Do you tip after a massage, and if so how much?

Triathlon Forum
1

Okay, so the other day I go get a massage. Aftwards I hand the masseuse $80 for a $65 massage. She asks me “Do you want any change back?” I tell her yeah.

Why? Well, for starter, I don’t like getting prompted into a tip. That alone was sufficient cause to strike the tip.

I often tip for a massage, but I’ve thought about it some more, and I’m thinking about stopping. I get a massage for medical reasons, e.g, ITBS, as opposed to relaxation. I don’t tip doctors, nurses, physical therapist, x-ray techs, etc., so why should I tip for a massage?

Especially given the fact that she sets her own rates. If she feels she’s worth more than $65, then she should raise her rates.

So here are my current thoughts on the matter: If the masseuse comes over to my house, I’ll tip her because she has to haul the big table around. If the masseuse goes over the time period, I’ll tip. If the masseuse stays later or changes her schedule, I’ll tip. But if there isn’t extra effort on her part, above and beyond the normal massage, why should I tip?

Alright, am I off base with this? If so, please explain how a masseuse differs from a nurse, physical therapist, or other health care provider whom we typically don’t tip. Better yet, explain why this rule doesn’t apply to other service providers such as lawyer, accountants and architects.

2

All sounds reasonable to me, especially the dig for a tip would have got the same response from me. I still wrestle with tipping for a massage but usually do, normally add $5 on for a $65 charge. I have a regular masseuse who always has a lot of tips on stretching etc, also will comment on rebooking longer if everything is feeeling loose to her so the tip is a reward for honesty and extra service.

3

Depends on the service you’re getting and where. If you go to a ‘spa’ then they’re used to being tipped, if you want to go back to that place tip them, they’ll remember either way.

I have gone to therapists for simular treatments to the ITBS that you refer to and they don’t expect to get tips. They’re looking to help you recover, not have a relaxing experience. My Chiro’s office has a massage therapist that is more like what you would expect to see in a boxing gym. Bright lights no music, and only massages you for long enough to get things done. She doesn’t expect a tip, and my insurance covers 80% of the costs.

If you don’t want to pay for a tip and really only want the benefits for recovery sake, don’t go to a place that expects tipping.

4

It depends on whether you got something that wasn’t “on the menu” or not.

5

With a massage the service is what you pay for, it’s not a side bar. If I buy a beer, I pay for the beer, the service is a side thing that I tip for. If I pay for a massage, I pay for the service. Maybe I should tip the towel, but not the masseuse.

6

You sound like a cheapskate to me! Lets look at your arguments.

I tip after I get a massage. My massages are $65 & I give her $80. I don’t think asking you if you need change is a hint towards giving her a tip…it’s a simple question! If you don’t want the question then give him or her the correct change.

You’re right you don’t tip your Dr., chiro’s, nurses, lawyers, accountants and architects, etc. & ALL of them are salaried employees, & are probably making over $65-70k a year, also. In addition, many of these professions are more needed than a massage therapist. Most massage therapists work on commission, work long hours, work w/some excruciatingly smelly & unkept clients (I have two friends who are therapists so trust me).

*If she feels she’s worth more than $65, then she should raise her rates. *This comment is ridiculous. Obviously you know nothing about business pricing. How is she going to stay in business if she prices herself out of the game. To be competitive in business you must be cost effective, & there have been many businesses that have priced themselves right out of the ball game by going to high

Another thing that occurs to me is that you are penalizing your therapists for YOUR injuries due to the sport YOU chose. If you weren’t a triathlete you more than likely wouldn’t have a ITB problem!

Look at it this…there are a few people in life you always want to tip: your auto mechanic, the guy at the airport who carries your bags to check-in, your waitress/waiter, etc. I guess it all boils down to how you want to be seen? Is it going to kill you to fork over another $15? If it is it sounds like you may not be able to afford the lovely sport of triathlon…

7

You’re right you don’t tip your Dr., chiro’s, nurses, lawyers, accountants and architects, etc. & ALL of them are salaried employees

Waaaaay off base, few very nurse’s, Dr.'s, or Chiro’s are salaried. Nurses are usually paid hourly, Doc’s are either hourly, or get a cut of the action, also the same with Chiro’s. I don’t know about Lawyer’s accountants, etc… I’m not in that biz.

Another thing that occurs to me is that you are penalizing your therapists for YOUR injuries due to the sport YOU chose. If you weren’t a triathlete you more than likely wouldn’t have a ITB problem!

Without HIS injuries due to HIS chosen sport HE wouldn’t need a massage.

hugs,

brian

8

My massage therapist charges $10 extra if he comes to the house to cover cost of gas/time driving/lugging table etc. If more than one person gets a massage, then the $10 is split among all people.

I can’t imagine ever tipping him. I pay by check, so the “change back” thing would never happen, but I also don’t think he would expect it.

I have one regular guy, and if I was going to do something like a tip, it would be a lump “tip” like at the end of the year near a holiday or something, like you might do for the mailman, etc. But I still think it is weird. If you go into H&R Block, do you tip the tax preparer (I’ve never used one, but it seems like a semi-similar kind of scenario in that they are also a qualified professional).

9

Actually speed I am not waaaay off base. Maybe this happens in your area, but where I am from (CT) everyone I know who is a Dr, Chiro or nurse is salaried, which is a total of about 11 people combined.

Some may have different bonus structures & comp. pay-outs, but every Dr., nurse & chiro. True many people do get a cut of the action, but they still have a good salary to start.

10

You’re supposed to tip your auto mechanic?

I have to agree with Gerard - waiters/bartenders I can see tipping, but when the product is service why should there be an extra charge?

Most massage therapists work on commission, work long hours, work w/some excruciatingly smelly & unkept clients (I have two friends who are therapists so trust me).

Many people work long hours, on commission, or with/around unsavory people. They all don’t get tipped.

11

Then again, I tip my barber. I guess it’s sort of the same thing - so confusing!

12

Gerard,

Do you tip the barber or hairdresser or whomever cuts yer hair?

If so, how is that any different than tipping for massage? (since they both “are the service”)

And if not, well - if you have a crappy haircut, now you know why. ; )

I find that those folks who never have worked in a service (food or otherwise) industry that relies on tips for a major part of their income, are most often the lousy tippers.

I tip all the time. Even the dog groomer (we take the dog maybe 2-3 x / yr, otherwise he gets way to shaggy and knotted), she charges $35 and I always give her $40, and she always acts surprized to get the tip. I guess the rest of her clientele are friends of Gerard. ; )

13

I always tip after a massage, if the therapist works for someone else. I look at it a different way. I want the therapist to be happy to see me and want to provide a superior product, because I pay better (at least better than the people on this board who are complaining about tipping) and I am worth having as a regular customer. It’s worth the $10 or $15 bucks.

15

Well, in a time long long ago when I needed a barber to cut my hair, I lived in Europe and thus never tipped. Right now, I can cut my own hair since it only involves clippers and I can hold the clippers just as well as a trained barber.

If I get a massage it is at an athletic therapy center called Athlete’s First. I don’t settle the bill with the masseur or masseuse, it goes on the tab. When the time comes I pay my tab.

I tip liberally in areas where I know it is the major source of income for the person providing the service, such as a restaurant or bar. When I get a massage, most places I know of work one of two ways:

  1. The price is split between the masseur and the center

  2. The masseur rents the room and keeps the entire fee that I am charged.

Either way, the masseur makes a pretty decent hourly wage, unlike a waiter in a bar. I have no idea how it works in a barber shop, if I was told that in North America a barber shop works on the same premise as a bar, I would tip. If I was told it works the same way as the massage centers I know, I would not.

Bottomline, it is not really my job to figure all this out. There is obviously a lot of confusion on whether or not to tip for a massage. The only ones to blame for that are those giving the massages. They should get their act together and inform the public if they think tipping should be standard, complaining that they don’t get tipped when many people think they shouldn’t is not very effective.

Gerard.

P.S. I would like to state for the record that the designing Cervelos is included in the sale price of the bikes. I do not expect any tipping.

16

I always tip for a massage. I don’t tip waiters for the food, I tip them for their service. I don’t tip my barber for the shampoo she uses, I tip her for her service (the conversation, the job she does on my hair, etc.). I agree that I would have been put off by her question (I don’t need to be prodded into tipping). But, I think the generally accepted practice is to tip.

And, most professionals (lawyers, docs, etc) are not salaried in the conventional sense. They have to produce business to continue up the ladder of “success” and often (usually) their compensation is tied to how much revenue they generate. And, I am a lawyer, and yes I will accept tips! Of course, I’ve worked in the service industry since I was a teenager, so I may be biased.

18

doctors, nurses, etc. Your statement is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve read (and there have been alot of them on here :wink:

As my girlfriend negotiated the SALARIES for the doctors who work for their company on the west coast, I can assure you that meeting with these people, they will tell you that virtually all doctors on salary, although if they own their own practice, that salary fluctuates (they may only pay themselves as they need it until the end of the year when they need to write off the profit from the company).

The chiros I know are also the same way. The PRACTICE gets paid by the hour, but they draw their income from the overall. However, with that said, I do know some just starting out on their own who basically take part of the hourly rate and just apply that as personal income.

Nurses, sonographers, and many other medial practitioners are salaried in many cases. In fact, because of the shortage of many of these people, they can write their own salaries (at least with the company where my gf works) and work as many/few hours as they would like. I know a sonographer in Orange County who gets paid $120k/year and works about 25 hours/week.

As a certified massage therapist (non practicing), there are VERY FEW massage therapists who are on salary. One of the other posters correctly pointed out that market demand does not allow them to define their own wage. Additionally, if they typically work FOR a chiro, spa, etc…they may only bring home 1/2 to 1/3 of what you pay. If you’re dropping $60/hour for the service, they MAY get $20-$30 for that hour. Most therapists who survive aren’t working on people for 8 hours/day (to physically demanding for most to do over extended period of time).

When it comes to tipping, I would recommend almost ALWAYS tipping a therapist who works for someone else. (unless they did something unethical, or were…well…not good :wink: For those who are on their own, a tip may not be required as they are getting the entire fee, but realize that YOUR realization of the service they perform may also dictate the type of service YOU receive (read: people who were high maintenance were dropped as clients).

Personally, it doesn’t sound like the therapist was out of line at all (in the initial post). If they weren’t familiar with you, how would THEY know that you weren’t going to tip? (when it is considered standard practice). I don’t believe they were “fishing” for a tip at all. Just wondering how much they should give back.

19

I ALWAYS tip for a massage. One of our daughters is a massage therapist and when I am lucky enough to get onto her schedule, I tip her. I also tip the woman who works for my daughter.

My daughter also was a waitress and I learned from her how important tipping is. As I read here in another post, I tip for the service.

20

Mr. Tibbsy gets it.

Many therapists only see a portion of the money you pay (usually 1/3 to 1/2). Thus, they live off the tips (like hair stylists, restaurant servers, etc.). It’s pretty rare to see a wealthy (let’s qualify that as a therapist who makes more than $50-60k/year) massage therapist. They have to survive for years, build a repetitive core group of clients, and be truly exceptional at their craft. The latter can take thousands of dollars out of pocket (more so than a 4 year college education if you add it up over 10-15 years).

When the generally accepted practice IS to tip them, why would they be considered “out of line” because of your ignorance of the standard? This seems silly to me, although as a former massage therapist, I would usually know by the time I am finished if the person has ever been to a therapist before (by asking, at the very beginning, so you can set expectations). If a person doesn’t tip after 2 sessions, and you know they have gotten massaged before, I’d usually drop them as a client (by simply filling up their time slot with someone else who understands what it’s like to work on people with bad hygiene, and who can yap so much I’d rather stick broken off toothpicks through my eyelids :smiley:

21

Just wait until you hear what happened to me. I went to a restaurant last night. The food was excellent and the service was adequate, but the thing is I was not eating for pleasure, I was eating for training. Well the bill came and I paid with a credit card and just listen to this, there was a line on the receipt to add a tip. What gall these people have. If only I had read these wise words about stiffing people for their tip before I had gone to dinner. Well, now I know.

22

As a Licensed Massage Therapist, I thought I would weigh in on this matter. A masseuse by the way, works in the red light district and applies touch that is out of my scope of practice :slight_smile:

I work in a few different settings, my own office, a chiro office and for athletes at a local college. Never do I assume that someone will tip me. Some do, some don’t. In my own office I get tipped almost each time. In the chiro office, next to never. And the broke college kids…this job is for personal fulfillment, not for the cash!

If you want to tip your LMP then do so, but it’s not your obligation. We will however, like the poster above said, start to fill your time slot with people who do appreciate our practice and realize that while we might make a nice hourly rate we also can only work about 20 hours a week. It’s a physically demanding job.

Also, I hardly think that your massage therapist was being rude or fishing for a tip. Your local waiters/waitresses and service staff will ask you same question when they return for the bill… Do you need change back? Do you think that is rude too?

Take a deep breath and go for a walk.