| The major source of income for over a million food service workers in the United States comes from tips from their customers. Tips, however, are not obligatory. Therefore, it is vital for us to be knowledgeable about various factors that help affect our customers' tipping behavior. Applying simple factors to increase immediacy can establish a rapport or liking by our customers, hence increasing tip size. During this study, customers received one of several messages when the bill was presented. These included a stamp and/or written message on the customer's bill, and/or a light brief touch on the back of the shoulder when the bill was dropped off. At the Newport Beach restaurant, results revealed that the touch friendly condition was significantly more effective than the touch-patriotic condition, the no-touch friendly condition, or the touch only condition. Surprisingly, the control condition was more significantly effective than the touch-patriotic condition. |
