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29 September 2010

Another tipping etiquette question: My hairdresser left the salon where she worked and is now cutting hair out of her house. Do I still tip her?

post by: amro at: 21:30 | 14 comments

I am not trying to get out of tipping her, I just seem to recall something about it not being appropriate to tip the owner of a business.

posted by amro 29 September | 21:32

The tip is to cover the fee from renting the chair, I think? So If she's a sole owner ..I wouldn't?

posted by The Whelk 29 September | 21:39

Tip and see how she reacts. My guess is that leaving the salon was an economic decision and she needs the money.

posted by warbaby 29 September | 21:40

I'm sure that if I tip her, she wouldn't turn it down. But it is very unlikely that she needs the money; her husband makes a lot. She left because she wasn't happy with the management at the salon. Maybe I'll wait and see what she charges; if it's less than what she was charging at the salon, I can maybe make up the difference. If it's the same, maybe not, since she's getting it all.

posted by amro 29 September | 21:45

According to etiquette guides, it used to be the owner of a business would refuse a tip. I haven't had that happen, ever.

I would still tip her.

posted by grouse 29 September | 22:00

I would tip her. I think the "Don't tip the owner" thing is a bit outdated; it's also based on the idea that other stylists would be paying part of their earnings to the owner, so it doesn't really translate to a solo practitioner.

posted by occhiblu 29 September | 23:51

Etiquette says: don't tip people. Their salary includes service charges.
They don't need charity.

Wait, what country are you based in again?

posted by jouke 30 September | 00:14

I'm with warbaby. Tip. Scalzi's post on being poor has made me think of the Poor people I've known, including a hairdresser who left a salon to cut out of her house. I don't know exactly why she left the salon. But I do know one thing. She. Always. Needed. The. Money.

posted by knile 30 September | 02:10

jouke, I am in the US. knile, trust me when I say that she has far more money than I do.

posted by amro 30 September | 07:37

I think "don't tip the owner" doesn't apply in this context. If the person owned a business that had other employees, then tipping would not make sense. But if your hairdresser is the only employee of their own business, I think you should tip. I know it can feel weird to tip someone who obviously makes more than you. I think that may be true for certain wait staff too though, come to think of it.

posted by serazin 30 September | 09:07

amro, I'm sorry that my flippancy about European socialism vs US tipping 'charity' was either unclear or not funny.
Carry on with your elaborate analyses of the finer points and nuances of this US custom of 'tipping' that I have heard about from the internets (mainly metafilter).

Yes, it's beer of clock here in NL. Don't mind me.

posted by jouke 30 September | 13:01

its ok jouke, I happened to get and appreciate that you were making a funny.

of course i've also lived in Hamburg, Germany, and have gotten indignant looks from servers that I (mistakenly) tipped US-style.

posted by lonefrontranger 30 September | 13:45

Making a funny sounds indecent.

posted by jouke 30 September | 19:22

I wasn't sure if you were joking or giving me a hard time for being US-centric. Or both.

Anyway, update: I tried to give her a tip and she wouldn't accept it. She also charged me 50% of what I paid at the salon and her house is closer to me than the salon. So, all good!!

posted by amro 30 September | 19:32

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