Question about tipping...

[fitdeb]

To tip or not to tip...

I have an appointment for a facial with a woman who owns her own practice. She rents space in a "salon loft" setting. Am I supposed to tip her? The facial is $95, if so, how much?

My feelings have been that you don't tip the owner of the practice, only employees. I am an independent personal trainer/health coach and I set my fees and don't expect that my clients would tip me (and believe me I have never heard of a personal trainer getting tipped at the end of a session).

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Debbie

 

[tlc93]

I could be wrong but I've always heard that you DON'T tip the owner (as you said), however I suppose 15-20% is acceptable for employees. The lady who cuts my hair now owns the salon, so I continue to tip her, to not tip would feel awkward because of our many years together. It can be a pickle sometimes....I'm curious to hear what others have to say.

 

[maddiesmum]

$95 already sounds petty steep to me!

Clare

 

[jamie vaughn]

I have heard you do not tip the "owner" but personally i think it depends how well you know this person, how long you've gone to her etc. I tip my hairdresser who owns the shop but she also does a fabulous job and gives me a slightly reduced rate for bringing my son for his hair cuts so it goes both ways in this instance. We actually laugh about it because she normally charges $30 for a men's hair cut, but charges me $25 - then i give her a $5 tip so it's even LOL!
Having said that, I've never paid $95 for a facial so my purse strings might be pretty tight after that...
Jamie

 

[lisa_la_machina]

I seriously hate the "to tip or not to tip" confusion. I have felt it myself as a customer, and it drove me bonkers!

So, a few years ago I decided that I'm just going to be blunt and ask. Whenever I go to a service person--and they do a good job that satisfies me--I ask "do people typically tip you? do you expect a tip? if so, what is the standard rate?" Never once has the service person been offended, which is not to say that couldn't happen, but I'd rather just be straight forward about it all.

Lisa

 

[Ally yo]

Oh wow, we don't tip in Australia. Maybe at a restaurant. I think id go broke paying for a service and then paying more on top.

 

[nckfitheart2009]

We only tip in restaurants. It's not common here in France and Belgium/Europe.

 

[fox2star]

I'm with Clare...if I was paying $95 for a facial, I wouldn't be able to afford a tip! Facials here are any where between $40 and $65....depends on how long it is.

 

[kristen]

I wouldn't think the price of the service has anything to do with whether or not you tip. If I eat in an expensive restaurant but can't afford to tip on top of the cost of the meal then I eat somewhere less expensive. I like the idea of just asking the person performing the service if a tip is expected.