Noah Goldstein

Although many restaurants have the mints placed in a basket near the door, some provide the mints in a different and far more effective way

Behavioral scientist David Strohmetz and colleagues conducted an experiment to determine what effect, if any, giving a little candy to patrons at the end of the meal would have on food servers’ tips

In one set of trials, when presenting the bill, the food servers included a single piece of candy for each diner sitting at the table. Compared to occasions on which diners received no candy, the researchers found a modest increase in tips—not a huge one, just 3.3 percent. In a second set of trials, the food servers gave two candies to each diner at the table—and tips rose by 14.1 percent compared to the no-candy condition