"Dining while black": tipping as social artifact.

as "don't seat me with black people"

because they're not tipped well or

they don't tip well and you know, you're

just gonna, it's just gonna be an aggravation,

and that's what the general consensus

in the restaurant is, is that it's just

gonna be a big aggravation to have that

table sit in your section because it's

gonna be a waste of time for you.

Other respondents cited the identical use of that term or words like it in other restaurants. Code words included cousins, moolies, and even white people. (40) When asked, most respondents could not explain the possible origin of the code words. Deciphering what the code words meant was described as part of the informal employee "training." One respondent explained the nonliteral use of the term white people in the backstage areas of her restaurant:

You had to kind of, like try to ... read

between the lines so you could figure out

what people were saying. We had a couple

of servers, a lot--well, quite a few

servers, who would come back to the

back stage area and would say, "I hate

white people." I remember the first time

I heard that; I thought, "that is kind of

striking." And then I noticed that [those

servers] were serving a black family, for

example. So that became a racially

coded way in which they could express

their racist sentiment yet still do it in a

nonracist way. So it just became this

kind of racist schizophrenia.

The "racist schizophrenia" noted by that respondent shows use of racial code words in presenting oneself as nonracist. White servers can use code words openly and appear nonracist while still harboring negative racist sentiments. (41) As such, "speaking nasty about black people" can be done with ease as black customers and employees are not privy to the words' meanings. (42)

When other respondents in the sample were questioned about the existence of code words, one hostess recalled that there was not necessarily a use of code words but a more discreet form of coding. She shared,

Servers would come up and say ...

"don't seat me with 'these people'"

instead of just saying, "don't seat me

with 'black people.'"

Another respondent's answer highlighted that among some workers, there was little need for words in code. Servers would say directly, "don't seat me with black people," instead of using terms to conceal their prejudice. In nearly all of the interviews, racial coding was linked to the pervasive derogatory stereotyping of black American diners.

Stereotyping of Black American Customers

Stereotypes of black American customers ranged from the types of foods they would order ("chicken fingers" and "free waters") to the alleged breaking of "acceptable" customer roles. As one server explained, "They [black customers] tend to be very snappy, and 'do this, do this,' like "ma'am,' snap in your face, and then don't leave you any tip, so most people don't want to serve them willingly." In every one of the interviews, the shared sentiment and "common knowledge" among white restaurant workers was that black Americans do not tip well, and as such, servers should "not waste their time" on these customers. (43)

Although there is some research suggesting that there may be ethnic tipping differences and that black Americans tend to tip less than white Americans, our study elucidates possible tipping differences in the context of everyday racism." (44) Indeed, as we explain next, many respondents articulated how stereotypes regarding black American customers shaped the prejudices of white servers and justified the numerous accounts of discriminatory actions reported in the interviews.

Attitudes Shaping Action

As we indicated above, in all of our interviews, tables of black diners were described as the most unwelcome of restaurant clientele, with servers going as far as to tell hostesses at the beginning of work shifts, "Oh, if a black table comes in, don't give it to me. Give it to so and so.... I don't want it." If a server was not able to get his or her way with a hostess, servers would often come up with other methods for dealing with "unwanted" tables directed toward hostesses: "Do you hate me or something?"; "I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"; and "I hope you're glad that I won't be making any money tonight!" From a hostess's perspective, servers were described as "really pissed off like it's our fault that we sat them, you know, with a table that is gonna tip them poorly." One respondent recalled being harassed by angry white servers: "Everyone yelled at me when I gave [a black table] to them." Another shared the following:

When servers get aggravated at this restaurant

they tend to ... want to want to

yell and take it out on me and things like

that. Not at me personally, but like the

hostess staff, they'll come up and be

like, "Gosh, why did you seat me at that

table?" ... you know, just that automatic

reaction, "Oh, you sat me with a black

table."

The use of "hushed tones" and "silent looks" was also shared as a tactic used to keep racist sentiment private while still conveying an unwillingness to serve black customers. Two respondents recalled how servers would express this refusal when black diners would enter:

You know, when they see them walking

with who seats them, if they're standing

at the servers' station behind me I'll

hear, hear them whisper somethin' like,

"Not my section. Not my section." And

they'll give me, you know, kind of like

"eyes" as I'm walking them back

through the restaurant. Kind of, you

know, give me a look. And it's kind of

like a "Don't seat them in my section"

type look that they give.

I know a couple of servers who will get

very mad if a hostess even seats them a

black table.... I know a couple of servers

who ... get very upset. I'm friends

with a couple of different hostesses who

have said things about a couple of different

[servers who become angry at them].

I think they kind of make eye contact

when [black customers] are there but

they'll talk to them afterwards.

Here we begin to see a breakdown of hidden and hushed racial language regarding tipping, as white servers assume that white hostesses should share the anti-black sentiment and also empathize with their negative attitudes by not seating black customers in their sections.

"Pass the Table"

Many respondents suggested that servers viewed a table of black American diners as a punishment delivered by hostesses or by other servers, who would try to rid themselves of the duty. One server shared that her white coworkers would "beg me to take [a black table] away from them if I was waitressing myself." Other respondents elaborated on the ritual. One called it "the servers' game of 'Pass the Table.'" Another respondent described how servers in her restaurant would try to "make deals" and "swap tables" when they did not want to serve black customers. One hostess explained how this "game" worked:

A black table would come in and sit

down. Generally what would happen is

that a waiter is assigned a section of

tables and whenever someone sits in

that section they're responsible for that

table. They would try to have somebody

else take it, you know, "I'll do this," "I'll

give you my next so and so table if you do

this."

Another server added, "I've heard remarks from other servers ... 'Uh, I don't want to take that table 'cause they're black--they won't tip' whatever, you know." While servers play Pass the Table, dissatisfactory service has already begun. The precedent is set for the rest of the dining experience. As such, empirical examinations of potential tipping differences must provide a sufficient degree of context regarding the customers' experience.

Service with a Smirk

When one server was asked what would happen when servers would have to take an unwanted table, she commented, "I think that if they have to take the table, I think that they just give them the minimal.... I don't think they go out of their way, I don't think they go out of their way to be friendly. I think they just do it, because they have to, basically." Another server reflected the following sentiment: "Sometimes the people [servers] who would take care of them [black American diners] wouldn't give the best service because they didn't think they were going to tip well." In that vein, another said that the potential for poor service is evident:

I could see how they would say that [i.e.,

that black Americans face racial discrimination];

I know that when servers

get a black table they are not particularly

happy. They're approaching that table

thinking that they already have a bad tip.

So, why give someone good service to

try to prove you wrong when it's so

much easier to have them prove you

right?

Many of the respondents in the study talked at length about a hostile racial climate toward black diners and described a backstage where white servers' stereotypical beliefs took shape in the form of neglect and poor service. One respondent commented,

I think they're [black American diners]

treated poorly.... It seems like the ones

[servers] that have that attitude going in,

get poor tips.... I do think that the people