Tipping

 People often ask me how I come up with topics for this column. How much can you say about hair and the salon industry? Do you ever run out of ideas or get stuck for a topic when a deadline is looming? Most of the time there’s plenty to report about hair, style and beauty, but every once in a while I worry that the well may run dry. Then I’ll have an everyday kind of experience that turns on a new light bulb and I am at my computer typing away. This month’s topic is a prime example of that. About two weeks ago I was out to dinner with friends and it became a running joke as to how many people we would be tipping before the night was over. We tipped the bartender who kept us in good spirits, (literally) while we waited for a table. We tipped the maitre de who got us a prime seat without a very long wait. We tipped the waiter for our excellent service, and when we left we tipped the valet for not crashing our car. Later we went to Starbucks for a scone and a latte’ where upon we tipped Heidi, the coffee wench. And at the end of the night one of my friends thanked me for a lovely evening and slid a dollar into my palm with his handshake. It was a joke of course, but I kept the dollar! It was a night of tips. But I have never been one to qualm over a few dollars if it gets me the kind of service and treatment I want when I go someplace. I work in a tipping business and I understand. Money is nice. It makes people happy. Salons are similar to restaurants in regards to tipping. Everyday salon receptionists everywhere answer client’s questions about who they should tip and how much. So I thought I would give you all a primer on the protocol for salon tipping that you may find useful. When tipping at a salon there are a few things a client should know right off the bat. First, tipping is strictly optional, a thank you for a service well done or for someone who went above and beyond to make the client feel appreciated. If you are leaving a salon feeling worse than when you came in or if you feel slighted or unappreciated, then don't tip the people who made you feel that way...they didn't earn it. But if you do want to reward someone for making you feel beautiful and special then by all means leave them something that conveys that.
The first person in a salon that we think about in regards to tips is the stylist. Usually in a salon the stylist makes a commission off of the services he or she performs and that commission is typically between 40-50% of your total bill. The standard tip for a stylist is 15%-20% of the total service bill. But it isn't always just about your hair service, sometimes it is about the relationship you have with that hairdresser. What type of hairdresser have they been? What kind of client are you? Ask yourself a few important questions before tipping. Were you late to the appointment? If you were, your stylist may have worked you in without making you feel guilty, even though it might have caused them to run late with other clients. Were they late for your appointment? If so, were they running late because of the tardiness of a prior client or did they just show up to work after you had already arrived. Do you frequently cancel on them? If you tend to miss appointments then you should probably be a very good tipper if you want them to continue wanting you as a client. Does your stylist frequently cancel on you? If so then I wouldn't worry too much about their tip because they apparently don't value your time or money very much. Just remember that a tip to your stylist should say three things: Thank you for making me prettier than I was before I came in, I appreciate the way you treat me, and I appreciate the way I feel about myself when I leave you. If your stylist accomplishes these things, tip them, if they don’t then they didn’t earn any extra appreciation. You may also ask yourself how busy is your stylist. If you have a hairdresser that is booked heavily and has a lot of clients, then you want to stand out from those other clients. There may be a time when he or she will have to cut some clients loose because of the demand on their time. A popular stylist is usually a very talented one, so you want to make sure that they want to always keep you as their client. Tip reasonably well, but most importantly make sure the stylist sees that you are tipping them. Place the tip in their hand. They will be sure to remember that you are a tipper then.

Your stylist isn’t usually the only person in the salon who worked on you though. Most likely someone shampooed you, or perhaps an assistant aided your stylist with your color application or blow dry. These support staff members are really the ones who shouldn’t be overlooked. Your stylist made a commission off of your services, the support staff didn’t. They are strictly wage earners and are usually making only $7 or $8 an hour. If they really do a good job with you, reward them accordingly. A typical acceptable gratuity for a shampoo tech is between $3 to $10 depending on whether they shampooed you once for a cut or blow-dry or if they shampooed you multiple times during the course of more extensive services. For assistants or apprentices who helped with your service (applied a color or performed a blow-dry on you) tip them out a portion of the overall tip you leave for your stylist. There is no need for you to come out-of-pocket even more money simply because your stylist had help. Take the tip you would have normally given to your stylist and offer a portion of it to the assistant. Try to avoid the assumption that your stylist will tip out their assistant at the end of the day. This rarely happens. Often the stylist doesn't even know how much was left as a tip and therefore cannot know how much to tip out. Its always best to hand the tip personally to the tech or assistant. But just in case your stylist does tip out his help at the day’s end, let him know that you already took care of it. This will eliminate the assistant being tipped twice, once by you and then again by the shairdresser.
Sometimes a client will want to do something for the person at the front desk for always getting them in when they want. A small present or gift card during the holidays is a greatly appreciated thank you for a year's worth of consideration. Also the occasional small basket of muffins or cookies is a nice gesture. Its a great way to say "I appreciate what you do for me" without having to come out of pocket with a tip every appointment.
When tipping a service provider, try to not add your tip to your charge card or check that you made out to the salon. If the tip is included with your bill payment then the salon will have to deduct taxes out of that tip income. Now, all stylists should be paying taxes on their tips anyway, but that $20 tip will look much better to them in the form of a twenty dollar bill in their pocket rather than grouped together with their weekly pay and other tips with FICA and Federal withholding taking a large chunk out of it. Also keep in mind that the salon has to pay taxes and processing fees on charges and checks, and many salons will charge a stylist a percentage of that tip in order to pay those fees. The salon isn't being greedy, they just don't want to have to pay taxes and fees on income they didn't receive. For this reason many salons are beginning to not allow tips to be included with the bill payment. I personally practice this at my salon. It keeps the accounting straight and keeps me from having to pay taxes on revenue that isn’t mine.
When leaving a tip, I also suggest writing a little note with your tip telling the stylist what they did that made you feel generous, since a tip is really just an added thank you for good service. A $10 bill is nice but you can also really make a stylist's day with a note attached to that $10 bill saying "Thanks for working me in" or "Thanks for always making me look my best". That also sets you apart from other clients and reinforces to that stylist that you are an important client and one that they have a special feeling towards. Likewise, if you have a bad experience and plan to never return to that person, let them know why. Many salons have tip envelopes, put a little note in there telling them why they didn't receive a tip. Your experience may have been ruined, but a helpful suggestion just might keep them from repeating that mistake in the future.
Now what happens if you can’t tip? What if you save every penny you can just to be able to afford the price of the service and can’t really budget for more. You may live in fear that your service provider may think ill of you or spit in your hair mousse before they use it on you. But be honest, explain to the stylist that your financial constraints make it difficult for you to patronize them as it is, but at least you can manage to do it. They will understand and be grateful that you are remaining a client even if their service costs are above your budget. You can still tip them, you’ll just do it with words. Thank them for the wonderful service, tell them how much better you look and feel, and do this in front of their other clients. I can tell you first hand that it makes a stylist feel so good when a client they have just finished pops back up to their chair while they are beginning their next client and tells them how terrific they feel. It makes the stylist look good in front of the other client and it pushes you even higher on that stylist’s priority scale. You can also send them in referrals. You may not be able to afford a generous tip with each visit, but by referring friends you are giving that stylist money, and that is always appreciated.

So try to keep in mind that a tip is just a monetary thank you to someone you feel deserves recognition. Sometimes just a warm thank you, a referral, and a heartfelt compliment can be enough. But if you are going to tip, let that tip be a bridge to showing your service provider that you are a client they want to keep happy by giving the best and most personal service to you that they can.
 

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