NBR - massage etiquette

spinsoffresonance · February 2014

My mom got me a gift card for the spa. I've never been to a spa, never had a massage! I'm getting a prenatal massage tomorrow. The sticker price is $120. How much would you tip?

awc1986 · February 2014

We don't tip for stuff like that in the uk, so I can't help you there. However I also have my own prenatal massage booked for tomorrow! Yay! Full body massage and 1hr facial! I need it as LO has been kicking my ribs all week.

JessElam · February 2014

If the massage is good I would tip about 15% min.

andoll8 · February 2014

typically, i go with the service industry standard which is 20%.

getitdone · February 2014

I usually do 20%.

Fitpreggo · February 2014

You are going to love your prenatal massage!! (Hopefully)! There's a local girl here wth a massage business that had a sale on at Christmas... $120 for 6 - 1 hour massages so I've been all over those!! I typically give a $10 tip each time... If I gave her $4 (20%) I feel I would be cheaping out in my case ...

spinsoffresonance · February 2014

So I have a general question now. Isn't 20% standard for waitstaff only? At a restaurant you pay for the food then you add extra for the service. It makes sense to me. But services like massages and haircuts you're not buying any goods you're already paying them for the service, so is 20% still standard or do you tip less? I'm honestly asking because I'm from Europe originally and tipping for everything is still a mystery to me.

kramja01 · February 2014

I always tip 20% of the sticker price at my salon. I'm pretty sure that's the standard...

andoll8 · February 2014

lica001 said:

So I have a general question now. Isn't 20% standard for waitstaff only? At a restaurant you pay for the food then you add extra for the service. It makes sense to me. But services like massages and haircuts you're not buying any goods you're already paying them for the service, so is 20% still standard or do you tip less? I'm honestly asking because I'm from Europe originally and tipping for everything is still a mystery to me.

in the U.S., we consider spa and salon to be service professions. typically, these types of professionals are paid a wage by their employers, and do not take home 100% of the money you pay for the service rendered. Therefore, 20% is the recommended tipping rate for any profession such as these to reward the service-provider in ways their official employers do not. this also helps ensure that the service professional earns a living wage because often the wage paid by their employers is not required to meed the federal minimum requirements. therefore, service professionals rely heavily on tips as income earned.

does this help?

Junebug060609 · February 2014

lica001 said:
So I have a general question now. Isn't 20% standard for waitstaff only? At a restaurant you pay for the food then you add extra for the service. It makes sense to me. But services like massages and haircuts you're not buying any goods you're already paying them for the service, so is 20% still standard or do you tip less? I'm honestly asking because I'm from Europe originally and tipping for everything is still a mystery to me.

For hair and massages, you are tipping for the service and not the goods. I do 20% for services that are personal like that.

sopsongbird · February 2014

I used to date a massage therapist and for an hour massage he said the standard tip is between $15-20 due to the salon taking a chunk of their cut. I stick with $20 if it's good. $10 is the lowest I would go.

Mimaloo · February 2014

lica001 said:

So I have a general question now. Isn't 20% standard for waitstaff only? At a restaurant you pay for the food then you add extra for the service. It makes sense to me. But services like massages and haircuts you're not buying any goods you're already paying them for the service, so is 20% still standard or do you tip less? I'm honestly asking because I'm from Europe originally and tipping for everything is still a mystery to me.

Yeah that's pretty standard. The only time I tip less (and this has only happened twice) is when I have an awful experience. The first time, the lady did not shut up. She was making small talk the entire time. I'm there to relax - not chit chat with you!

The second time was during a facial. Whatever product she put on my face smelled like the cats we had to dissect in my Anatomy & Physiology class. I asked her to take it off immediately and she wouldn't - she said it smelled good. It was horrible.

rainydayluck · February 2014

hhegyesi said:

lica001 said:

So I have a general question now. Isn't 20% standard for waitstaff only? At a restaurant you pay for the food then you add extra for the service. It makes sense to me. But services like massages and haircuts you're not buying any goods you're already paying them for the service, so is 20% still standard or do you tip less? I'm honestly asking because I'm from Europe originally and tipping for everything is still a mystery to me.

in the U.S., we consider spa and salon to be service professions. typically, these types of professionals are paid a wage by their employers, and do not take home 100% of the money you pay for the service rendered. Therefore, 20% is the recommended tipping rate for any profession such as these to reward the service-provider in ways their official employers do not. this also helps ensure that the service professional earns a living wage because often the wage paid by their employers is not required to meed the federal minimum requirements. therefore, service professionals rely heavily on tips as income earned.

does this help?

Ok, to get off topic a bit, my waxing lady is the owner of her salon/studio. I always go ahead and tip her, but I heard you don't have to tip them if they are the owner. Any thoughts on that?

OP, I'd tip 20% on the $120 price.

Mimaloo · February 2014

Bliz1712 said:

@rainydayluck I don't tip every time, because I go to a lady that owns her own salon and gets all the money herself. But every couple times I'll add on 10% or around $5. My massages are not $120 however. I only pay $30 for a half hour.

I never thought you had to tip the owner either, but apparently that's no longer the rule. I didn't tip ONE TIME because she was the owner. So all $85 that I was paying for my wax was going right to her.

She flipped out on me as I was walking out the door for not tipping. I never went back there but I'm learning that it's becoming the norm to tip no matter who is performing the service.

ajsweeton · February 2014

I usually tip $10-20 for a massage. $5-10 for hair more if I get color etc. nails I usually do $5 as well. Maybe I'm a cheapskate? They don't get paid like servers and usually get at least minimum wage so I think that's fair.

Miggg · February 2014

For any service tipping I do 20%, whether it's massage, hair, makeup etc

Katemr1146 · February 2014

ajsweeton said:
I usually tip $10-20 for a massage. $5-10 for hair more if I get color etc. nails I usually do $5 as well. Maybe I'm a cheapskate? They don't get paid like servers and usually get at least minimum wage so I think that's fair.

Me too. I don't really get the 20% thing. They're not making servers wages.

spinsoffresonance · February 2014

Thanks guys I'm glad I asked because I definitely wasn't gonna tip enough without knowing it. It still doesn't make sense why you tip so much when you're paying them for a service in the first place, but I'll roll with it.

Some food for thought. I'm paying $120 for a 50min massage. If the salon takes a 75% cut, the therapist is still making $30. Maybe they don't book every appointment in a day so it averages out to $15/hour. That's still more then I make as a research scientist in a hospital and I have a PhD. So I'm not gonna feel bad for them. Now waiters who earn $2/hour that's a whole other story!

hfooter · February 2014

I tip 15-20% on any type of beauty service I get, including massages.

CMDR513 · February 2014

I would tip $20-25 because the massage is already paid for.

sopsongbird · February 2014

lica001 said:

Thanks guys I'm glad I asked because I definitely wasn't gonna tip enough without knowing it. It still doesn't make sense why you tip so much when you're paying them for a service in the first place, but I'll roll with it.

Some food for thought. I'm paying $120 for a 50min massage. If the salon takes a 75% cut, the therapist is still making $30. Maybe they don't book every appointment in a day so it averages out to $15/hour. That's still more then I make as a research scientist in a hospital and I have a PhD. So I'm not gonna feel bad for them. Now waiters who earn $2/hour that's a whole other story!

The way it worked with said previous boyfriend was that he didn't get paid minimum wage. If the amount of clients they performed massage on didn't add up to the correct minimum wage pay, they got the compensated minimum wage pay for the hours they were there. The tips, like wait staff, are the supplement to the lower pay.

This was at Massage Envy, so I'm unsure if this is true at other locations.

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