Psychology says waiters who repeat your order word-for-word may be doing more than avoiding mistakes, as it can lead to bigger tips

When a waiter takes your order and repeats it straight back to you, word for word, it may seem like a simple way of confirming what you asked for. But according to psychology researchers, that small act of copying your words may influence how you respond to the person serving you.

A 2003 study titled “Mimicry for Money: Behavioral Consequences of Imitation,” published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, investigated whether mimicking customers could affect how much they tipped.

The research was conducted by Rick B. van Baaren, Rob W. Holland, Bregje Steenaert, and Ad van Knippenberg from the Department of Social Psychology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.


The researchers wanted to test a simple question: Would customers become more generous toward a waiter who imitates them?

The experiment: When repeating an order changed the tip

In the first experiment, a waitress interacted with restaurant customers in two different ways. For some customers, she repeated their orders literally. If customers ordered drinks or meals, she repeated the order back before serving them.

For other customers, she did not repeat the order but simply acknowledged it. The researchers kept other behaviors the same and then measured the size of the tips.


The result was striking. Customers who were mimicked left larger tips than those who were not. The average tip in the mimicry condition was 2.97 Dutch guilders, compared with 1.76 Dutch guilders in the non-mimicry condition.

The researchers wrote that "mimicry increased the size of her tips by more than 68%.”

A second experiment confirmed the effect

The researchers conducted another experiment to rule out other explanations. This time, a waitress who did not know the purpose of the study was included.

The customers’ orders were written down in both conditions, making it clear that the waitress understood what they wanted. The only difference was whether she repeated their words. Again, customers who were mimicked responded differently.

The average tip was:

• 2.73 Dutch guilders when customers were mimicked
  
• 1.36 Dutch guilders when they were not mimicked
  

Customers were also more likely to leave a tip when they were mimicked:

• 78% in the mimicry condition
  
• 52% in the non-mimicry condition
  

Why does copying someone work?

The researchers suggest that mimicry may strengthen feelings of connection between people. Previous research discussed in the paper showed that people who are mimicked tend to report:

• greater liking for the person mimicking them
  
• smoother interactions
  
• a greater sense of closeness
  

Van Baaren and colleagues argued that these feelings could translate into actual behavior.

As they explained, “People who are being mimicked become more generous towards the person who mimics them.”

Not just a friendly gesture, a behavioral effect

The researchers said the findings show that mimicry is more than just copying someone’s actions. They suggested that imitation may serve a social function by helping create bonds between people. The study concluded, “One possible function of mimicry is that it enhances the benevolence of the mimicked person.”

However, the researchers also noted a limitation: repeating an order might not only feel like imitation but could also make customers feel that the waiter was paying closer attention.

Still, their experiments showed one clear pattern, a waiter who mirrors customers may receive more generous treatment in return.