How much do you tip a massage therapist for a 60 minute massage?
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Anonymous
| I don't tip for a massage. End of story. |
ChuckMurphy
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| Seriously, a year and counting on this subject? makes me think of the old Ann Landers toilet paper kerfuffle... |
Anonymous
| 20% |
Anonymous
|
The main thing this thread makes clear is that no tipping amount is generally correct. NONE. There are people who wave away any tip; there are decadent fools who would prefer $0 over the "insult" of receiving a mere $10; there are people who really need $20 but will gracefully suffer if given less. There are people who can afford to give nothing, people who can afford to give 20-30%, even a few people who can easily pay $5000 per massage if they feel like it....
Every new therapist-client pairing will more or less randomly assign one of the many types of therapist to one of the many types of client, and since neither therapist nor client is psychic, the only solution (other than becoming an activist or superhero or something and working to fix the deeper systemic problems of which this tipping controversy is just a symptom) is to COMMUNICATE. If you pick a simple tipping rule and use it everywhere, you are WRONG... sometimes. Because you generally don't know what a particular stranger expects or needs until you ask, and a stranger generally won't know what you expect or need until you tell them. Why are so many therapists willing to seriously damage their precious, irreplaceable hands for their work, yet unwilling to tell every client their actual feelings on this matter? Is it so much harder to open up about that than to destroy your own body for money and another's health? Is it hard for the client to honestly yet humbly say, before the massage, that they can afford to pay $X extra per massage (and no more) and that they would welcome the therapist's feedback on that, even if the therapist chooses to permanently reject them as a client because they can't pay enough? Maybe it is. Probably it is. In that case, then THAT is one of those systemic problems lurking behind the tipping debate: We are awful, monstrous, well-meaning animals that utterly SUCK at communicating with each other. |
Anonymous
|
I am the one who said I don't tip. I have used the same masseuse for years and at no time has she or the outfit she works for ever suggested I work with another therapist.
Simply put, it would not make sense for a masseuse to lose the business of a regular customer just because I don't tip. |
Anonymous
hi there, there are many people who are generous like you : ) , but there are many who dont know howmuch to tip and some dont tip i give a decent amt for gd service , massage massage is hard work for an hr the therapist give undivided attn to u yurbody and help u relax make u comfortable they are earn a living for doing this and help us stay healthy im not sure if u have office job or service industry I have service job n i go out of my way to treat clients n make them happy. yet i dont get tip or they change last min appt how much i earn depends on the service they come in for? tip help me pay my bills i hope u understand from their end , my friends are therapist i hear their stories under appreciated and tiring their job is i say tip when tye give u extra time and pay attn to yur requests  |
Anonymous
| Double the first number. So on a 50$ massage. Tip 10$. |
Anonymous
| OMG this post pisses me off. |
Anonymous
| If you do not want to tip a massage therapist at a Spa, do not go. Find a therapist who owns her own business or pays rent. They do not expect a tip. Therapists in Spas, generally get 30% of the cost of the massage. When you tip, tip 15 - 20%. It is customary to tip for services at Spas. |
Anonymous
| To me it is ridiculous that any business or its staff member rely on tips. If that is the case, then staff need to ask/business pay a better wage. It used to be that tipping for for exemplary service that you felt was going above and beyond. Nowadays, it is looked at as a must for average service and higher tips for above average. It also used to be that cost for a service that would include a tip were priced lower, now business owners took advantage of tip expectations and slowly raised rates. How much do you think a good paying job gets, 100K? That's 50 an hour, no tips, tax income reported, working more than 40 a week, doing prep work outside of business hours, etc. Just because either greedy business owners want to line their pockets more, or got themselves into so much debt that they run up cost yet don't pass it on to staff, is out of control. A customer should not be expected to pay someone 15-20/hr extra in a tip because the business or its industry is a succubus, and having its clients feeling guilty that they underpay staff. It's wrong and this comes from a person that usually just does a 20% tip across the board, but last couple years almost all services are below par and am rethinking how I tip. No one gives me extra if I do an average job, let alone go above an beyond. |
Anonymous
| Medical facilities don't have you tip the massage therapist. |
Anonymous
|
$10 for every 30 min. I tip $20 for an hour. $30 for 90 min.
I go to massage envy where I pay $59 for one hour--but sign at front desk says not to tip on that rate. Tip on full price. I assume that means their hourly rate is low like a waitress. |
Anonymous
|
$15-20 for an hour is my standard tip for a first-time massage.
I found one therapist whose deep tissue massages allow me to get restful sleep for several days afterwards; no one else, massage therapist or doctor or otherwise, has been able to get the same results. I tip her $40 per hour session every 2-3 weeks; I want to be sure I'm a high priority client as a good night's sleep once in a while does wonders for my health and well-being. She makes sure I get a full hour of actual massage time (or more--sometimes she silently adds an extra 10-15 minutes for free!) even though I'm frequently 5-10 minutes late due to scheduling difficulties. Considering that I have to pay quite a bit more to the spa in the first place, and that she has to work 7 days a week between 3 part time jobs to make ends meet, giving her a decent tip is the least I can do. I'd give her more if I thought I could without making her uncomfortable or raising suspicions of illegal activity. |
Anonymous
| I'm getting a $105 massage tonight, wtf should I tip? |
Anonymous
| Double the first number (or two if three digits) and you always land around 20%, give or take. |