Faculty & Research
Mega Tips: Scientifically Tested Techniques to Increase Your Tips
By: Michael Lynn Ph.D.
Executive Summary: This booklet for servers provides instruction in the psychology of tipping as well as specific techniques that can be used to earn larger tips. All the suggested techniques have been scientifically tested and the evidence of their effectiveness is described along with the techniques. Using even a few of these techniques should increase servers' tips by 10 to 30%. Managers are free to download the file, print out the manual, make hard copies of it, and either post it on employee bulletin boards or distribute copies directly to their servers. Managers who distribute the manual to their servers should benefit from:
- Increased sales
- Greater Customer Satisfaction
- Lower labor costs due to reduced server turnover
Your Comments Please
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- Mega Tips: Scientifically Tested Techniques to Increase Your Tips By: Michael Lynn Ph.D.
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About Michael Lynn Ph.D.
Michael Lynn is an Associate Professor of Consumer Behavior and Marketing in the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Mike, who obtained his PhD in Social Psychology from the Ohio State University in 1987, is the author of over 50 articles that have appeared in such journals as American Psychologist, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Socio-Economics, and Personality and Individual Differences. He is a past editor of the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly and currently sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Advertising and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
A former bartender, busboy and waiter, Mike's primary research has centered on the determinants of tipping behavior and customs. His work in this area has received lots of attention in the popular and trade press - including articles in the Economist, the Financial Times, Forbes, the International Herald Tribune, the NY Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. In addition, he has appeared on national television and radio shows in both the U.S. (ABC's 20/20, aired 9/20/99; BET's Nightly News, aired 8/12/03; CNN's Money Matters, aired 11/11/04; NPR's Morning Edition, aired 7/11/03) and Canada (CBC's Marketplace, aired 10/27/98) to talk about tipping. One of his articles on ethnic differences in tipping recently won the 2004 W. Bradford Wiley Memorial Research Award given by CHRIE.