QuiltMania

This whole business of tipping, IMHO, is getting out of hand. The question of "how much are you supposed to tip" to me is outrageous. I really don't feel that it is reasonable to ask a customer to make up for an employer's lack of paying a reasonable wage. A tip is supposed to be an extra reward for doing a job above and beyond, not something that is expected, at least in my opinion. I will sometimes tip a waitress or hairdresser if the service is exceptional. I will tip, when a tip is earned, based on how good the service is.

rushdoggie

I tip 15-20%, mostly because I appreciate my hairdresser who is very accomodating to my habit of scheduling last minute appointments ("holy cow I can see 4" of root and split ends! I need it fixed RIGHT NOW!" ;) ) and once redid a perfectly good haircut that I just didn't like and refused to let me pay her for her effort. She also gives me all kinds of samples of stuff.

So my tip is an appreciation of her going above and beyond for me.

Stogsdill

I use to be a massage therapist...so I tip based on performance. I am not picky when it comes to my Hair. It is only Hair and will grow back. For some reason People do not like to cut my hair saying "it is so thick and long, why would you want to cut it?" They tended to be the nervous ones and only cut 1/4th inch when wanted 2 to 5 inches removed. Had plenty of experiences of bad hair cuts and styles gone wrong.

my younger brother would take a stack of $1s and at beginning of our meal he would lay the stack on the table. Each time his cup got empty and left longer than a reasonable amount of time or kept asking if we needed anything every 5 mins. he would remove a dollar.
Only one time that I know of the waiter/es was left with $1 dollar. Very Poor service.

TanyaL

I am on a retired income so I go to the hair salon on the days that give a senior citizen discount. The hair cut - no wash, no anything else- is $9. I give her $10. When we eat out if I don't have the cash for a 15-20% tip then I only order a bowl of soup or a salad instead of a regular meal and leave a tip. My kids don't approve of my frugal methods but I try to pick and choose where I spend my extra cash and eating more expensive meals is not as much fun as buying fabric or painting supplies. Do any other of you do similar things?

gaevren

I don't know how the practice started but nowadays if you did away with tipping, restaurants would have to raise their prices a ton in order to compensate. It would make the recent increase in fabric look like nothing! No restaurant in their right minds would do that when everyone around them is paying less and therefore charging less.

nativetexan

well my cut is only $25.00 so i give her $30.00.

sisLH

Well last year when cuts were $10 and I left her $12, I can see I was giving her 20%. Now that prices went up to $13 and I left her $15, I guess I actually shorted her by now leaving 15%. I know mine does not make minimum wage from the owner and she does get me in when I like so maybe I'd better take it up to $3 for a cut. Only if I have a regular appt near Christmas, do I give her a small gift but I do not make a special point of seeing her at Christmas otherwise. Thanks for all the answers -20% sounds about standard.

JanetM

My hairdresser charges $35 for a shampoo, cut, blow dry, which is cheap by today's standards. $50-60 is the going rate. I always tip her $15, so the total is $50.

Edit: Having read everyone's responses, I am surprised by the number of people that leave very small tips or none at all. Hairdressers and wait staff in restaurants rely on tips, as their salary is very low.

My daugher waitressed through college, and the restaurant reported 8% of all of her sales to the IRS. If someone had a $50 meal, and didn't tip her, the restaurant still reported to the IRS 8% of $50 which is $4 as if she had gotten a tip. She then would be taxed on that $4 as income, even though she didn't receive it. I tip well.

nativetexan

well i'm out of work and on SS and unemployment, so I think I'm tipping very well.

redvette54

As some of you know, I'm a pet groomer, like hairdressers, our pay is commission. Pet grooming can be expensive. Some clients tip, some don't. Each clients pet gets the same treatment, tip or not. What the clients don't know, is the groomers are having to supply more and more things. We have always bought our own tools. Since the ecomony has gotten bad, the owner has stopped buying, ribbon for bows, special shampoo's, conditioners and perfumn. Also at holiday time, she used to buy a little gift for the clients, not anymore. Our customers are special, so the groomers now have to supply these things, from our pay. I wonder if some of theses things has happened in the hairdressing world too. Just something to think about. I'm a good tipper if I get good service.