Tipping at nail salons??? Opinions......

[edk35]

My salon is the same way. The debit card receipt shows the percentage amount for 15% and 20% tip. I have a French manicure and always tip 20% for service. Same for a pedicure.

Most salons here don't let you even tip using a card.

 

[disneymom2003]

Another manicurist here. I DO NOT have a tipping sign my salon. It is simply tacky. I also do not expect a tip. I am however grateful when I get one, in fact I am grateful for the clients I have. I always thank them tip or no. The economy has not been the best the past few years. I know. My husband was laid off and I was also working a local grocery store to make ends meet. Some of my clients had to quit coming because of job cutbacks or lay offs. I don't feel any one has the right to be snippy about a tip. Just be thankful for clients, tip or no.

 

[TaraPA]

Another manicurist here. I DO NOT have a tipping sign my salon. It is simply tacky. I also do not expect a tip. I am however grateful when I get one, in fact I am grateful for the clients I have. I always thank them tip or no. The economy has not been the best the past few years. I know. My husband was laid off and I was also working a local grocery store to make ends meet. Some of my clients had to quit coming because of job cutbacks or lay offs. I don't feel any one has the right to be snippy about a tip. Just be thankful for clients, tip or no.

Now that's a great attitude to have!

 

[LockShockBarrel]

When I used to have acrylics I was loyal to the same salon and usually had one of two of the employees. I got to know them a little bit and I would tip them more. The one was the owner and would sometimes add little hand painted designs or if he had worked on me and I came back within the next day or so with a broken tip he'd replace it for free. It was definitely a you scratch my back I'll scratch yours situation. I don't remember what I tipped exactly (like down to the dollar) but I know it was 20% for these 2 guys. For anyone else it was a dollar or two less depending on how well they did or how friendly they were.

I've never worked a tipped position, but I have worked commission, and I have to say OP that the if they are acting ungrateful or annoyed they're only hurting themselves because they've obviously alienated you a bit. Acting like that doesn't encourage people as return clients and it's their own doing. Maybe if they hadn't had a bad attitude you'd go back to them and build a report and start tipping more but now they'll never know. They might not even care because they could be thinking "ah screw her the next person will tip better". Really though, it's not worth worrying about. I think you tipped fine.

 

[shortbun]

What makes you think they are not happy with 20%?

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I figured out by reading this thread that I am tipping more then enough . She deserves it though , I get a Pedicure done every 3 weeks. I have had the same girl for at least 5 -6 years .
Its 37.00 and I tip 15 each time unless I get something special like when I get the little white tips done and the red and black tiny little line behind it for my Disney trips : ) then she gets 25 extra

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

When I used to have acrylics I was loyal to the same salon and usually had one of two of the employees. I got to know them a little bit and I would tip them more. The one was the owner and would sometimes add little hand painted designs or if he had worked on me and I came back within the next day or so with a broken tip he'd replace it for free. It was definitely a you scratch my back I'll scratch yours situation. I don't remember what I tipped exactly (like down to the dollar) but I know it was 20% for these 2 guys. For anyone else it was a dollar or two less depending on how well they did or how friendly they were.

You are not supposed to tip the owner of a business, even for services.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

You are not supposed to tip the owner of a business, even for services.

I often wonder about this. My hairdresser owns her own "salon", or rather her salon is actually in an area of her finished basement (but has a closed door into the other side of the finished basement). She is her only employee. I don't tip her an actual percentage, but I round up. My haircut is $45, I always give her $50. Now I wonder if I should have been just paying the $45 all along.

And re: the nail techs : I do my own nails, but treat myself to pedis every 3 weeks in the summer (sandal) months. The pedis where I go are $20 (and are awesome). I tip $5 , except one time when I had to ask another tech for some polish remover before I left because the guy who did my nails left some polish on the skin (maybe he was new at it, lol). That time I tipped $4 because I shouldn't have to ask for a polish clean up after a pedi. Now, let's say the owner of the salon decided to be the one who gave me a pedi... should I not tip her? Oddly enough, it seemed that all the tip money was going into a drawer behind the register - perhaps it is all split equally among all the techs ? Or perhaps the owner takes a cut, then splits the rest? I have no clue, and since I don't speak their main language, I have no idea what they are even saying when they talk amongst themselves. They do speak English when they talk to me. I suppose it will be an unsolved mystery on the tips!

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I didn't know he was the owner until nearly a year after I started going there. I always thought he was just a manager type. He said his sister bought this one and another salon and couldn't handle both so he took over this location for her. I've never heard of not tipping an owner.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I often wonder about this. My hairdresser owns her own "salon", or rather her salon is actually in an area of her finished basement (but has a closed door into the other side of the finished basement). She is her only employee. I don't tip her an actual percentage, but I round up. My haircut is $45, I always give her $50. Now I wonder if I should have been just paying the $45 all along.

And re: the nail techs : I do my own nails, but treat myself to pedis every 3 weeks in the summer (sandal) months. The pedis where I go are $20 (and are awesome). I tip $5 , except one time when I had to ask another tech for some polish remover before I left because the guy who did my nails left some polish on the skin (maybe he was new at it, lol). That time I tipped $4 because I shouldn't have to ask for a polish clean up after a pedi. Now, let's say the owner of the salon decided to be the one who gave me a pedi... should I not tip her? Oddly enough, it seemed that all the tip money was going into a drawer behind the register - perhaps it is all split equally among all the techs ? Or perhaps the owner takes a cut, then splits the rest? I have no clue, and since I don't speak their main language, I have no idea what they are even saying when they talk amongst themselves. They do speak English when they talk to me. I suppose it will be an unsolved mystery on the tips!

I've never heard that about not tipping the owner either.

I don't know how they do it at other salons, but at the one I work at when someone gives me the tip for the tech I put it with the other money, then give it to the tech when they aren't busy. I write down every transaction for each tech under their name so we keep track that way. I also label the credit card receipts so they get their tips from that.

 

[mandy14]

I have never understood tipping. I am a teacher. I provide a service to my students. Shouldn't I get a tip? Maybe 20% of their tuition?

 

[iheartdisney]

I'm a PT receptionist at nail salon. We don't have a sign up about tipping. Tips seem to vary between nothing and $5. Very rarely do I see anyone tip over $5, even for $50 and up services which I find insulting when a tech spends an hour on a service, but we never ever comment and the only mention of a tip is a line where they can write it in if they want to on the receipt.

Personally I would tip based on how pleased you are with the service.

I don't understand this attitude.
How is it insulting? The time spent is compensated for in a higher priced service, right?

 

[aubriee]

I didn't know he was the owner until nearly a year after I started going there. I always thought he was just a manager type. He said his sister bought this one and another salon and couldn't handle both so he took over this location for her. I've never heard of not tipping an owner.

Me either! The salon I go to is owned by a Vietnamese couple. A few years ago they opened up a second shop in a town about ten miles away. The husband usually runs the one in our town and his wife runs their other shop, but for several years the wife used to be the one that did my nails all the time. Anyway, the last couple of months both of them have been in the salon I go to. When I asked Hannah (the wife) what she was doing hanging out in this salon, she laughed and said they were short two techs right now, so she was needed more in this shop (one tech quit about two months ago and the other is on vacation for a month in Vietnam). Anyway, I've been in there three times in the last couple of months and always see people tipping, regardless if it's the two owners or one of the other techs. They always seem appreciative. Also they always pass out free bottles of cold water or sodas as soon as you walk in the door. and a few months ago they were once again voted the best nail salon in town for the 15th year in a row. That week they were also passing out free wine coolers or champagne. Heck, I'd tip the owners just for the cold beverages we get every visit. lol

 

[aubriee]

I've never heard that about not tipping the owner either.

I don't know how they do it at other salons, but at the one I work at when someone gives me the tip for the tech I put it with the other money, then give it to the tech when they aren't busy. I write down every transaction for each tech under their name so we keep track that way. I also label the credit card receipts so they get their tips from that.

At the salon I go to, they usually have certain techs that do pedicures and certain techs that do fingernails and then either may do waxing, depending on who's busy. I once asked if I needed to tip each of them seperately, but was told that since I always pay by credit card that it would be easier to just include the tip in the cc transaction and the owners just pay out the tips by percentage at the end of each day. Whichever one checks me out, just puts both their initials on the cc bill. That bill has whatever 18% and whatever 20% of the total bill would be, so they each would get 20% of whatever their service cost.

The lady that normally does my pedicure knows how much I love their massage chairs and if that particular visit I'm not getting a pedicure and they are not busy, she will frequently grab a chair and she will give me a free neck and back massage. I never ask for it of course, but if she is bored she'll just do it and laughs if you try to discourage her. If she does give me a free massage, I always offer her a little cash, but she always waves it off and refuses.

I love my both my nail techs and have been using them for years. They take very good care of me, so I have no problem tipping them appropriately. In fact, I had a new set of nails put on a little less than a week ago. But we are leaving tomorrow for WDW and when I went in yesterday just for a polish change to get my Mickey Mouse nails painted on, my nail tech asked me to bring her daughter back a tshirt from WDW and tried to pay me. I refused and told her I'd be back a day or two after we got back, to get another polish change, and she could just consider the tshirt her tip then. She just laughed and said that would make the tip more than the polish change. lol

I have never understood tipping. I am a teacher. I provide a service to my students. Shouldn't I get a tip? Maybe 20% of their tuition?

Hey, I'm a nurse. I provide a service. I want a tip too! Just joking! I actually love my job.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

You are not supposed to tip the owner of a business, even for services.

100% false.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

I have never understood tipping. I am a teacher. I provide a service to my students. Shouldn't I get a tip? Maybe 20% of their tuition?

I hope this is a joke. Does your salary ("salary" is a foreign word in the beauty industry, btw) depend on how many students come to class that day? Most nail techs do not receive an hourly rate and if they do, it's very low. Their pay is a percentage of the service they perform, with the assumption they will make up the rest in tips. If you'd like to teach for $2.00 an hour, maybe then you could truly understand.

 

[pixiedustaholic]

I hope this is a joke. Does your salary ("salary" is a foreign word in the beauty industry, btw) depend on how many students come to class that day? Most nail techs do not receive an hourly rate and if they do, it's very low. Their pay is a percentage of the service they perform, with the assumption they will make up the rest in tips. If you'd like to teach for $2.00 an hour, maybe then you could truly understand.

I know I will probably get flamed for this but that's fine. I think tipping has gotten a little out of hand. People expect to get tipped for just about anything and everything nowadays. People that "depend" on tips know what that particular job pays before they accept it. I've never understood why restaurants or any businesses are allowed to get away with paying their employees less than minumum wage and then expect their customer's to pay their employees wages for them via tipping. I don't understand why it's okay for them but almost every other business out there has to actually pay their employees at least a minimum wage. Before anyone gets all up in the air, YES, I DO TIP for good service...most of the time more than I should. It drives my husband crazy because he feels the same way I do. If someone does a great job, I reward them with a tip if I choose. However, I don't think it should always be expected.

 

[Dowellfam]

I completely agree, tipping has gotten WAY out of control. I don't tip the Starbucks Barista's any longer, do you tip your Taco Bell server? It seems ridiculous to me. Pet salons, now expect tips. Years ago, this was not someone you tipped.
When I get my nails done, I usually only tip a few dollars, never more than 5. The salons near my home are always jam packed, where waiting can be 30 minutes on a normal day. Then I sit for an hour or more for the fill and pedicure, where the tech doesn't say two words to me, but talks in Vietnamese to her co-workers or on her phone. I find this to be extremely rude. One salon in the area, ran by Vietnamese family, has signs up that if the Tech answers her phone while providing a service, then the service is free. There is also limited conversation in their native language. I tend to tip along the lines of the 20% at this particular salon. This is the service I expect.
I think far too many people EXPECT tips, instead of having a mind set that it should be EARNED. There's my two cents.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

I completely agree, tipping has gotten WAY out of control. I don't tip the Starbucks Barista's any longer, do you tip your Taco Bell server? It seems ridiculous to me. Pet salons, now expect tips. Years ago, this was not someone you tipped.
When I get my nails done, I usually only tip a few dollars, never more than 5. The salons near my home are always jam packed, where waiting can be 30 minutes on a normal day. Then I sit for an hour or more for the fill and pedicure, where the tech doesn't say two words to me, but talks in Vietnamese to her co-workers or on her phone. I find this to be extremely rude. One salon in the area, ran by Vietnamese family, has signs up that if the Tech answers her phone while providing a service, then the service is free. There is also limited conversation in their native language. I tend to tip along the lines of the 20% at this particular salon. This is the service I expect.
I think far too many people EXPECT tips, instead of having a mind set that it should be EARNED. There's my two cents.

I agree with you on this actually. I despise those Vietnamese salons (the stereotypical ones anyway). Why would I pay the same price/tip there where I'm rushed and treated rudely when I can go to a regular salon and get 10x better customer service? I don't feel herding people in and out of pedicure chairs like cattle deserves a fat tip.

 

[kathie859]

Good golly!! I must have been born under a lucky star!!

Not only is my nail tech from another country, but she's an owner of the salon, provides superior customer service and seems genuinely thankful for my business AND the tips I give. I've tipped $5-30 depending on the services provided--never less than 20%.

For those of you who are not pleased with the level of service or the attitude of your salon--shop around!!! I've been a few places and know that there are wide differences in how shops are run--not to mention the hygiene!

Oh and my salon has a posted notice re: tips: "If you would like to add a tip to your credit or debit card, please advise us before the card is run thru."