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Article
The Principle of Reciprocity in Hospitality Contexts: The Relationship Between Tipping Behavior and Food Servers’ Approaches to Handling Leftovers
Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research
  • John S. Seiter, Utah State University
  • Harry Weger, University of Central Florida
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-11-2014
Abstract

Based on the norm of reciprocity, this study hypothesized that food servers would earn higher tips when they boxed customers’ leftovers compared to having customers box leftovers themselves. In addition, the effect of writing messages (i.e., the date and/or customer’s name) on boxes of leftovers was explored. Two female food servers waited on 608 diners and boxed or did not box leftovers, and wrote or did not write messages on boxes. The hypothesis was supported. However, writing messages was not associated with tipping behavior.

Citation Information
John S. Seiter and Harry Weger. "The Principle of Reciprocity in Hospitality Contexts: The Relationship Between Tipping Behavior and Food Servers’ Approaches to Handling Leftovers" Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research Vol. 42 Iss. 2 (2014) p. 287 - 294
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/john_seiter/108/