Do you tip the owner of the salon if the owner styles your hair?

[Thumper]

I'm curious what others do. Normally, the other hairdressers receive a cut of the total, like 40 or 50 %...it varies greatly. So if it's the owner, do you still tip them? My stylist recently sold her salon, and before I was giving her a small tip. Now she works out of her mothers salon so she has ZERO overhead, the entire amount I pay her goes into her pocket, so I stopped tipping. At this point, the only thing a tip represents is satisfaction, however she's not even reporting her income to the feds, so no tax is coming out.

[Long_hair_bear]

I wouldn't let the owner of my salon touch my hair. Funnily enough, her employee, my hairdresser of 7 years, is much better than the owner is. Only my trusted hairdresser touches my hair and gets a tip for it. :)

[RitaCeleste]

If she cut your hair nice and you like it, you tip. I've tipped people who cut my hair poorly. In fact I've been growing out an awful cut for years as I won't hack off four inches and just cut out the gap she cut in it. If she is not paying taxes on her earnings she can't get vested in social security and it its really going to hurt her later on. Of course if your earnings are really low at a job, you don't want those bad earning averaged in good wages and making your future benefits stink. But none if this is your problem or concern, your hair is. The question is, is it a nice cut and how much is having a stylist who won't butcher your hair worth to you? You shouldn't be trying to devalue your stylist as human being so you can feel better about stiffing her on a tip. What happens when doesn't think of you as a good a customer anymore and gives you what you pay for and no more? It can happen.

[HumanBean]

My stylist is the owner of his salon. I tip him. It never occurred to me not too.

[akilina]

I always tip.
I am a hair dresser myself and it almost breaks my heart a little bit when I do something very great and they absolutely love it...then don't tip.
It simply drives some of us crazy.

[Roscata]

I always tip no matter who cuts my hair or whether or not I like it. I feel like it's common courtesy to tip. But maybe that's just me. *shurg*

[ouseljay]

Why wouldn't you?

If your stylist is charging the same amount, and the cut/style was worth what you were paying before (charge+tip), it should still be worth the same amount, shouldn't it? For the actual owner, I would tip too. They're doing a stylist's job, they should be paid like a stylist.

[truepeacenik]

As a massage therapist I kind of want to say, yes, tip!! :)

I don't think running a guess on how much a stylist makes is fair. Among many other things, you don't know what rent, percentage, fees etc are.
And you shouldn't.

If you think the service warrants a tip, tip.

Some owners will decline. Accept that.

[luxepiggy]

Emily Post suggests checking with the salon receptionist to find out whether the owner accepts tips. If you are a regular client and the owner does not accept tips, you can show your appreciation with a modest gift during the holiday season (^(oo)^)v

[heidi w.]

I tip even though I try to make it as easy as is possible to handle my hair. I tip anyone I allow to touch my hair, and I always make it a decent tip, because next time I come around, I want a good job done. I'm kind of picky. I want it done a certain way, so that's why I tip. I'm not the best client, really. I am very suspicious most of the time, and about halfway through I tend to calm down a bit. I arrive with a steel look in my eye; and by the end, they can win me over by doing a great job, and then I tip them for putting up with me.

heidi w.

[froglet]

I always tip as well, I think for me it's kind of an ingrained thing. I tip very generously if I like the way my hair was handled and I got the cut I asked for, lesser so if I am displeased. Also, like heidi w. said, I worry that if I don't tip I will get bad service the next time. If it were me, I would offer a tip.

[BrightEyes]

Yes, I would tip if they were the salon owner or not. I'm a hairstylist and know what it's like to not be tipped even when I do my best to satisfy my client.

[MiamiPineapple]

I had the same question. I did some research online and from what I saw, you should so I did...

[misspriss]

I would tip, they still performed the service for you didn't they? I tip when someone performs a personal service, such as serves me food, cuts my hair, etc. Why would you not?

Oh and my salon has made it clear that tips are accepted, and they have a system. You tip separate from your payment, in envelopes, dropped into a box, so no one watches you write in your tip, or you don't have to hand them the money or anything. It takes a lot of the awkwardness out.

[Unicorn]

I tip even though I try to make it as easy as is possible to handle my hair. I tip anyone I allow to touch my hair, and I always make it a decent tip, because next time I come around, I want a good job done. I'm kind of picky. I want it done a certain way, so that's why I tip. I'm not the best client, really. I am very suspicious most of the time, and about halfway through I tend to calm down a bit. I arrive with a steel look in my eye; and by the end, they can win me over by doing a great job, and then I tip them for putting up with me.

heidi w.
This is soooo descriptive of me when I went to hairdressers. :o

For the tipping, I don't take the person's finances into account, I tip according to satisfaction. The other side of the coin, is I don't expect them to give me a rundown on their finances to guilt me into a bigger tip.

I also don't take into account if the stylist is the owner or not. The only time a owner expressed that she didn't take tips, I just bought small gifts when I went in. Box of chocolates, tin of biscuits, wine, that sort of thing.

For me tipping is a 'thank you' rather than anything else.

Unicorn

[jacqueline101]

My salon doesn't accept tips. I've never thought about leaving a gift or maybe a card.

[thirstylocks]

I don't think I've ever gotten my hair done by an owner, but my mom does and she sometimes tips him, sometimes doesn't. She goes so often that they know each other very well and if she's low on cash one day, she just tips more the next time. She doesn't feel bad not tipping once in a while because the owner doesn't have a salary like the hairdressers do and makes much more money.

edit - i should add that she always tips the person who washes or cuts her hair, and its always several people who do her hair, not just the owner (who is the one who colors it.)

[s_tresses]

Hm, how odd, the popular opinion seems to be that they tip no matter what. I haven't ever gotten my hair done by the owner but I have wondered if I should tip the owner of a salon I go to for eyebrow threading. When the other girls aren't available, she threads my eyebrows and it is a small salon so I never tip her but I tip if someone else does them.

I think if I was in that situation, I would be offended as the owner or it wouldn't matter so much. I think what matters more for an owner is building a repeat customer base.

[IcarusBride]

I don't really understand your specific situation, but for me I'd just tip in cash to whoever styles my hair whether they are owner, an hourly employee or a freelance stylist who rents a station and brings in their own clients. My tip is based on the service I get from the stylist.

[longhairedlady]

I would tip. :)

[UltraBella]

Where I live, most stylist are booth renters. So, while there is a salon owner, each stylist is still essentially self-employed. I don't know a single one who doesn't report their income or pay taxes, and they get to pay self-employment tax, yay, what fun.......
I own two salons, all the booth renters still have overhead. Professional licenses + booth renters licenses, stocking their color and products, supplies, equipment.
Most people tip all of us, myself included, if they appreciate the service we have provided.

[Unicorn]

Hm, how odd, the popular opinion seems to be that they tip no matter what. I haven't ever gotten my hair done by the owner but I have wondered if I should tip the owner of a salon I go to for eyebrow threading. When the other girls aren't available, she threads my eyebrows and it is a small salon so I never tip her but I tip if someone else does them.

I think if I was in that situation, I would be offended as the owner or it wouldn't matter so much. I think what matters more for an owner is building a repeat customer base.
I don't understand why the owner would be offended, though I have heard of it. Depending on the salon, one can always (discretely) ask one of the other members of staff if its ok to tip the owner when they're also the stylist.

I've also known owners to accept the tip and simply hand it on to the helpers, shampoo girl etc.

In the OP's instance the stylist is doing everything. I personally wouldn't want all that personal information about what she does or doesn't report of her income. It's simply none of my business. My business would simply be about the service received, tipping would be based on that.

Unicorn

[1nuitblanche]

Where I live, owners aren't allowed to keep tips. So I second the idea of giving a seasonal gift of appreciation instead.

[pepperminttea]

What happens when doesn't think of you as a good a customer anymore and gives you what you pay for and no more? It can happen.

So this is probably because I live in a culture where people generally don't tip (except waiters), but when you're paying for a service why shouldn't that service be done well even for bad/non-tippers? I can understand there being less friendly chit-chat, just a business-like approach to get things done so they can move on to the next customer, but I don't understand why you're not entitled to a good job (and maybe even suffer from a deliberately and spitefully bad job) when you pay the listed price. :shrug: How is that okay?

[Zindell]

I'm relieved I live in a country where we don't tip for this and that... makes life so much easier :D

I usually get so confused when I visit the US regarding tipping. How much... to whom? (And why? Do I have to bribe to get treated well? Shouldn't it all be included in the cost for food service, hairdressing etc?) :confused:

[Khiwanean]

I figure if the owner of the salon is styling my hair, they are doing a service in the capacity of a stylist, not a salon owner. I don't see why you wouldn't tip. If they don't accept tips I imagine they would says so.