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View Full Version : Tipping revisited



jeanniet
June 7th, 2013, 07:34 PM
OK, here's the deal. On Tuesday I'm getting a curly cut (Deva cut) at a local salon. I haven't been to a salon of any kind in almost four years, and I haven't gotten the whole works (I mean wash, cut, and style) in probably 10 years. I have no idea how much to tip. It's the salon owner, but I don't think that makes any difference, and it really shouldn't in this case because he's the only one trained to do curly cuts anyway.

I'm in the SF Bay Area (expensive), but not in a city. The salon is in a shopping center in our small town. The price of the cut is actually pretty reasonable ($60) compared to some city prices I've seen for Deva cuts ($120). So, how much do I tip him? Do I tip the shampoo person, if there is one? I'm really clueless on this. Help meeeeeee!

HintOfMint
June 7th, 2013, 07:59 PM
I've tipped 20% and if there's a separate shampoo person, I'll tip him or her slightly less than half of that. For a 50 dollar haircut I'll tip 10, and give the person who washed my hair 4.

ETA: maybe this will be useful http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/lists/tipping/
apparently I overtip the shampoo person.

door72067
June 7th, 2013, 08:08 PM
as for the shampoo person, I'd say that should be graded according to how long the hair being washed is (and how nicely they treat longer hair!)

I could see someone with chin-length hair tipping $2, but if the person's hair is past waist? $4 or $5 at least wouldn't be unreasonable, imho

15-20% of the total cut cost sounds about right (and if you are super-happy, even more, really...because we all know a good hairdresser is a tough find)

HintOfMint
June 7th, 2013, 08:11 PM
door72067, that's a very good point, I have tailbone length hair and that can't be fun to wash. 4-5 is reasonable in that respect.

jeanniet
June 7th, 2013, 08:18 PM
My hair is only about BSL now, but thick and wurly, so I'll take that into consideration. I was kind of expecting to pay at least $80 for the cut minus tip, so I can afford to be generous. If I figure about $15 to the stylist and $5 to the shampoo person, is that about right? And do I tip in cash, or can I put it on debit? I guess for the shampoo person, at least, it should be cash.

AnqeIicDemise
June 8th, 2013, 02:40 AM
depends on the salon. the fancier places provide envelopes for the tip and they go in a safe then distributed at night. write the person's name O. the envelope. at the salon I work for, we offer cash back for tip only. sort of. we can't offer that option ( state law ), you have to ask for it. so ask if you can get cash back for tip, or bring it with you. worst case scenario, they can't give you cash back.

jacqueline101
June 8th, 2013, 09:21 AM
In my town 20 is a good tip. I'd go maybe 35 there.

torrilin
June 8th, 2013, 09:25 AM
Basically, I tip less based on what I "should" and more based on the going rate. My local coffee roaster has a cafe, and they charge $1-3 less per pound of coffee than most places do. The only place in town that's cheaper on coffee is big chains. So I add enough to bring the coffee up to something vaguely approaching reasonable (they're our favorite roaster in town, bar none) and then add a tip on top of that. We can easily afford the going rate for foofy fair trade locally roasted coffee... so we can darn well afford to tip like we're shopping at a regular place, not the cheapest place in town.

(haven't had a salon type cut in years, but same kind of deal... I've historically had better cuts from cheap mall places, old school barbers and beauty schools, so I tend to figure the tip based on what regular haircut would be rather than what I"m charged)

jeanniet
June 8th, 2013, 11:40 AM
Basically, I tip less based on what I "should" and more based on the going rate. My local coffee roaster has a cafe, and they charge $1-3 less per pound of coffee than most places do. The only place in town that's cheaper on coffee is big chains. So I add enough to bring the coffee up to something vaguely approaching reasonable (they're our favorite roaster in town, bar none) and then add a tip on top of that. We can easily afford the going rate for foofy fair trade locally roasted coffee... so we can darn well afford to tip like we're shopping at a regular place, not the cheapest place in town.

(haven't had a salon type cut in years, but same kind of deal... I've historically had better cuts from cheap mall places, old school barbers and beauty schools, so I tend to figure the tip based on what regular haircut would be rather than what I"m charged)

I guess I'll have to do some research. I don't know the going rate for this kind of cut except in San Francisco, and everything is much more expensive there. I think there may be some salons in the neighboring city (smaller than SF, but still a lot bigger than here) and I can check prices there.

ETA: That does seem to be about the going rate, unless you go to a salon that's frequented by wealthier clients (winery owners and such--there can be a real income disparity around here because it's wine country). I guess I'll figure on around $20 + $5 for the shampoo person. I'll be sure to bring some cash with me. Thanks!

GingerSnapO
June 8th, 2013, 07:04 PM
I've never had a separate shampoo person, and I typically tip 20%. I always just add it to my debit card/credit card-- there's a line for tips, just like in a restaurant.