Barbershops - do you tip the owner

[Gaston]

The few barbershops we have left in this area are one-man operations, and they charge $7-$8 for a haircut. The protocol I learned growing up was that you do not tip the owner of an establishment, only the help, and it's an insult to offer one. Yet, with their rates so low I feel like I should at least round it up to a tenspot.

Would a reasonable tip be welcomed, or do you think I'd offend the barber by doing so? This is very much a "red state", self-made man sort of place, and I would not want to give offense ... but, it feels a bit cheesy to not tip.


(I searched for a thread on this topic and didn't find one, I apologize if it has already been covered)

 

[Bill Greene]

I've been wanting to do the barbershop thing for quite awhile now...mostly for the old-fashioned shave. So I'll be interested in this as well.

 

[MisterCairo]

In my opinion, in a one-man shop, the owner IS the help, and I am tipping for the quality of the service rather than as a recognition that the "help's" wages are low and they therefore depend on tips.

I see no insult!

 

[handlebar bart]

I go to a one-man shop walking distance from my house and tip too much but I don't see how a business can survive when they charge so little. It's not like there is a line of guys waiting to get a $8 cut.

 

[tylerevansokay]

Think of it this way... how grateful are you for a good haircut? And put yourself in the barber's shoes... I'm by no means well-off, I'm a low income guy like any other, but I appreciate the vanishing trade of barbering (I want to do it some day) and I tip generously. I tend to over-tip.

 

[Tomasso]

The protocol I learned growing up was that you do not tip the owner of an establishment, only the help, and it's an insult to offer one.

Same here. But of course if it's a one man operation..........

 

[davestlouis]

I always tip my barber, bad etiquette or no. He's a cool guy, charges $9, and does free cuts for customers who are out of work or otherwise having a bad time. The place is a dump, his dad opened the shop in the 60s, but it has loads of character, as does the barber. I've been going there since about 1986.

 

[Paisley]

I once brought this up with my hairstylist, who owns her own salon. She said she wasn't offended by tips.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Yes indeed! My barber is a Russian emigre' who does a nice job on my '40's style cut. I get a hot towel and a neck massage as well! She is worth the tip!

-dixon cannon

 

[fortworthgal]

My husband uses the barber shop in the country club near our home. They have 3 barbers working, the "head" barber cuts his hair. He always tips.

I would definitely tip. I doubt that anyone would take it as an insult.

 

[Andykev]

Absolutely! TIP TIP

You get a haircut for $7 - $ 8 Bucks?!!!

Every place in California near me (even "Big Box" SUPERCUTS) charge minimum of $15 for a regular haircut. "Fades" are more. I don't fade.

My barber shop, and barber Rick, charges $17 for a haircut. Now this is a "real" haircut, with him spending about 25 minutes on me. It includes hair, tapered on back, feather on sides, eyebrows (you will find this out after age 40), and the hot lather and straight razor trim on back of neck and around ears.

I give him $20 bucks and don't take change. I see just about every other customer do the same. Convenient, no? Set your price just below a $20 spot and you kinda "build in" your $3 tip. That works out to exactly a 15% tip!

Go ahead and tip him. You will become a good, recognized customer. And maybe get that little extra "hello" or more careful service.

 

[MisterCairo]

It includes hair, tapered on back, feather on sides, eyebrows (you will find this out after age 40), and the hot lather and straight razor trim on back of neck and around ears.

Back when I still had the need for haircuts (I've been a al Kojak for 15 years now) I was getting the eyebrow treatment even as a teenager...

 

[Rock31]

I usually tip around $3. The cut is $12 so I just hand the barber $15.

If my wife cuts my hair though she gets no tip

 

[JimWagner]

I might tip if I still went to barbershops, but I'd have to get a better haircut than the last time I shelled out $15 for one.

I've been bald on top for quite a few years and keep the sides short, so basically all I ever need is the clippers run over what's left and then the neck shaved. The last time, as I recall, I was in the chair for a whole 2 minutes and only got the electric clippers and no shave around the ears and neck. No offer to trim my beard. For $15. That certainly didn't deserve a tip.

And that was in a traditional barbershop, not a styling chain.

 

[davestlouis]

My barber does my brows and ears as part of his service. He also keeps my name in his book with notes as to what he did last time, so he can duplicate it this time.

 

[David Conwill]

This is something I’ve been wondering about myself. As it exactly describes the barber shop I patronize. My barber, incidentally, wasn’t in this morning and it’s got me a bit worried (not to mention left me a bit shaggy just before I’m to appear in court up north).

If she returns I'm going to start rounding up my $12 haircut to $15.

-Dave

 

[Feraud]

If your barber is the owner it should not be a problem to tip.

 

[Tango Yankee]

My barber shop, and barber Rick, charges $17 for a haircut. Now this is a "real" haircut, with him spending about 25 minutes on me. It includes hair, tapered on back, feather on sides, eyebrows (you will find this out after age 40), and the hot lather and straight razor trim on back of neck and around ears.

I generally just get a regular men's haircut at the barbershop I'm going to now. Mostly done with clippers, and kind of short. I've found that the longer I let my hair get the more obvious that it's thinning!

But I get pretty much the same treatment (plus the clipping of random hairs around the earslol) and a quick shoulder/scalp massage for $9. It's a two-chair barbershop, owned by a couple who look like they've been cutting hair for 50 years. I'm told they used to do face shaving but stopped as they weren't getting enough requests for it to keep in practice.

This is southern Ohio, so that generally keeps the prices down. Another barber I tried has the outrageous price of $11, and though they'll sometimes do the shave around the edges they avoid it if they can. The barbers there are young guys.

I'm grateful for the no smoking laws, though, because I'm sure I wouldn't be able to be a patron otherwise. The place still looks like it probably did in the 1950s.

Oh, yeah... I generally tip $3 or $4. Well worth it!

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Doggy Darb]

My barber has always received a tip with gratitude. I've never noticed the slightest indication of offense.

 

[Geesie]

You get a haircut for $7 - $ 8 Bucks?!!!

Every place in California near me (even "Big Box" SUPERCUTS) charge minimum of $15 for a regular haircut. "Fades" are more. I don't fade.

That's why I don't hit the chains. I live about a block from a Supercuts, which did a lousy job for $15+. The chains are really hit or miss. So instead I go to the mom-and-pop SE Asian immigrant hole in the wall that's closer, $8, and consistently decent.