Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back of Customers Checks - Research Paper Example

Academic Research Article: An Analysis Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back s’ Checks Instructor’s NameDateAbstractThe essay aims to proffer an analysis of the article entitled Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back of Customers’ Checks written by Bruce Rind and David Strohmetz. The analysis would be focused in terms of addressing the following questions: (1) how is the current study contextualized with regard to previous research? (2) What type of study is this? (3) How reasonable are the article’s claims? And (4) reflecting on how this article is different than the popular press articles you saw in the first three stages.

Academic Research Article: An Analysis - Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back of Customers’ Checks The article entitled Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back of Customers’ Checks written by Rind & Strohmetz (1999) aimed to determine the effect of a written message at the back of customer’s checks on the amount of tips given to restaurant servers. The participants of the research were eighty one dining parties who ate at a northern New Jersey restaurant.

The study was conducted over a three-week time period from March to April of 1997 with only one female server as actively involved in the process. The findings revealed a consistency with the author’s hypothesis that writing at the back of the customers’ checks would increase the amount of tips given to the server. The article based its theoretical framework from previous researches in the field of restaurant operations, particularly on tipping as additional sources of income for servers (Lynn & Mynier, 1993; Schmidt, 1985).

Found at the beginning of the article, right after the introductory paragraph, the conceptualization stage presented references to various previous researches on the subject. An article (Statistical Abstracts, 1990) was cited to indicate the number of people working in the United States as waiters or waitresses. Other studies mentioned factors affecting tipping in the restaurant industry (Rind & Bordia, 1996) and server-diner interactions which entailed writing simple messages, like “Thank You” at the back of the customers’ checks as having influenced the amount of tip percentages given to servers (Rind & Bordia, 1995).

The current research aims to present a parallel study on check manipulation by designing two conditions: written message by one female server with the message informing the customers of a good deal in future dining experience; versus no message written at the back of the check. The study employed an experimental method of research with statistical and correlational analysis. The experimental method was designed according to two conditions: written message versus no message with the dependent variable being noted as the tip percentage (Rind & Strohmetz ,1999, 141).

A correlation aimed to measure the relationship of two or more variables, which, in the article, is the relationship between party size and tip percentage (Rind & Strohmetz, 1999, 141). Other statistical variables noted were the mean, standard deviation, t-test, among others. The authors revealed that the findings validated the hypothesis that writing at the back of the customers’ checks would increase the amount of tips given to the server stated in the discussion portion. They indicated that the findings were consistent with previous research done by Rind and Bordia (1995, 1996) focusing on writing a “Thank You” and drawing a happy face at the back of the customers’ checks are perceived as exhibiting traits of friendliness.

The authors’ claims are reasonable as these were based in the actual results of their experiments which validated the hypothesis through relevant statistical findings. However, it was likewise noted that there were limitations of the study in terms of applying the same design and process in diverse locations of restaurants with server genders being represented to increase validity and credibility of future results. The previous press articles focused on analyzing the claim of the author regarding the subject or the behavior indicated therein, and how the behavior led to a specific outcome.

This article employed a method of research to validate a hypothesis with previous conceptual framework to provide the basis and impetus for the study. The analysis of this article provided the reader with the opportunity to apply critical and analytical skills in evaluating academic studies which concurrently enhance one’s knowledge on the subject as well.ReferenceLynn, M., & Mynier, K. (1993). “Effect of server posture on restaurant tipping.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23,678-685.Rind, B., & Bordia, P. (1995). “Effect of server’s “Thank you” and personalization on restaurant tipping.

” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 745-75 1.Rind, B., & Bordia, P. (1996). “Effect on restaurant tipping of male and female servers drawing a happy, smiling face on the backs of customers’ checks.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26,2 18-225.Rind, B. & Strohmetz, D. (1999). “Effect on Restaurant Tipping of a Helpful Message Written on the Back of Customers’ Checks.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 1 I pp. 139-144.Schmidt, D. G. (1985). Tips: The mainstay of many hotel workers’ pay.

Monthly Labor Review, 108,50-6 1.Statistical Abstracts of the United States. (1 990). Washingtin, DC: Department of Commerce.