About tipping in America

[AnnaLiza]

I was in LA last week and decided to get a haircut so I went to a salon near the hotel which had good reviews. The owner was the sole hairdresser and did a decent job at cutting my hair but it was by no means the best haircut I've ever had. Anyway, when I was paying ($85) his secretary asked "so are you leaving a tip for Nico today?". I must have gone purple as I was not expecting that...I then said "I don't think it's necessary" and hurried out as quick as I could, feeling like the meanest person ever, which I'm not at all.
I can just about undertstand tipping the waiter when there's no national minimum and they rely on tips for a living...but what's the justification for asking for a tip when you're a professional who charges $85 for a haircut? I find it very rude to be asked for money and then made to feel like shit for not forking out more. If you think $85 is not enough then just charge more and let people decide if they want to pay for your services.
Am I missing something?

Sorry, haven't read beyond the first page. In answer to the OP, however, YANBU not to leave a tip for the owner of the establishment. I grew up in the US, and etiquette gurus there will tell you that the proper way to reward the owner if you get good service is to tell all your friends.

For anyone else in a service industry, even people earning lots of money, a tip is required. If you are very unhappy with the service, you indicate this by leaving an insultingly tiny tip, eg a couple of dollars for your $85 haircut. This shows that you didn't just forget to tip.

At least they recognise that you're speaking English! When we moved to the U.S. 30 years ago my dad went into his new office and introduced himself to the secretary, who turned to an intern and said, "Hey Eric, you speak all these foreign languages, what's this guy saying?"

Just back from LA. Just became the norm to add 20 % to everything.

Also got stopped on more than one occasion to say how much people loved our accents and to discuss the benefits is the NHS!

Of the NHS that should say

Telling your friends isn't going to work out very well for the waiter though, given the tax ins and outs. And if you're a tourist, telling your friends is probably useless for even the owner.