Tipping should be for the blue collar people who dont set their own price. The pizza delivery kid gets a tip if my pizza was ok and he was nice. The bike shop guy does not get a tip. The hairdresser who told me how much it would be doesnt get a tip. You told me how much it would be. But if youre a server just busting your ass you my friend are getting 20%. The only reason I dont like tipping those types of people is because it endorses the whole system and reinforces the strategy with the owners. "We dont gotta pay them a living wage they get tips" but im not gonna stop tipping and make those people suffer for it. The 20% tip options at a McDonald's when you've walked in and literally ordered it yourself too from a kiosk. Youre not getting a fucking tip. Im not rounding anything up and im not donating to charity for you.
Tipping a hairdresser at a big chain is ethical though. They don't make enough at all. I still do tip my local barber though as he does not charge enough in the slightest.
Do you tip grocery store workers? Like Trader Joe’s people who bag your stuff? Hotel cleaning staff? Fast food workers? Flight attendants? Tour guides?
I’ve tipped flight attendants and I always leave money in my room at hotels for cleaning staff. I’d probably tip a tour guide also if they showed me a lot of cool places and were full of knowledge.
All of that is relative to where you live. Paramedics around my area make $38+ an hour (if you’re not working for a crappy private ambulance company.) Good money in the South.
Where I am from Paramedics don't go through as much schooling as cosmetologists. Isn't that wild!? They spend less time in and on school AND they get paid more upon immediately entering their field.....the hair dressers at the great clips that I take my kids to make $9.50/hour; I don't imagine other chains like Fantastic Sams, cost cutters, etc. are offering anything higher. I feel even worse for the chain salon employees that are suckered into commission, like the staff at Lady Janes. They tell those women to wear skirts and heels and under pay them despite cosmetologists being educated and licensed professionals.
Top commenter you're replying to thinks they have it all figured out but they don't.
They probably don't even realize BOH and FOH in restaurants all take in a slice of the total tip, and FOH (wait staff) get drained out the 10% regardless. So if they don't get tipped, they technically lose money.
Most "employee" hair dressers at salons depend on tips too.
What part is not true? If you tip a waitress in cash, she puts it in her pocket and doesn't tell the restaurant. I have no idea how what you said relates to anything I said.
She is still expected to tip out based on her sales. If you do or do not tip in cash makes no difference other than for taxes. She is expected to pay the same amount into the tip pool. If enough people tip low or don’t tip, she may literally pay to come to work to cover the tip out. Normally a decent manager will put a stop to that, but not always.
And if one person is holding cash and not declaring it to the tip pool, that will also have coworkers sideyeing you.
I’m just saying it’s not as simple as “they don’t know about the cash I gave her.” The restaurant expects you to pay into the tip pool a set percentage of your sales, period. The only benefit is not declaring the income for taxes, but even then, some restaurants auto-declare a percentage of your cash sales too, especially in big soulless corporate places.
I could definitely see both those. The modest humble guy who refuses. I then am challenged to hide money somewhere for that friendly bastard. And the hairdresser who's not setting her prices at that point falls into my pizza delivery system. Good cut and they were even mildly friendly just grinding as a hairdresser for some shop they dont own just a regular employee, of course.
My barber doesnt speak english but he does a fantastic job, seriously the best I have ever had. Extremely gentle and meticulous and my hair looks excellent every time. Its entertaining too. Im 6'4" and he needs to use a stool. He charges $8.50! I hand him a 20 every time!
I tip at Great Clips, I even restock the candy that they give to kids.
I took my kid there the first time and they gave him a little sucker. The second time, they said they were out. I asked if the owner was gonna refill it and they said they normally pay for it themselves.
Everytime I take my kid there I check to see how much they have left. If its low then I get a few bags and have my kid drop it off.
They like it and my kid feels great about helping... he then asks for a sucker for dropping it off lol
You mention they should be tipped because they don’t make enough. That is exactly what the person you replied to mentioned was the problem. By endorsing tipping, it has percolated into other areas of business allowing business owners to shift payroll costs over to customers in the form of tips.
Paying a server more is different because there is a level of attention being paid to you over other customers. Speed of service, how often they return, etc. is what earns a waiter/waitress a tip over someone doing a job for one customer at a time.
Tipping the barber depends on whether or not they own the business/are self employed. Like my last barber was an employee of the place I went to, and I tipped him because I knew some amount of the money I paid for the cut was going to his boss.
But then he broke off on his own and started his own place and started charging more than I paid at the previous place plus tip, so I stopped tipping him.
Yea I agree. As an aside though, it really grinded my gears that a barber got annoyed I didn’t offer a tip on time when I went to his house on his time for a haircut. He worked at a chain. I met him out one night, and said hey i like the way you cut my hair, if we exchange numbers, you can cut my hair offsite and you can keep the whole profit rather than just your hourly/split with the parlor/however you’re normally paid.
Went to his spot, on a time convenient around his barbershop schedule, where he clearly had a spot in his apartment specifically set up for shit like that. He charged me the normal rate that I get at the parlor. I thought okay yea, he gets the full profit, and I get a little discount by not having to tip. That annoyed him. I caved and tipped. So wait, I met you at your place, on a time convenient to you, you’re not making an hourly wage or cutting the fee with the barber shop owner, but I still have to pay full price AND tip you? Yea I’m not tipping people who set their own price and get the full profit. And I never set up an appointment like that again. I get no benefit from it. So I just started scheduling my appointments with him through the parlor again.
The employees don't want tip culture to end because most of them make way more from tips than they would from a salary/wage with no tips. They're part of the problem just as much as the business owners are
The most egregious one for me are concert merch vendors asking for a tip. Like, seriously? Do they regularly tip their local cashiers at their favorite clothing stores? Cause I sure as hell don't.
Interesting to say the bike shop guy doesnt get a tip. Most bike shop guys are employees making an hourly wage and not setting their rates. As someone that once was a bike mechanic, the money wasn't great compared to the thousands I brought in each day in repairs. I had plenty of customers that would tip with cash or beer or other fun things and they were always appreciated.
Here in Washington, you can’t be paid below minimum wage. So even if you don’t tip, they still get paid minimum wage.
Which is no different than working retail at target or working in McDonald’s (min wage no tip)
How can you "tip the pizza delivery kid" if your pizza was okay. Do you ask them to wait, open the box, give it a quick look, take a bite, and then give a tip if it tastes/looks good?
Lol I saw someone else ask this. My bar is so low I quite literally mean ok as in one singular container and resembling a circle. But I will let them stay for my review if they want.
It’s very common for a tattoo artist to kickback a percentage to the shop.
In liue of paying an itemized bill related to supplies, utilities, rent etc - the house gets 60-40%
So charging more means giving back more to the house.
Charging less means more room for tip.
Now this isn’t always the case, but it’s common enough.
Even in that kind of a situation, are we just saying fuck the shop? Of course they should get more money when artists charge more, it incentivizes the shop to keep better artists in the booths. Also its the shop paying the insane commercial rent at the end of the month
The charity donations are a HUGE scam anyway. They've already paid the donation to get the tax breaks, they're just guilting their customers into paying back their donations.
I keep seeing and hearing about the charity round ups that all these companies are doing, and while it is annoying, if it shows up on your receipt, it is a tax deductible donation that was made directly by you and you could even claim it on your taxes.
I almost 100% agree but for hairdressers, I’ll do a tip. I don’t know how much they are paid compared to servers and bartenders and delivery drivers, but I’m sitting in their chair they are taking the time to do my hair the specific way I want, adjusting if I change my mind a little after looking at it, and also however long I’m in there chair I’m taking away their chance someone else could have been sitting there for a more expensive cut and tipping more.
But overall I agree with your sentiment. As a bartender. I don’t like tipping culture. I was paid minimum wage without tips. My employer should be paying me a living wage. BUT if that’s the way it’s going to be, then I’m going to tip servers and bartenders because they make jack shit from their employer and I’m occupying their space, for 30 mins- 1 hour and they are constantly checking in on me and what I want or need like a servant. Register people or business owners or people who set their own prices, I fundamentally oppose having to tip them.
I think tipping at mcdonalds is ok cos the staff are usually doing all sorts such as cleaning/till/cooking/drive thru etc. but 20% seems steep (im not american)
if you're at a chain hairdressing place, tip them. Just like servers and the pizza delivery kid, they don't make very much money. Different for independent ones or like at fancy salons
My barber runs a small family business, just the guy and his wife. He always does a fantastic job and rdally takes his time. He generally takes close to an hour to cut my hair. In 2026 he charges $8.50 for a mens hair cut! I hand him a $20 every time. He easily does $20 worth of work and I feel like thats a steal. Ive had much worse $40 haircuts and most of tbe chain places with inexperienced barbers charge $25.
You’re argument has some logical issues
What makes you think that hairdressers and bike shop guys set their own prices? You assume these are self employed, but at least in my country these are employees in store owned shops just like the pizza guy
I agree and think it makes sense but I do struggle with feeling obligated to tip when they're charging by the hour to do hair, which a lot of stylists are switching to. The stylist I currently go to is switching from service-based pricing to $100/hr. At that price point, I feel like she's already getting what she feels is a fair wage, so tipping on top of the $300-$400 seems excessive.
I haven't been to a barber since college. Been doing my own hair. Why would anyone tip a barber? Don't they set their own prices? You would be paying them for their services based on what they want to charge? Why are we tipping every service now?
the waitress does not set the prices besides at big chains most hairstylists are their own boss and decide their wage and prices servers get paid like $8 an hour
Because a hairdresser sets their own prices (even ones that rent a chair) or if they are employed by the salon they get paid more than minimum wage. Waitstaff are paid under minimum wage with the expectation that their tips will bring their hourly pay up to minimum wage.
Do you tip your mechanic, accountant, person that bags your groceries? Where do you draw the line with tipping?
Tippingshouldbefor the blue collar people who dont set their own price. The pizza dilvery kid gets a tip if my pizza was ok and he was nice. The bike shop guy does not get a tip. The hairdresser who told me how much it would be doesnt get a tip. You told me how much it would be. But if youre a server just busting yourassyou my friend are getting 20%. The only reason I dont like tipping those types of people is because it endorses the whole system and reinforces the strategy with the owners. "We dont gotta pay them a living wage they get tips" but im not gonnastop tippingand make those people suffer for it. The 20% tip options at a McDonald's when you've walked in and literally ordered it yourself too from a kiosk. Youre not getting a fucking tip. Im not rounding anything up and im not donating to charity for you.
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u/MonicaTrollinski 9h ago edited 7h ago
Tipping should be for the blue collar people who dont set their own price. The pizza delivery kid gets a tip if my pizza was ok and he was nice. The bike shop guy does not get a tip. The hairdresser who told me how much it would be doesnt get a tip. You told me how much it would be. But if youre a server just busting your ass you my friend are getting 20%. The only reason I dont like tipping those types of people is because it endorses the whole system and reinforces the strategy with the owners. "We dont gotta pay them a living wage they get tips" but im not gonna stop tipping and make those people suffer for it. The 20% tip options at a McDonald's when you've walked in and literally ordered it yourself too from a kiosk. Youre not getting a fucking tip. Im not rounding anything up and im not donating to charity for you.