In many countries around the world, consumers leave voluntary payments of money (called “tips”) to service workers who have served them. Since tips are an expense that consumers are free to avoid, tipping is an anomalous behavior that many economists regard as “irrational” or “mysterious.”
Michael Lynn is a nationally recognized expert on tipping who has written over 80 research publications on this topic. Michael Lynn is the Professor of Services Marketing at the Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and joins the show to help us understand this “irrational” or “mysterious” action.