to think this a stealth way to ask for tips?

[gingercringe]

The tips thread made me realise something I’ve been thinking about since Saturday.

I have been going to the same hair salon for ages - colour, roots, highlights and cuts & blowdries etc - always with the senior hairdresser

For the past year (Easter will exactly a year) I have been going for blowdries only (sometimes hair cut) since I don’t colour anymore and trying to grow my hair - with the caveat that after trying all the hairdressers there I realised that the most junior (cheaper) one is the best of them all when comes to cut and blowdry - her hair is very similar to mine and her hands are super gentle. So I make a point to always book her. I do it online. I go there sometime 4x a month, sometimes 1x a moth but I’m a regular.

So last Sat I had my appt and they called me asking if I could arrive earlier - no priblem.
Got there everything seemed normal.

When the junior hairdresser was blowdrying my hair, the senior came to me to say that she changed my appt from short hair to long hair since my hair is now longer and from now on I should make sure to book long hair always especially since I only want (insert junior hairdressers name) so this is to allow her plenty of time to do a good job.

I was mistfied as to why she said long hair rather than medium but thought it was because my hair was curly so thought nothing if it.
Then upon reflection, sure they should have told me the appt changed when they called me? It is not a big deal but halfway through the appt they told me it would be more expensive. Which is fine, my hair looked good - even though the time duration of the appt was the same for short hair. But I paid for long.

Is is because I never tip?
The mention that I only want XYZ to do my hair makes me think so.

My hair is shorter than this on the photo BTW. I think it is medium not long?

I feel uncomfortable going there again, will have to find somewhere else.

Its short, and I tip anything up to £10

It sounds like it’s the junior who’s had a moan that you never leave a tip, despite being a regular. So they devised the ‘long hair’ rouse to charge you more, to make up for the lack of tip.
Most hairdressers who don’t own the salon, really do expect a tip if you’re happy with the results, which clearly you are, as you go so regularly.

You’ll find those who tip will also get preference for appointments.

Next time, book the long hair appointment, and leave a generous tip (c.15%) and treat it as the part of the overall cost of having a great hairdo.

I absolutely don't tip in the hairdressers; mine are self-employed and charge a small fortune already.

is your hair curly? So when wet below shoulders but when curly it bounces up to chin level?

The senior is behaving in an underhand way. But if you see a junior stylist and are pleased with her work, then why don't you tip? It is part of the culture here and factors into how a junior especially is paid.

Your hair is clearly not long and they're being pretty grubby to increase the price while you're having your hair done. I'd speak to someone when you boom next time and explain that you got charged for long hair, with a picture of your hair clearly not being long and can you confirm that you can actually book the medium cut. And if they do it again refuse to pay the extra and don't go back. It's grubby and scammy.

I tip by saying "keep the change" so it varies on what notes I have and what they charge. If the country doesn't run on tips (like america) then you don't need to tip.

I always tip. And honestly that to me is not long hair or medium. To me it is still short?

You can choose whichever hairdresser you like.

You're paying, you choose.

That's the end of it.

I do wonder if they are just concerned that the junior stylist needs more time to do a good job - and they don’t want her hurrying it and doing it badly. I think you may have unnecessarily made this personal.

Tipping is a bizarre practice. Yes in US you need to because no minimum wage and staff in hospitality rely on tips.
but in uk most hairdressers are responsible for setting their prices. I do tip at Xmas but that’s not really a tip. More of a Xmas present to someone that does a good job all year.

Pay your juniors a decent wage instead of relying on tips. Unbelievable.

I think once you start tipping it's hard to stop . I give my hairdresser a £5 whether it's for a cut or long colour appointment.

I only ever tip if the Saturday girl washes my hair.
If the stylist does it and I am already paying £90 then no I don't add on a few quid.

But if I was choosing the junior stylist and they were significantly cheaper then yes I may tip her.

It sounds to me like senior stylist is making sure junior gets the right pay for time taken and nothing to do with tips.Tips would go straight in junior pocket. But the cost of your service will be split between the salon and the junior, and you are taking up chair space.

I can’t remember how my hairdressers site does it but I pay for a cut plus “extra” time. Not because of the length but because it’s curly and I know it can take longer. My hair is just above the shoulders and very similar to the picture you attached.

I always tip my nail girl and hairdresser. Always have.

Is it below your shoulders when wet?

The way they've gone about it is awful. But curly hair is much longer than it looks, so perhaps they're judging it on your wet hair length.

Go somewhere else

Definitely say your hair is at least medium when wet if it’s curly.

Not tipping for a blowdry is a bit mean imo. It’s not an expensive service compared to colour and most stylists would expect a tip. Especially as it requires full time and attention for whole appointment.

I would have classed your hair as short too. I take it the senior hairdresser was the one who originally classed it as short when taking payment from you? It was very underhand of them to change the price halfway through your appointment. I'm another one who doesn't tip as the cost of a cut and colour is £££. My hairdresser is lovely and I'm happy with her work but feel I pay well for it without leaving a tip.

Not sure I understand the problem fully. Your hair is not short. Maybe it's not long either. Blow drying is a service that takes time so they just use length as a proxy for time.
You've been booking as short hair but it's not short so they've said you need to book for long. Presumably the junior felt awkward about saying something so the senior stepped in, that seems fair enough. It may have been stressful for the junior who was allocated 10 mins to do a job that now takes 15 or 20. So she was stressed and missing a break or having to rush after.

Is the price of long acceptable to you? If so what is the problem? They didn't mention tips. They didn't otherwise criticise you.

The only unreasonable thing they did was change the price mid appointment. They should have said next time please book a long

Agree with you OP, I would feel the same.
The different tiers of hair length charges are banal to me!
My hairdresser does a child or adult cut as far as I'm aware.
I had never even heard of different prices for hair lengths.
She works alone, charges £37 for root colour with blow dry, so I round it up to £40
Not sure if this is the norm here up north. I think it's more unusual to tip, but I feel more comfortable doing so.

I wouldn't be going back to your lot again.
Rude and money grabbing.

I only tip if they do something exceptional for me.
Which they usually don't.
That's originally the idea of tipping.
FFS.

I'm confused by all the length chat. Even when I've phoned new hairdressers ad booked a cut and blow dry no one has asked if I have short or long hair and I'd imagine a trim on long fine hair is much quicker than styling shirt, thick hair. Is medium even an option on your hairdresser's pricing structure? If so I'd be asking how you went from short to long but skipped medium.

I've curly above shoulder hair, would say medium length, however when it's wet & combed it's def long length. I would expect to get charged for the actual length.