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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not tip a hairdresser

89 replies

photographerlady · 25/05/2016 07:37

Seems salon prices are just going up and up. I tried mobile hairdressers to save money but the hair cuts were awful, layers not maintained and destroyed my fringe. So back to salons but when a cut and blow dry is pushing £40 it just makes me want to stop tipping. I don't mind rounding it up occasionally to the next fiver but AIBU to skip/cut out the tip especially if I'm going every 6-8 weeks.

OP posts:
Elle80 · 25/05/2016 08:32

I do, even though my cut and colour is expensive! I feel compelled to as my mum and dad know the hairdresser and the whole family use him. He is a wonderful hairdresser though and I don't go that often

carebear841 · 25/05/2016 08:33

I pay £32 for a cut and blowdry, so I round it up to £35. Have been going there for years and hairdresser does a fab job always. But if I went somewhere new, not sure if I would tip.

MrsJayy · 25/05/2016 08:35

£95 Shock im considering going to a cheaper hairdresser because £70 made me feel clammy

bakeoffcake · 25/05/2016 08:36

A cut and colour round here costs around £90, so no, I don't tip.

bakeoffcake · 25/05/2016 08:38

In fact it really pisses me off having to spend so much on my hair. But I'm going grey snd have short hair so need it doung every 5 weeks.

I'm thinking of growing it, so I don't need it cutting so often.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 25/05/2016 08:38

Aramynta - was it the salon owner? Maybe it's seen as not the done thing to tip the owner only the staff?

harverina · 25/05/2016 08:39

Mrsjay I know it's awful! I left for a while and was paying £60-80 depending on what I got done but I just wasn't as happy with my hair so I went back and I'm glad I did.

My hairdresser is self employed and trying to build her business. I would rather spread good word about her and share Facebook posts etc than tip. Think that would be of more benefit.

MrsJayy · 25/05/2016 08:42

Im going to go grey its not fully in yet but im just going to go for it im to vain for the growing in bit though mum is still dying her hair but a mucky blonde colour because older women are meant to go lighter she said I said just go grey but she wont

HandsomeGroomGiveHerRoom · 25/05/2016 08:43

I don't know how to tip hairdressers, other than to say "that's fine" when paying in cash where I'd be due change. I always feel I should tip whoever washed my hair though - they tend to be Saturday staff or trainees, but again don't really know how without it being all embarrassing Blush

jetsetlil · 25/05/2016 08:43

I tip hairdressers, waiting staff and taxi drivers. Always have. Probably as I have worked in restaurants and family member is a hairdresser. Don't have a problem with it at all. Do the people who don't tip accept a bonus in their jobs?? I look at it as the same.

MrsJayy · 25/05/2016 08:46

If you like her and she does a good job thats great but £95 is a lot course it depends where the salon is etc i had a great hairdresser in my village but she gave up her chair when she had her baby then the shop closed so i found 1 in town but its more expensive.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 25/05/2016 08:47

Handsome - you hand over what you what to tip and say ' that's for you /thank you very much'

Helps if you have correct tip money all ready in your purse so there's no fumblingGrin

Abbinob · 25/05/2016 08:47

I only tip them when they cut the 2 year olds hair, because they might be hairdressers but their job description isn't "try and cut this childs hair whilst he is thrashing about without cutting his ears off and give him a million biscuits"

Ilovetorrentialrain · 25/05/2016 08:48

It's an absolute minefield and I find tipping (except for in restaurants) really awkward.

What of it's just one person with their own business (do you tip a business owner?). What if there are two or three different people who do your hair (washing/putting colour on/styling)?

Can anyone from a salon come on here and be brutally honest about what they think when customers don't tip? I don't feel I know the etiquette any more. Besides, yes, hairdressing prices are getting ludicrous.

80sMum · 25/05/2016 08:55

I never tip hairdressers. Why on earth anyone would is a mystery to me. Wouldn't it be a bit demeaning to tip them? They are skilled professionals providing a service in return for a fee. Surely nobody would tip their electrician, plumber, decorator? What's the difference? You receive a bill and you pay it! Why the need to hand over "pocket money" as well?

GiveMyHeadPeaceffs · 25/05/2016 08:55

I don't tip anymore for a haircut. My latest hairdresser is great but cut and colour costs the guts of £100 and it's a real treat for me. I'm usually there for two hours so that's nearly £50 an hour. She is very good so at Christmas I've dropped in a bottle of wine for her but that's all.

runningincircles12 · 25/05/2016 08:58

At my salon, you can't add a tip if you pay by card- it has to be cash. I don't often carry cash (or enough cash) so I don't tip. Plus when my highlights and cut come to £110 (and that's with a 50% discount on the highlights, thanks Rush), I am not feeling that flush. But as I can see above that people tip the colourist, stylist and the person washing your hair. See, that would almost bankrupt me if I had to give them each a tenner. Salons should start paying their staff properly if they charge such extortionate prices. I used to go to a salon in another city where the hairdressers were self-employed and just paid rent to the salon. That made me feel better because I knew that a large chunk of what I paid would go in their pockets rather than them being on £100 a week or something.

MrsJayy · 25/05/2016 09:04

80smum you are right I have no clue why hairdressers are tipped

harverina · 25/05/2016 09:07

I go to a local hairdressers in my village but my hairdresser has a chair there. It's be type of village where everything costs more because it's nice and assumed that everyone is rich. We are not rich! I work in glasgow and couldn't afford Glasgow city centre prices

HandsomeGroomGiveHerRoom · 25/05/2016 09:11

Thank you, Dame Smile

harverina · 25/05/2016 09:11

I don't think its the same as a bonus though. If you work for someone in a salon you may get a bonus anyway and will have other benefits too surely?

I have no idea what hairdressers earn btw but I also see it as a skilled profession and strange that they should be tipped for doing their job?

Enkopkaffetak · 25/05/2016 09:14

I never tip hairdressers I pay a fair bit of money for their time so I don't see the need to tip.

meffhead · 25/05/2016 09:18

My cut is £43 and I round up to £45.
I've used her for 10 years and been happy with every cut!

RabbitSaysWoof · 25/05/2016 09:23

Your employer should give you bonuses, it's their job to pay you and if they want you to stay it's their job to make you want to.
I get bonuses in my job, not from their customers, but from the company.

ladyformation · 25/05/2016 09:41

My cut, colour and blowdry comes to somewhere between £100-£130 depending on treatments and discounts (I only go once every three months, so it's a trade off for me!) and I seem to be unusual in tipping A LOT - normally £15-20. I appreciate that this is really high, but I tip to ensure that I'm remembered and I get exactly the experience I want every time without having to ask for it - no chat, lots of cups of tea/glasses of wine (I'm there for 3-4 hours...long hair) and the right products. So for me it's worth it - I look at going to the hairdresser like going to a restaurant, in that I include the cost of tipping in the whole cost when I'm working out what I can afford.

And I'm incredibly British and awkward about the whole thing, so I get the whole cost out, including tip, in cash before I go, then at the till I count it out so no one is confused and thinks I've just paid too much (happened once, excruciating). Then beat a hasty retreat to avoid more than a speedy thanks...