‘Because they tip for shit!’: The Social Psychology of Everyday Racism in Restaurants

Abstract

Despite the notion that racism and discrimination are things of the past, racial minorities continue to experience such treatment in everyday interactions, often occurring in commercial transactions. In this paper, we analyze data from a survey of restaurant servers (N = 200) and a qualitative field study. Both were designed to explore the racial climate in restaurants. Our findings show that servers not only observe their co-workers practicing discriminatory behaviors but also report doing so themselves. Referring to this trend as 'tableside racism', we argue that restaurant servers engage in racist discourse, which functions to create and sustain stereotypes about black patrons. These workplace interactions shape the service that is extended to black patrons, thus resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein they receive poor tips and treatment from blacks that reflect inferior service. To illustrate the process of server discrimination, we situate our findings in a social psychological framework.

Consumer Racial Profiling in U.S. Restaurants: Exploring Subtle Forms of Service Discrimination against Black Diners

“…In contrast to what others have speculated (cf. Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Brewster and Mallinson ; Dirks and Rice ; Lynn ; Rusche and Brewster ; Walsh ), we found no evidence of server racial biases in customers' perceptions of being the recipients of subtle hospitality‐enhancing service behaviors that are either conventionally required or discretionally conveyed to restaurant customers. While contrary to our predictions, these results are consistent with research by Martin and Adams () on worker–customer interactions in retail settings.…”

“…that are predictive of greater tips (cf. Brewster ; Brewster and Mallinson ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Lynn ; Rusche and Brewster ). Our failure to find any reliable black–white differences in customers’ perceptions of either optional or required interpersonal server behaviors argues against this posited source of interracial differences in tipping behavior.…”

“…). Dining away from home, like shopping, is another quintessential American activity and yet only a limited number of studies have explicitly assessed the issue of race‐based consumer discrimination in the restaurant context (e.g., Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Dirks and Rice ; Perry ; Rusche and Brewster ).…”

“…Given that racial biases harbored by individuals in contemporary society are more generally acknowledged to become manifest in subtle ways, researchers have speculated CRP in restaurants to be evident in subtle interpersonal server behaviors (e.g., verbal/nonverbal cues of friendliness) that function to optimize (or impede) customers' dining experiences (cf. Brewster ; Brewster and Rusche ; Brewster and Mallinson ; Dirks and Rice ; Lynn ; Rusche and Brewster ). While there are both theoretical and empirical sources of support underlying this line of reasoning, there are no existing studies that have assessed this possibility directly.…”

What's Race Got to Do with It? Responses to Consumer Discrimination

“…They report being followed, accused of shoplifting, detained and searched while shopping (Crockett, Grier, & Williams, 2003;Gabbidon, 2003;Lee, 2000;Schreer, Smith, & Thomas, 2009). The subtle discrimination they face includes being required to prepay for goods or services and receiving slow or rude service (Brewster, 2012;Harris, 2003;Rusche & Brewster, 2008;Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007a). These types of incidents in which sales clerks, security personnel, and other store employees treat shoppers differently because of their race or ethnicity constitute "consumer discrimination" (Williams, Hakstian, & Henderson, 2009).…”