Is it the staff or is it the food? How the attire of restaurant employees affects customer judgments of food quality

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the appearances of Chinese restaurant employees, including gender and the style and color of dress, influence the appetites and additional order intentions of customers. Design/methodology/approach This research implemented questionnaire survey. Consumers in Chinese restaurants of international tourist hotels located in Taipei, Taiwan, were targeted as research objects. After deleting questionnaires with incomplete answers, the researchers obtained 818 valid questionnaires for data analysis. Findings The analysis results indicate that the gender, style of dress and degree of color coordination of a waitperson’s clothing can significantly influence consumer perceptions and feelings. Originality/value The analysis of this study implies that restaurant management should stress professional attendant training. By strengthening training and regulating attendant style, a management team can effectively improve upon their customers’ recognition of a business. This research addresses the influence of different dress style and dress color combinations on consumer appetites and additional order intentions.