The Impact of Waitress Hairstyle on Tip Earnings
Scarlett Cruz
Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation
College: College of Liberal Arts
Major: Psychology
Faculty Research Mentor: Verneda Hamm-Baugh
Abstract:
The American norm at restaurants is for waitstaff to serve a customer’s table, provide friendly and timely service, and then receive a tip for that service. Already, there is potential for several factors to impact this last segment of the experience including the quality of the food, timeliness of the service, and potentially characteristics of the server. Consequently, those who are partaking in this profession, most of which are women (Data USA, 2022), have endured a much lower federal minimum wage than other jobs due to employers calculating potential tips as part of their wages (Wage and Hour Division, 2024). The present study was designed to determine whether a waitress’s tip earnings would be impacted by her choice of hairstyle. Participants were presented with one of two versions of a survey which entailed a scenario description of satisfactory service and an image of a woman with either a low ponytail or two low-braided pigtails. Participants then provided the amount of tip they would leave based on the information provided including the total bill amount. It was hypothesized that the hairstyle of the waitress (two low pigtails or one ponytail) would impact the amount of tip received. This hypothesis was not confirmed. In this study it appears that the service received, and possibly unidentified factors, influenced the tip amount more than the waitress’s appearance.