My husband says I’m a tight wad!

I pay £47 for a short hair cut and blow dry which is way beyond what I can afford as I am on an actuarially reduced pension and years off collecting my state pension. I also gtip a fiver to the stylist.

However, the way I look at it is that, really, I cannot afford not to. I don't want to look like Worzel Gummidge, the scarecrow. I'd rather not eat!

Tip, not gtip!

My salon has a tips box on the counter.I feel this an ideal way of making sure every person who takes part in the running of the business gets their share. From the junior who sweeps up and makes you tea or coffee, the one who shampoos, up to the stylist. If you feel you want to only give your stylist a tip then that is your choice.

I don’t tip her except at Christmas

Don't tip anybody. People are paid to do a job and should do it well . The only time I break with this rule is when somebody goes 'over and above' what would normally be expected of them. I brought home by taxi recently a extremely heavy base to my garden parasol, the driver jumped out of the car took the base from the boot , took it around to my back garden and unlocked it for me as he could see that my hands were arthritic. That I consider a real 'over and above'..... and I hadn't actually asked him to do it. He could not speak very good English ( Polish I believed) but was wonderful. It only took him about 5 mins, but would've taken me a great deal of effort and pain! I gave him £5 tip. I hope he knew how appreciative I was.

'Unpacked it'

I don't tip anyone, you don't tip the check out person because they give you a good service and pack your bag, you don't tip the shop assistant who goes the extra mile so why hairdressers it beyond me. If I got a bad cut then I would just go somewhere else.

I also pay London prices at my local salon and the owner cuts my hair. I never tip - he is doing well and is always happy to cut my hair. Once you start tipping you may be accused of being mean because you don't tip enough. If you pay nearly £50 for a cut a 10% tip would push it up to £55 which is ridiculous. I have to add too that I get pensioners rates as I go midweek. I pay by card and never had the feeling he expected a tip on top. He has a card with charges on it and that is what I pay. I tend to tip in restaurants but quite honestly I prefer it when they add a service charge. At least you know where you are. Taxi drivers I usually round the amount up to the nearest pound unless it is Uber of course where it is a fixed price.

I think beigecardigans is right. In smart society it is considered very bad form to tip the owner of or partner in a business. A junior in that business might receive a tip if the customer or client wants to.

I don't tip the owner of a salon that I go to. It always seems just like paying extra when they get the profit an unnecessary. I usually tip about 5% - 10%, depending on the bill otherwise.

What's this London prices nonsense? I live in London so pay London prices for everything. If it costs 50 quid to get my hair cut so be it. She does a good job, she's a good laugh and I like to show my appreciation. I also go mid week but she doesn't do pensioners prices not that I'd want them anyway. A haircut costs what a haircut costs and it should be based on how much work is involved, not the age of the customer. So bad form or not I'll remain common and continue to tip.

I tip (hairdresser, manicurist, hotel room cleaner) though if was having hairdresser owner/partner I wouldn't.
I'd expect the hairdresser not to expect a tip, esp from, say, a pensioner.
However, as I can afford to, I do for these personal services.
See minimum wage attachment. Did you know the apprentice rate applies to any age? So get in young an d live at home if you want to learn a trade which includes hairdressing! Believe me, most people in service jobs are paid a pittance. I'm very happy to pay my lovely manicurist for dealing with feet!!

I haven’t been to a hairdresser for more than sixty years. Everyone says how good it looks and asks who my hairdresser is. Think of the money I have saved.

I wouldn't tip the owner/partner.

So how do you manage your hair Bijou?

Is it long? Sometimes DD cuts her own as it was long, but now it's a bit shorter she has to go to the hairdresser.

A haircut costs what a haircut costs and it should be based on how much work is involved, not the age of the customer
I agree, ff.
Cheaper rates for older people are usually offered at the quieter times of the week. Presumably the logic is that the business owner would rather make a smaller profit at these times than no profit at all, and the cheaper prices lure people in.
But the discount should be available to anyone who’s prepared to come in at 9.30 in a Monday morning, not just pensioners.

I’m always put off pubs which offer ‘pensioner specials’ or ‘Buy two adult meals, kids go free’. It just makes me think the everyone else is subsiding these particular groups of customers.

I don't tip my hairdresser as she's the owner - if I have a pedicure or brow wax then I do tip the beautician.

I have had the same hairdresser for nearly 18 years and have never given a tip. Salon is one of a chain and prices pretty high. Stylist washes hair as well. Always get a fantastic short cut and recently great advice about keeping grey hair and stop colouring.
Posh coffee and bics as well!

Jalima1108.

My hair is medium length and grows very quickly. I manage to cut it and thin it by feel. Every other night I roll it up in curlers.

I tip my hairdresser a small amount every 6 weeks and also give her a Christmas box. She is the main earner in her family, works from home and has been kind enough to come out to my home on occasions when both DH and I have been recovering from illness.

She cheers me up and always gives me the best style possible and I trust her to deal with my thinning grey locks and turn me into as she says 'The Posh Lady'.

But why DO we tip hairdressers, taxidrivers, waiters but not nurses, shop assistants, teachers, librarians. Why are the former special? Maybe they were once deemed low paid & needy but now they're on same (or more) than erest of us, so WHY??

starbox tricky 9 e. Teachers do get gifts at Christmas and year end. Weve always given tbe ward gifts ehen our son was in hospital.
Its probably when someone has been 1:1 doing something personal it feels appropriate. Ditto hotel cleaners. I'm sure they do some horrible jobs. Plus I can afford it so don't mind

I wonder if hairdressers' salaries are based on the expectation of people tipping, as this is a tradition?

I always tip 10% but sometimes wonder if this is mean as I've read articles which suggest a reasonable amount is 20%.

From what I hear, teachers do pretty well at the end of the school year & at Christmas !! I have a fantastic hairdresser who is young, vibrant & full of fun & she cuts my greying hair beautifully. She is the owner's second in command, dives a top of the range 4x4 and had just moved into a brand new large house. Here in this county town in middle England, I pay just shy of £50 for 30 minutes of her time & expertise every 4 weeks (my hair is very thick & grows very fast). I don't tip her.
As someone else remarked, it's a mystery why we tip (or don't) who we tip. It used to annoy me that we were expected to tip the dustman & postman at Christmas when we were farming - no one tipped us for getting up in all weathers at 5.30, pretty much 365 days a year and working 12 - 16 hour days to provide milk for everyone....it's a crazy world!

I go to a small salon where there is the owner, and one stylist. On busy days they also have a shampooist. I have my hair cut and coloured by the stylist. He does my hair exactly as I like it, chats away to me, makes me a coffee and I tip him because it's a pleasure to go there and he does and really good job. I tip waiters and taxi drivers too but only when they do a good job, if I get bad service I don't tip