One restaurant chain made a sincere attempt at revolutionizing the customer experience last year. Joe's Crab Shack became the nation's first large restaurant chain to start a no-tip policy, but it backed away from that model earlier this month. Restaurant servers rely heavily on tips to supplement their often meager hourly wages. It's typically around $2.13/hour, but research suggests the amount left in gratuity may not be entirely based on service. Wayne State University professor Zach Brewster says the race of customers can be a factor. 
"There is far greater and sounder research showing that there is a correlation between tipping and race, but not with the race of the customer. It’s with the race of the server." - Saru Jayaraman, the director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Tags: Saru Jayaraman  tipping  Wayne State University  Zach Brewster  Atlanta  Georgia