Rounding out your cost to the nearest $5-10 can make sense. Especially when it’s an exact amount like $23 I’ll give them $25 because it’s just easier, but when you say tip the common amount of a tip is 15-25% would have you tip $3.50-5.75 on that $23 haircut. That’s more than I’ve ever tipped them because I’m already paying over $20 for something they completed in ~20 minutes without using anything that would cost them money (other than time).
Paying for the experience is not what I’m paying for, I’m paying for the service. Going to the movies I don’t tip the concession stand for providing me with the “movie experience” when they give me popcorn. And anytime they do extra stuff like shaving my face it costs extra. The haircut costs X amount and anything extra adds Y amount, it’s a service the same as all other services.
You are correct in that typically hair salons and barber shops will rent out the chairs to barbers, but this is done in 1 of 2 ways typically, the barber pays per month and they keep all of the money they make, or they pay a portion of every customer. Why does this matter to you as the consumer? If the barber isn’t making enough, the prices can increase. My local barbershop increased prices 2 times in the last 4 years. If they’re supposed to make their money on tips why is this? Their costs to run the business haven’t gone up because they don’t use anything to perform the service, so it must be to pay the barbers a better amount. Something that wouldn’t happen if it’s “meant to be a tipped position”.
If the barber charged $20 or the barber charged $15 with some kind of “expected” tip, fundamentally what is the difference?
Hair cutting is one of those professions, which traditionally (at least in the US) some form of tip is expected for a good job. That extra couple of bucks that one gives for a good haircut is well worth it to build that relationship. They might squeeze you in on an otherwise busy day if you have an interview the next day, or something along those lines. You can claim all you want that you aren’t paying for an experience, but the reality is that you are. The cut itself is only part of the whole process. The vibe of the shop - the music they might play or the game they are playing on the TV. Or maybe the opposite. Maybe it is a quiet place and you can go in there and relax in silence for a bit. It is all part of the experience. When I used to actually get my hair cut, it was probably once a month. That extra $5 means nothing to me in the end. If $60/year worth of tips is too much for some, then they might want to look at cutting their own hair.
I don’t understand why people are arguing this point. If collectively barbers said they are raising their rates but tipping isn’t needed anymore, than that would be great, but that’s not reality. Until that happens, I absolutely would tip a good barber and not think twice about it.
It doesn’t make sense to you because you’re reasonable and half the people in this thread are cheap and selfish. I’ve seen people say they don’t even tip their bartenders.
I don’t understand how it’s “cheap and selfish” to go to a bar, see that it says $7 for a drink on the menu, and choose to pay $7 for the drink that says $7 on the menu.
As a customer, it’s not my responsibility to know nor care how much the employee of the business makes. I see a sticker price for the thing I want, and I pay that price. What’s “selfish and cheap” about that?
I bet the same people who don’t want to tip, are also the same type of people screaming for $15/hr pay for no-skill jobs. Yet they don’t want to pay people who have learned a marketable skill their fair share?! They can complain about tipping till the cows come home, but if the system in place now mean their income is based on getting a certain amount from tips, then arguing about tipping these people means you’re a cheapskate.
Rounding out your cost to the nearest $5-10 can make sense. Especially when it’s an exact amount like $23 I’ll give them $25 because it’s just easier, but when you say tip the common amount of a tip is 15-25% would have you tip $3.50-5.75 on that $23 haircut. That’s more than I’ve ever tipped them because I’m already paying over $20 for something they completed in ~20 minutes without using anything that would cost them money (other than time).
Paying for the experience is not what I’m paying for, I’m paying for the service. Going to the movies I don’t tip the concession stand for providing me with the “movie experience” when they give me popcorn. And anytime they do extra stuff like shaving my face it costs extra. The haircut costs X amount and anything extra adds Y amount, it’s a service the same as all other services.
You are correct in that typically hair salons and barber shops will rent out the chairs to barbers, but this is done in 1 of 2 ways typically, the barber pays per month and they keep all of the money they make, or they pay a portion of every customer. Why does this matter to you as the consumer? If the barber isn’t making enough, the prices can increase. My local barbershop increased prices 2 times in the last 4 years. If they’re supposed to make their money on tips why is this? Their costs to run the business haven’t gone up because they don’t use anything to perform the service, so it must be to pay the barbers a better amount. Something that wouldn’t happen if it’s “meant to be a tipped position”.
If the barber charged $20 or the barber charged $15 with some kind of “expected” tip, fundamentally what is the difference?
Hair cutting is one of those professions, which traditionally (at least in the US) some form of tip is expected for a good job. That extra couple of bucks that one gives for a good haircut is well worth it to build that relationship. They might squeeze you in on an otherwise busy day if you have an interview the next day, or something along those lines. You can claim all you want that you aren’t paying for an experience, but the reality is that you are. The cut itself is only part of the whole process. The vibe of the shop - the music they might play or the game they are playing on the TV. Or maybe the opposite. Maybe it is a quiet place and you can go in there and relax in silence for a bit. It is all part of the experience. When I used to actually get my hair cut, it was probably once a month. That extra $5 means nothing to me in the end. If $60/year worth of tips is too much for some, then they might want to look at cutting their own hair.
I don’t understand why people are arguing this point. If collectively barbers said they are raising their rates but tipping isn’t needed anymore, than that would be great, but that’s not reality. Until that happens, I absolutely would tip a good barber and not think twice about it.
It doesn’t make sense to you because you’re reasonable and half the people in this thread are cheap and selfish. I’ve seen people say they don’t even tip their bartenders.
I don’t understand how it’s “cheap and selfish” to go to a bar, see that it says $7 for a drink on the menu, and choose to pay $7 for the drink that says $7 on the menu.
As a customer, it’s not my responsibility to know nor care how much the employee of the business makes. I see a sticker price for the thing I want, and I pay that price. What’s “selfish and cheap” about that?
It’s bizarre isn’t it?
I bet the same people who don’t want to tip, are also the same type of people screaming for $15/hr pay for no-skill jobs. Yet they don’t want to pay people who have learned a marketable skill their fair share?! They can complain about tipping till the cows come home, but if the system in place now mean their income is based on getting a certain amount from tips, then arguing about tipping these people means you’re a cheapskate.