OK, so I’m an adult and I’ve almost never been to a hair salon in my life. I’ve always had friends or somebody cut my hair. (And I don’t think my mom has either–maybe 40 years ago but I cut her hair for her now. So she’s no help.)
Well, I’m going to start going to a salon for my haircuts. Very nice. But I hear that you’re supposed to tip the stylist? How do you do that? Do you always do it, or not at some salons? How do you know? Say I’m spending $35 on the cut, how much do I tip? How do I give it to her? And there’s a receptionist who also does hand massages, do I tip her too? How much?
I am scared to death, so help me out here, please please please!
When you pay at the desk, they usually ask you if you want to leave a tip. If they don’t, you can just tell them that you’d like to leave something extra for <name>. I think the standard is 15%, although I’ve heard of people leaving as much as 25%.
Tip 20% ($7). If you aren’t happy with the experience, tip less. If you really liked it, tip more. You can leave it on her station while she’s getting your bill together, or hand it to her with your payment (“Keep the change”) or if you write a check write it for price + tip, or tell her to add $7 to your credit card charge.
In a place where most people are working for tips, you don’t have to be super sneaky or super suave about leaving one. And if they’re worth tipping, they’re nice enough to not be offended by the manner by which you leave one.
Tip the stylist (I tip more than 20% usually, since I value the stylist who makes my hair look super), but not if the stylist is also the owner of the salon. Tradition dictates that you don’t tip the owner is s/he does your hair. I would also tip the receptionist fr a massage - is there a separate price for the massage? $2-$3 should cover it otherwise. I leave a tip the same way I do in a restaurant - I pay with a credit or debit card and write the tip in on the receipt. I went to a salon for a few years that only took cash or a check, and I’d use cash/write the check over to pay the tip when I settled up my bill. At that place the stylist would ring me up and I’d just hand her the cash/check, but you could do the same if a receptionist rang you up - just say “Give the change to (stylist’s name)”.
I usually tip a bit more, most for the stylist but some for his assistant too (the person who washes my hair, applies my color, etc), because that is generally a stylist in training and probably doesn’t make much.
I always tips at the front desk at my salon, we don’t pay people directly. The gal will ask politely if I’d like to add anything to the charge.
FYI, I’ve seen a number of places that don’t let you tip via a credit card. No idea why, if they’re evading taxes or what, but bring cash for the tip just in case.
The reason you’re not supposed to tip the owner is that the other stylists (IIRC) typically pay a fee or a cut of their take to the owner as “rent”; the owner doesn’t need tips as a result.
Oh golly, I hope this goes OK. I know that they don’t ask for tips and you pay at the front desk. The hand massage is part of the price, and the owner isn’t cutting my hair. So I should hope that they’ll take a tip as part of the credit card payment?
I’m not sure about the hand massage, but agree that 20% is a fair tip. I usually tip quite a bit more than that (typically I pay $20-$25 for a cut and give a $10 tip for a decent job, but that’s just because my mother used to work at a salon and I know it’s sometimes hard to make a living that way).
Definitely also tip the person who shampoos your hair, if it’s not the same person giving you a cut. $2 is usually fine.
Well, I’m back and I think I successfully navigated the perilous waters of tipping at hair salons. I like my haircut too.
The stylist washes my hair, and the other girl does the hand massage and general running around providing drinks and snacks and so on. It was quite nice.
Unless it’s a one-person salon. The last three people who’ve done my hair have also been the owner/sole stylist. I’ve had rotten luck at salons with more than one stylist.
My daughter works as a stylist in a rather small salon with a pretty wealthy client list. She works on a commission and receives a percentage of the gross income from her clients, plus the tips. She makes a very nice living, but works real hard for her clients. A few weeks ago she cleared her Saturday morning for a wedding party. She did the bride, both mothers and six bridesmaids. The mother of the bride payed for everyone and then tipped her three hundred bucks.
I started going to my guy when he worked in his dad’s salon, then went with him when he opened his own. I had always tipped him so I didn’t feel right about stopping, and if I get my hair cut near Christmas-time I pay him double as a bonus. I have avoided that the past year or two since I’ve been low on money. Anyway, I tip about 20% to my stylist/owner and $5 to the gal who washes my hair.
I thought that the hair washer/hand massager/gofer person was paid out of the tips of the stylist the same as busboys in restaurants. I will certainly change my tipping methods in the future.
Common places in the U.S. where you generally tip the provider of your service:
Hair salons
Restaurants
Bars
Taxis
Hotels (bellboys if they take your luggage up, maids if you want extra good service, the concierge if they provide a service for you above and beyond just giving directions or restaurant recommendations)
Airport skycaps (if you choose to use one)
Valets
This can be quite cost effective. Back when my son was 1 year old my wife and I were going to hold him on the flight. We used curbside check in. All I had was a five, so I gave it to the guy. He then put together our boarding passes for us. There was one empty seat on the whole flight. It was between me and my wife.
Five dollars for a cross country nonstop seat is a heck of a deal.
Anyway, I tip about 20% to my stylist/owner and $5 to the gal who washes my hair.