• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.146-157
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• 2013

The main purpose of this study was to investigate restaurant servers' perceptions of Asian customers in the U.S. based on physical appearance. Servers' tipping expectation and intention to give quality service were measured by manipulated photographs featuring three aspects of physical appearance (i.e., gender, attire, obesity). Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to compare eight conditions created by these combinations of three physical appearance factors. The results showed that servers' tipping expectation and intention to give quality service differed according to Asian customers' physical appearance, and the relationship between attire and gender was also found. The research findings are expected to provide managers with guidelines that offer equitable service.