Presents for Hairdressers?

I don’t usually tip, I don’t believe in it, Why tip some trades and others? Saying that my hairdresser died of cancer and ever since Ihave been trying to find another who will give me a Dame Judy Dench cut (who?) but at last I have found her in a small village on the way to my daughters. So now I stop and Young Gemma gives me an excellent cut for just £12 if I am in a hurry or £15 for a wash and cut and for that price I always leave a generous tip for her and the baby she is expecting. Must be getting soft in my old age!

As well as a gift card to my hairdresser I also put a tenner in the postie's cared and I also take in a box of chocs/biscuits to the staff who man our local public conveniences! They keep them spotless and also greet us very pleasantly when they buzz us through for free (perks of being an oldie!!).

I've disliked going to the hairdressers all my life, so for many years I haven't gone - just cut, wash and dry my own hair at home. In the days when dustmen came to your bins, I tipped them; now I have to take all my bins to the pavement (and they are no longer council employees) I do not tip. If I have a regular postman I give a small tip at Christmas because he always gives good service. When I had a milkman I would give him a small Christmas tip. My window cleaner gives good service so he also gets a small Christmas tip.

I've been going to my hairdresser for over 20 years - sometimes I tip and sometimes not. It's her salon and most of her clients are elderly ladies with the odd gent thrown in so I don't think they tip much either. I think of her as a friend and I have bought her a ticket to a show in Feb which we'll be going to together so I won't be buying her a gift but do give her a card.

I like the way my hairdresser cuts my hair that I followed her when she moved salons about 15 years and I wasn't the only customer of hers to do so! She's got married and had 3 children in the time she's been cutting my hair and we are like friends, although I don't see her outside the salon. We've been through the loss of our pets and family members. I see her every month and we're often alone in the salon, so we natter about anything and everything! ?✂??

I might tip a hairdresser if she or he was an employee but mine have always been self employed. I always say, "what do I owe you?" And pay what they ask. If they wanted more they should ask me for more. I think this is logical.
We put £5 in a Christmas card for the milkman and the post person as they come to the door and we live down a steep and rough lane.
Nothing for the dust man as we take our rubbish bags up the lane, they won't come down.

Thank you everyone for your responses and apologies if I opened Pandora's box!

I have been visiting a lovely girl who cuts either in her home or sometimes in mine. Interestingly, I was advised that I should not tip as in a hairdressing salon, so never have. Have a boobed?

I seem to glean that those having 'home cuts' do tip on each occasion.... is this so? If this is the case I will really have to increase thoughts of a present!

As to whether to tip a hairdresser but not a bus driver etc., well, the relationship between a hairdresser and client is fundamentally different to that with a bus driver. A hairdresser is touching one's body, working in close proximity (and knows how to unlock all one's secrets!), whilst a bus driver is a more fleeting acquaintance, perhaps that of exchanging money for a ticket and saying a brief 'hello/good morning'. It is usually the same hairdresser but a bus driver would likely be a different person, depending on shifts etc.

My hairdresser is a lovely girl and I would like to show my appreciation for her work but was unsure of quite what was appropriate. I think either a bottle of good wine or perhaps doubling her fee if I feel generous on the day!

I don't give gifts to my hairdresser. I tip each time. Hairdo is £56, average in area. (Cut n blow dry.)
Current stylist married with 3 children, not sure how he gets by. His DW probably works. Real life for most stylists. Salon get most money.
I'm with Nora on tipping though. If I had the means, eg won some money I'd always pay well and tip lots too (where earned obviously) as I could, not going to make a millionaire of anyone, is it? If people have the means it's generous and thoughtful to share some out.

No, I don't give my hairdresser a Christmas present.

The postman gets a small tip as a sign of appreciation though. He is always cheerful despite having to work in all weathers.

Usual tip plus a bottle of wine.

After all these years I have found a hairdresser who cuts my hair beautifully. I hope she never retires. By my reckoning she should just about last me out. ??

Interesting this as I feel my hairdresser has become a friend mine gets usual tip and bottle of wine x

@BlueBelle I think Hairdressers do get given more gifts because you actually sit and chat to them, its much more personal to get your hair cut than it is to buy a newspaper! Well, I mean, you can stand and chat to your newsagent I guess, but then you might be holding him up, or holding up the line, when you get your hair done though, you are sitting and chatting and its much more personal.
Whats my prize?? ;-) x I will happy accept chocolate!

I give gifts to only family and very close friends, but then, I am a woman of limited means. Happy as Larry but Poor as Pooh! x
I give my hairdresser my nicest smile and am as co-operative as possible as a treat!

I go to the hairdresser about every 6 weeks and it costs £70+ each time I don't tip as I think it's already too expensive. Instead I give her a card at Xmas with £20 and another card with a similar amount for the junior girls at the salon to share who sometimes wash hair and do the colours. I'm never sure if I'm mean or generous!

Well, if I could do something with my hair after spending nearly £40 on a cut and blowdry I might think about tipping.

I just give the usual tip (£5) as I'm broke around Christmas. I think the cost of my hair cut is quite high, anyway, so I don't feel mean!

Sorry, I don't see why anyone should get a tip. Why should a customer subsidise wages; it is up to an employer to pay them. I wouldn't buy a gift for a tradesperson or anyone providing a service I pay for either but that is a matter of choice so it is up to you what you give. The fact that they may be a single parent is totally irrelevant. Often they have placed themselves in that situation by choice but, even if they haven't, their living circumstances are nothing to do with me choosing where I have my hair cut etc.

Box of chocolates/biscuits for Vets and Hairdressers. They can share it with coffee or divi up the spoils as they see fit. It's a seasonal gesture as far as I'm concerned.

I tip my hairdresser every time, not huge but ok. I take a bottle of good red wine at Christmas because I know she enjoys a glass.
Oh Bluebell, but seen your post. I see the haircutter as a special person in my life. It was he for 30 years now a she. Their contribution to my life can't be underestimated. I don't have long flowing locks, I've embraced the grey and a decent cut makes a huge difference. Also, they always make me a cup of tea, chat easily without asking daft questions (are you going out tonight?) and make me laugh. That'll do for me.

CarolMary - the staff at my local library always appreciated biscuits or toffees. Sadly the library is no more.
I normally give biscuits or sweets to the reception staff at the doctor’s. Their rules and attitude have changed so much lately that I’m going to give something instead to the hardworking, efficient, and cheerful staff at my small local pharmacy. Times change!

No one has told me yet why hairdressers and not the shop assistant, why waiters and not the cook, why taxi drivers and not the bus drivers
First person comes up with a rational reason and I ll give a prize

I give my hairdresser a tip every time and sometimes I'm in once a week and othertimes it's fortnightly so I've never thought of giving something extra at Christmas as over a year the tips add up to well over £200.

I have never tipped my hairdresser, but have been going to her for 28 years, she has watched my children grow up, turns to me for advice, and I think of her as a friend. She has always had a present from me, I try to find something appropriate. When her husband was critically ill I got her a book to better understand his condition and its treatment, which she said helped her so much. This year I have found a backwards clock which looks normal when viewed in a mirror! When I worked in General Practice, the surgery was bursting at the seams with chocolates, biscuits and booze at Christmas. Might even give my surgery something myself this year, thanks to Jeremy Hunt the staff are burnt out.

I don't go to the hairdressers over the Christmas period, but if I did, it wouldn't occur to me to buy my hairdresser a present, I only see her 3 times a year, so I'm not always sure whether she remembers me from the time before. When I go I'm there for several hours, highlights, cut, blow dry which comes to over £100, I tip her £5 which probably isn't enough by some people's tipping standards.

I always give my lovely Hairdresser a tip each time I visit and nice bottle of wine at Xmas. She is priceless as far as I am concerned. She was the one that I trusted completely a few years ago to cut off my long hair into a short style that gets compliments even now. When I got bored of dyeing my hair at home, I entrusted the job to her, whereby she changed the colour completely from a mid brown to a dark blonde. Evidently, I was a blonde waiting to happen,and again, judging by the compliments, she was spot on. She makes me feel like a million dollars. If I ever win the lottery, she would be on my list of monetary Thank You's.