Originally Posted by
rjw242
And it's funny how disconnected from reality that underlying notion has become -
here an author/waiter claims (with studies to back him up) that tipping is often uncorrelated with quality of service,
having more to do with how well the waiter reads the customer and how the customer wants to be treated (whether with friendliness, aloofness, sarcasm, etc.).
(emphasis added)
It's an interesting article, but I'm confused about what is and isn't included in quality of service. From the article:
A good waiter adapts to every personality. There are people who like the archly reserved waiter, ones who like someone who will kid them a bit and give them a slightly hard time. Others who like the joke waiter, the entertainer.
But the thing that's always amazed me is that the quality of service has almost no effect on tipping.
I read it as saying (and I'd agree) that adapting to personality is a component of quality of service. Of course I don't know anything about it, but I'd also guess that the diner near your house does offer good, although unconventional, service to its clientele. If it truly had poor service, it would be out of business.