>
<p>So we wanted to know how service workers’ political beliefs affect the perceived quality of service they deliver. We don’t believe our results should be interpreted to suggest an individual conservative is more likely to provide better service than a liberal. Rather, our focus was on the differences between the groups. </p>
<p>Further, we think that the reason this difference exists is because of each group’s general level of conscientiousness. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We didn’t determine if consumers perceived the political ideology of their hosts, drivers or waiters. </p>
<p>If so, would a liberal traveler still award a five-star review to a conservative Airbnb host? Would a conservative customer be less likely to leave a generous tip to a liberal waiter? We hope to address these questions in future research.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Davidson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This finding was a surprise, since consumers actually seem to think liberals will provide better service.Alexander Davidson, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1492102020-11-30T13:30:27Z2020-11-30T13:30:27ZWhy waiters give Black customers poor service<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371096/original/file-20201124-13-q994pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C176%2C7315%2C4715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some people argue the poor service is because of a stereotype that Black people tip less.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-african-american-is-calculated-credit-card-royalty-free-image/1086131330">PavelVinnik/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>When Black diners <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/317564/new-highs-say-black-people-treated-less-fairly-daily-life.aspx">get poorer service</a> from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/tsq.12093">wait staff and bartenders</a> than white customers, it’s more likely because of racial bias than the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-we-teach-restaurant-servers-to-treat-all-customers-equally-regardless-of-race-42865">well-documented fact that they tip less</a>, according to a <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1177/0731121420946775">new survey I recently published</a>. </p>
<p>To reach that conclusion, my colleague Gerald Nowak and I recruited over 700 mostly white full-service restaurant servers and bartenders to review a hypothetical dining scenario that randomly involved either white or Black customers. We then asked them to predict the tip that the table would leave, the likelihood that the table would exhibit undesirable dining behaviors and the quality of service they would likely provide the table. </p>
<p>We also asked participants to fill out a survey to learn how frequently they observed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102435">anti-Black expressions of bias</a> in their workplaces and to elicit if they harbored <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00281">their own prejudices</a> toward African Americans. </p>
<p>Servers who either held prejudices toward African Americans, worked in a restaurant where racist remarks were frequently heard or both were significantly more likely to predict that the table with Black customers would not only tip them less but also display uncivil, demanding and dishonest behaviors. As a result, these servers also reported that they would give worse service to the Black table relative to the white one. </p>
<p>We found no evidence of racially disparate treatment except when one of those two conditions was present: server prejudice or racist workplace words and behaviors.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The link between bias and actual discrimination is widely assumed – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.32.061604.123132">but rarely documented</a> – to be responsible for the mistreatment that Black Americans continue to experience <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/racism-african-americans-quiz.html">while engaging in a host of routine activities</a>. </p>
<p>Besides providing new evidence of this connection, our results also have important practical implications. Because surveys show that Black customers are <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-racial-differences-in-restaurant-tipping-35889">less familiar than white people</a> with the 15%-20% tipping norm, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1938965518777221">they do tend to tip less</a>. Servers are thus thought to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-we-teach-restaurant-servers-to-treat-all-customers-equally-regardless-of-race-42865">economically motivated</a> to give preferential service to white customers who they believe are more likely to reward their efforts. </p>
<p>In response, <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-racial-differences-in-restaurant-tipping-35889">some have suggested</a> that voluntary tipping be abolished or steps be taken to eliminate the Black-white tipping difference by <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-racial-differences-in-restaurant-tipping-35889">increasing Black customers’ familiarity</a> with tipping norms.</p>
<p>However, we did not find evidence of stereotyping and service discrimination in the absence of anti-Black bias, which suggests the solution to this problem is in addressing racial prejudices in the restaurant industry. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>A drawback of our study is that we asked servers how they would think and behave under hypothetical, controlled and experimentally manipulated conditions. We can’t know for sure how this process would unfold when servers wait on actual white and Black customers. Doing so would be very challenging. And because our participants weren’t randomly selected, our ability to know how well they reflect the attitudes and workplaces of all servers and bartenders nationwide is limited. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416587112">prior research</a> has documented a relationship between what people say they would do under hypothetical conditions and what they actually do when confronted with similar situations, which gives us some confidence in the real-world application of our results. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Right now, we’re examining racial discrimination on the other side of the table by studying restaurant customers’ tendency to discriminate against Black servers by tipping them less than white ones. By administering a survey experiment to over 2,000 restaurant customers across the nation, our ongoing research project aims to further document this form of consumer racial discrimination. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/149210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zachary Brewster does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s long been known that Black patrons of bars and restaurants tend to get worse service than white customers. What’s not been well understood is precisely why.Zachary Brewster, Associate Professor of Sociology, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1165562019-05-12T16:45:35Z2019-05-12T16:45:35ZRainforest Cafe strike puts the spotlight on tip-sharing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273625/original/file-20190509-183089-1ah1ynq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2269&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hospitality workers across the country are concerned about efforts by employers to zero in on their tips. The ongoing labour dispute at the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls underscores the alarm.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The ongoing labour dispute at the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls, Ont., highlights a growing concern among hospitality workers across the country — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/restaurant-chains-increase-tip-outs-1.4517271">employer control over their tips</a>. </p>
<p>Unionized servers, bussers and hostesses at the Rainforest Cafe have been <a href="https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9273637-striking-rainforest-cafe-workers-put-niagara-falls-tourism-district-on-notice-">on strike since early April</a>. They are trying to bargain their first collective agreement with their employer, Canadian Niagara Hotels. Canadian Niagara Hotels owns the Rainforest Cafe location, as well as several <a href="https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9289769-backlash-hits-falls-hotel-after-tourists-kicked-out-for-joining-picket-line/">local-area hotels</a> and attractions. </p>
<p>Both the substance and the administration of the employer’s tip-sharing policy remains a key sticking point in the dispute.</p>
<h2>They can’t take my tips, can they?</h2>
<p>Tips make up a substantial portion of a server’s income. And yet, prior to 2016, there was nothing in Ontario law that prevented employers from taking servers’ tips for any reason whatsoever: to cover breakage, theft by patrons, general renovations and other capital investments, to redistribute to other workers, or, simply, to keep them. </p>
<p>Tips are not counted as wages. And, contrary to the popular view, until recently, servers were not legally entitled to them. </p>
<p>Across Canada, regulation of tips and tip-sharing is more or less robust. For instance, Québec gives complete control over tip-sharing arrangements <a href="https://www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en/wages-pay-and-work/wages/wages-employees-receiving-tips/index.html">to the employees themselves</a>. Not only are employers forbidden from imposing tip-sharing arrangements upon employees, but the employer has no role in the administration of any such arrangement except at the request of the employees. </p>
<p>Newfoundland and Labrador’s statutory language is similarly clear in terms of giving individual employees <a href="https://assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/l02.htm#38">control over the tips they earn</a>. By contrast, some provinces do not regulate tips at all, meaning employers may do with them as they please.</p>
<p>While Ontario and British Columbia do regulate tips, they give employers large discretion over them. Both jurisdictions forbid employers from <a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96113_01">taking tips to pay for business expenses</a>. But beyond that, the employer has nearly complete control over any tips and tip-sharing arrangements. This includes how much is to be collected, as well as administration over the redistribution process, and — to a very large extent — who is to be included in what’s known as the “tip-out pool.”</p>
<p>In Ontario, and under amendments introduced in B.C. in late April, proprietors are forbidden to participate in tip-out pools except under certain narrowly specified circumstances. Whether front-line managers can participate —and under what circumstances — is less clear. The inclusion of front-line managers in tip-out arrangements is a central focus for striking Rainforest Cafe workers and others.</p>
<h2>Tipping-out is the new battleground</h2>
<p>Tip-sharing is not a new phenomenon. It has been described as a means of remedying the pay inequity between serving and non-serving staff. This certainly sounds laudable and is perhaps appropriate in some circumstances. After all, some non-tipped workers (bussers, kitchen staff) may also face precarious conditions — low wages, uncertain hours — and they contribute to the ability of the serving staff to do the job for which they receive tips. </p>
<p>But employer control over tips is a new battleground for many hospitality workers. Servers object to unilateral increases to tip-out amounts and the extension of tip-out pools to previously excluded employees. They say it amounts to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/restaurant-chains-increase-tip-outs-1.4517271">clawing back gains made through improved employment standards legislation</a>, notably minimum wage increases. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/273632/original/file-20190509-183103-1bil265.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who’s included in the tip-out pool can be contentious.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Truong Dan/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Servers are concerned that tips are being funnelled to higher-paid or salaried employees as a means to maintain a particular compensation level for those employees; “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/restaurant-chains-increase-tip-outs-1.4517271">taking from Peter to pay Paul.</a>”</p>
<p>Employer control over the arrangement also makes it vulnerable to abuse. In Ontario, there is no real way to ensure that tips are being collected and redistributed in accordance with any employer policy or even in compliance with the law; the requirement to provide pay stubs, for instance, does <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00e41#BK18">not extend to information about tips.</a> </p>
<p>This is concerning given revelations of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/27/workplace-violations-widespread-in-ontario-government-report-says.html">systemic violations of employment standards</a> and Ontario’s recent <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2018/10/25/ministry-of-labour-puts-hold-on-proactive-workplace-inspections-internal-memo-says.html">cutbacks to proactive enforcement measures</a>.</p>
<h2>Strong legislation and strong unions</h2>
<p>The dispute at the Rainforest Cafe highlights both the need for strong employment standards legislation and strong unions. </p>
<p>Robust employment standards legislation is necessary if we’re serious about ensuring workers receive basic protections. For example, tip-sharing should be regulated, at a bare minimum by requiring transparency. </p>
<p>But even where employment standards are strong, rarely are individual workers able to enforce rights on their own; a tip-sharing policy that violates employment standards would not likely be rectified by an individual employee. Unions provide workers with effective grievance procedures, as well as expertise that individual employees cannot otherwise normally access.</p>
<p>Workers at the Rainforest Cafe decided to unionize in March 2018 <a href="https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/8363838-rainforest-cafe-workers-vote-to-unionize/">over the employer’s tip-sharing policy</a>. They wanted a say over both its substance and its administration. Nearly a year later, they are on strike against a highly profitable employer that is intent on redistributing servers’ tips in response to minimum wage increases. </p>
<p>How the dispute will resolve itself is still an open question, but the strike has brought attention to a gap in public policy that allows employers to “take from Peter to pay Paul.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Braley-Rattai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ongoing labour dispute at the Rainforest Cafe in Niagara Falls, Ont., highlights some dubious efforts by employers to take tips from hospitality workers due to minimum wage increases.Alison Braley-Rattai, Assistant Professor Dept. of Labour Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1055672018-11-07T21:58:28Z2018-11-07T21:58:28ZAttractive restaurant servers can influence what we think of our meals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242490/original/file-20181026-7050-1y69wtj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research suggests male diners respond more favourably to restaurant meals if they consider their female server attractive. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than ever, dining out is an activity woven into our daily lives. At their best, restaurants hold the public’s attention because they reflect and radiate taste, culture and a vision of the good life.</p>
<p>Yet despite all this positive attention, the alignment of the overall restaurant experience with the food itself is often overlooked when we dine out. In many cases, guests are set up for high culinary expectations because of the restaurant’s decor and environment, and are sometimes disappointed by less-than-inspired food.</p>
<p><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1984-10983-001">Previous research</a> has shown <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2006.10.006">that environmental cues</a> — including sounds, smells and aesthetics — can have a significant impact on the overall consumer experience in retail settings. As it turns out, these environmental cues can also impact the dining experience, including the taste of the food. </p>
<p>To this end, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2018.04.003">my recent research</a>, co-authored with JoAndrea Hoegg and Karl Aquino from the University of British Columbia, suggests that the physical attractiveness of servers can help form expectations of a dining experience. </p>
<p>Published in the <em>Journal of Retailing</em>, we examined whether and how the presence of attractive individuals altered consumers’ evaluations of their dining experiences. Furthermore, we hypothesized that such a connection only exists with heterosexual male diners, and only when their servers are female. </p>
<h2>Restaurants hire the attractive</h2>
<p>The employment of attractive individuals is a sometimes controversial yet surprisingly common strategy in service settings, <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2012/07/21/hiring-hotties">including food retailers</a>. Our research, based on online surveys and lab experiments, showed the divergent effects that physical attractiveness can have on taste perception. </p>
<p>We found that a mediocre meal is experienced as even worse with the presence of an attractive server. In other words, a lousy meal tasted even more unpleasant when consumers were first exposed to an attractive server. </p>
<p>This can be attributed to what is known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0148-2963(85)90029-3">negative disconfirmation effect</a>, a phenomenon in which negative information is introduced to consumers who had already formed positive expectations. It is a reflection that their expectations, based on the server’s appearance, were not met. That gap between expectations and reality can lead to surprise and disappointment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244106/original/file-20181106-74769-14ban0e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Restaurants purposely hire physically attractive servers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the flip side, the presence of attractive people does not backfire with a relatively good meal. The takeaway is that customer impressions are dependent on a mix of food taste <em>and</em> server appearances.</p>
<p>There are caveats here. At the individual level, some consumers are more likely than others to be influenced by environmental cues. Others are more cognizant of the environment that influences them, and therefore less susceptible to allowing such cues to distort their sensory experience.</p>
<h2>Gender differences</h2>
<p>We also found gender differences in how men and women can be influenced. For example, women were less susceptible than men to being swayed by server attractiveness. </p>
<p>What does this mean for restaurants? We believe restaurateurs should remain focused on what kind of experience they are actually offering. If the goal is to have diners focus on the food — including quality, sourcing, sustainability and taste — then distracting environmental cues that fail to align with the menu should, at the very least, be reconsidered. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/dining/restaurant-music-playlists-ryuichi-sakamoto.html">recent mini-controversy</a> reported in <em>The New York Times</em> about a master musician’s annoyance with a notable restaurant’s lacklustre musical playlist reminds us that environmental cues can resonate with customers as much as culinary ones.</p>
<p>We are not suggesting restaurants should be devoid of environmental cues. But managers should be mindful of when and how they are used. Importantly, they should be aware that any kind of mismatch between expectations and reality is likely to leave customers unhappy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lily Lin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Heterosexual male diners can be particularly swayed by the attractiveness of their servers. Good food will taste better and lousy food will taste worse in the presence of attractive female servers.Lily Lin, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.