What to tip a hairstylist?

I am becoming more and more relieved that the place I went had little envelopes like in the US.    Yay for anonymity.    I have massive tipping anxiety -- even in the US when I know when to tip.

I have terrific tipping anxiety, too. On a subterranean, bedrock level, I find it demeaning to both of us to hand someone money in a "this is what I think of your services" way. I do it faithfully in the States, because I know people in those positions rely on tips, but I go out of my way to avoid those situations.

I was a bit confused about tipping for my haircut while in the UK for 6 months as well. In the end I tipped about 20%, about the same as I would in the States. My reasoning that she would remember me next time! I am a big tipper normally, as I have worked off and on as a bartender, server and the like and know that what I give away will eventually come back to me. The difference between the US and the UK being that Stateside servers rely on those tips as their income (the server wage is still @ $3.45 in most places and much of it still goes to taxes paid on tips they earn) and in the UK its to say Thank you for a job well done. My boyfriend still cant believe how much I tip people in the states as he is used either tipping a few £'s or nothing at all. It's been a real eye opener for him!  

I have terrific tipping anxiety, too. On a subterranean, bedrock level, I find it demeaning to both of us to hand someone money in a "this is what I think of your services" way.

I agree!
I think it is like groveling. (ever heard that word?) This is 2009 not 1909 right?

Adj.   1.   groveling - totally submissive
cringing, grovelling, wormlike, wormy
submissive - inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination; "submissive servants"; "a submissive reply"; "replacing troublemakers with more submissive people"

My boyfriend still cant believe how much I tip people in the states as he is used either tipping a few £'s or nothing at all. It's been a real eye opener for him!  

We may have similar backgrounds because I agree with him.

I have had a job that was tipped. Frequently the tip was $20. I would do away with the tipping and make the employer pay a living wage. OK you may say the cost would go up and that would be OK with me. I don't agree with the tipping angle.

Jim, I might be inclined to agree with you about earning a decent wage in the States while working as waitstaff or any other tipped position as nobody likes to "grovel" for their wages. It is very demeaning in certain situations as I can attest to. A point I would like to bring up is TIP is an acronym for To Insure Proper Service. Most people that have been to both sides of the pond will agree that you do in fact get better service in  US Restaurants than in the UK. Not always the case, but as a general rule. Again, using my boyfriend as the example he is well impressed when we go out here, that the servers and bartenders go out of their way to make sure you have exactly what you ordered, on time,and attend to little things like drink refills etc. (unless you eat at Applebees or Chili's or those kind of shite restaurants   

I got my haircut for the first time in the UK a couple of weeks ago and was SO NERVOUS about the tipping!  Nobody here was able to give me a straight answer, and so in the end, I did that absolutely mortifying thing and just asked my stylist what she would usually get.

She did that very polite thing and said, "This is England; you don't need to tip here!"  and when I pressed on her to stop being so sweet, as a favor to me, she said, "People just tip whatever."   That's the best I could get out of her in a ten minute conversation.  I'm sure I embarrassed her, but she was the best source for information!

I asked on my blog, too, which is split about 50/50 between US and UK readers, and they all said only a pound or two at most... many of them seemed surprised I'd even consider it.

I think a lot of professions assume that you'll round up - it actually sort of irritates me that my window washers charge £12 - I do honestly think they expect £15 and there is NO CHANCE I'm giving them a £3 tip for a job that takes them about 10 minutes tops. So they get £13. Luckily it's a moot point as they're about to get fired for the winter!

I tend to give my hairdresser £4 or £5 and the girl who shampoos me £2 (in a way she's got the crummier job since she's got to wash out all of the hair dye!), depending on what sort of change I've got. I think people get too wound up about it to be honest - I don't think they particularly expect it so anything is nice. 

I think a lot of professions assume that you'll round up - it actually sort of irritates me that my window washers charge £12 - I do honestly think they expect £15 and there is NO CHANCE I'm giving them a £3 tip for a job that takes them about 10 minutes tops. So they get £13. Luckily it's a moot point as they're about to get fired for the winter!

I would never think to tip the window washers!!! I don't think they expect it...at least not mine!

I would never think to tip the window washers!!! I don't think they expect it...at least not mine!

Really?? Oh lord have I gone all American again? DH hasn't told me not to though!

I've read 10% is acceptable.  In the US, I would tip no less than 20%.  I have very "difficult" hair and if they can do something to it that I can't, they're getting a good tip.  But since tipping isn't big here, 10% is fine.
One time I went to a salon to ask about prices.  They circled the prices on a card for a cut and color that I wanted.  I brought that card in the day I got my hair done, and they upped the price 15 pounds on me.  I pulled the card out and they argued with me about it, insisting in was 15 pounds more, and made stuff up (in my opinion) on why it was different than what was circled.  I still regret to this day giving her a 10% tip, ESPECIALLY since she stood at the cashier counter and waited for me to tip her!  I've never had a stylist do that in the US - they usually at least act busy cleaing up their station.  I was so disgusted.

It's taken me forever to get used to tipping here.  For hair stylists (or like, the woman who does my eyebrows - I go about 10% or a little more, depending.  I mean, I'm trusting them with hair and my face, but they also do a good job, so I just factor it in to the cost of the whole thing.  (It kind of equals out to what I would have paid back in NY, anyway).

But like..grocery delivery, not so much.  If I'm paying a delivery charge, I don't know that I should have to tip?  But maybe I'm wrong.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  If they are late or surly (which has happened) then definitely not. 

Restaurants, it's the usual 12.5%, although if we've used a voucher, we tip as if we didn't since it's still the same amount of work.  And I always try to leave it in cash, if I can.

I always tip the stylist £3 or £4 and have always tipped because it's what other people do.

I always tip the food delivery guy, too, £2-3. My friends were round once, and we ordered a delivery from the Thai place and we had our food in about 25 minutes. They were stunned as it usually takes 40+ minutes for them. 



Did you know that you canNOT tip in Belgium? Service is always included in every price and people are not allowed to accept tips.