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[adickers]

Anyone know how tipping is supposed to work at a hair salon??? Do you tip the shampoo girl and the stylist? If so, how much to each? Last time I got my hair cut, the person behind the counter told me the stylist usually gives the shampoo girl a cut of the tips.

Just curious... Maybe I should write Miss Manners :)

Comments

[jrstraus]

I try to do 20% to the stylist. No idea if that's right or not. I hate tipping.

[book_fairy]

Asking the receptionist how it works at a given place is always the best bet. At my salon it's the stylist who gives the shampoo so I don't usually have to worry about it. However, if I'm doing multiple things: cut, color, pedicure - I ask the receptionist to give me the base rate of each service and then tip each of my three people 15-20% of whatever their service cost.

[whatsinasurname]

I usually give 20%. The stylist shares a couple dollars with the shampoo person. If there's no shampoo person, I still give 20% because she did the shampooing herself.

I give 15% if she did the bare minimum. I have lots of hair so the cutting is not the big deal but the blowdrying takes 75% of the time. If they give a good haircut but barely blowdry it, they get 15%. If they put in the full effort, 20%. If they go above and beyond like one girl gave me three different styles with a blowdryer, straight iron and curling iron; she got more.

From the queen of etiquette, 15-20%
http://www.emilypost.com/everyday/tips_on_tipping.htm

I just read an article on tipping and the guy said, "If a couple dollars mean that much to you, you shouldn't be at this place." I always try to tip 20% if I am ever going to be back to the same person.

[adickers]

Thanks for the tips (ha!). Sounds like I've been doing okay. Last time I got my haircut the shampoo girl was *not* good -- fast and furious, and kind of got my face and neck wet. I guess the stylist will share the tip with her nonetheless. Sigh.

That's okay - I'm not sure I'm going back there anyway. When I asked the stylist not to flat iron my hair this time, she had no idea how else to style it. She ended up putting a lot of "product" in my hair and sitting me under a dryer. The end effect was not pretty... (She said their salon doesn't own or have any diffusers for those of us with curlier or wavy hair. Seriously???)