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Economics and business major Suzanne Metzger ’03 (Fair Lawn N.J.) is studying incentives and their impact on the behavior of restaurant waiters and waitresses this semester.
Metzger is working with Christopher Ruebeck, assistant professor of economics and business, through the EXCEL Scholars program, in which students assist faculty with research while earning a stipend.
Metzger wants to know whether contests rewarding servers who sell the most of a certain item are worthwhile to the restaurant company. She collected her data at a chain-style restaurant near Paramus, N.J.
“I find it amazing to discover the motivation behind one’s actions,” she says. “It’s great to analyze people and a business’ success at the same time. The restaurant industry is great to study because it’s a reflection of what the customers want. This research is comparing the reaction of customers to the success of the business.”
Metzger adds that the data she collected is “of a real-life situation that many individuals my age come in contact with quite often. I’m looking forward to seeing the result.”
At the restaurant Metzger studied, many promotions, often in the form of contests, are run as incentives to help servers sell a greater quantity of food or alcohol. The prizes are sometimes money, but also may be gift certificates, guitars, and even televisions, Metzger explains.
The student recorded information about each server on a specific night, including the number of hours worked, what shift the server worked, sales of food, wine, beer, promotional items and cigarettes, as well as tips.
“I’m hoping this information will reveal some answers,” she says.
“Some of the questions I’m looking into are: Is a tip really a direct reflection of service? Is service a reflection of the number of hours one server has worked during a specific time span? Does a more experienced server sell a larger amount, and sell promotional items better? Overall, I’m testing whether certain qualities of a server play a role in the monetary value of sales for the company.”
Metzger says Ruebeck is helping her in the project by posing advanced questions that inspire her to think more deeply.
“I think he is quite admirable,” she adds. “He puts a great amount of time and devotion into his work, which motivates me to do more.”
Metzger is a member of Alternative School Break and will travel to Washington, D.C. this fall to help alleviate hunger. She is serving as fundraising chair for the team. She has served on Freshman Class Council and is an first-year student orientation leader. She is a member of Delta Gamma sorority.
Suzanne Metzger ’03 reviewed research with Christopher Ruebeck, assistant professor of economics and business.