Reply to How much do you tip a massage therapist for a 60 minute massage?

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[quote=Anonymous]I'll give reasons why massage therapists should be tipped. As mentioned before, therapists do not earn NEARLY as much as most think. They see $60 an hr and often assume that's what we're keeping, when in fact, most that work for franchises make $15-17 an hr for extremely physical work. If the therapist owns his/her own business, they keep the whole amount, but pay out booth rent or lease (mine is $1200 a month plus utilities, cable, internet, phone, laundry, product, and a large initial overhead. I spend $1500 - $1700 per month just to stay in business. The old saying goes "business owners are last to be paid" and it's true. Additionally,  some states require continuing education to keep the certification active plus yearly insurance renewal and license renewal. If a therapist sees 4 people a day at $60 an hr, that's $240 a day or $1200 a week... which equals $4800 a month minus 1500 equals 3300, minus 1200 (at least) for taxes which brings us to 2100 a month. Minus $30 (an average over the course of a year) for education. This brings a grand total of 2070 a month... or $517.50 a week. And that's if everyone keeps their appointment (I can count on at least 2 a week that cancel). Now, next you pay your home bills. For those that wonder why do 4 hrs of hands on... it's because we also have legal requirements to document every session and complete notes regarding the session. Between that, room change over, and checking out each client, you lose about a half hour, plus, any therapist that hopes to have any longevity knows better than to book more than 5 hrs a day. Average therapist lifespan is 4-6 yrs... the same as playing running back in the nfl to put it in perspective. Now, to be fair, you can eliminate costs by working from home or doing outcall massage, but many don't feel comfortable traveling to someone's home or having a stranger in their home... so the number of prospective clients drops significantly. Especially for a male therapist like myself. And finally, if everything is so bad, why become a therapist? Well, most of us absolutely love what we do and we do it to benefit you. We know we're not going to get rich, but we enjoy working to help the body heal and relieve stress. So, with all that said, a tip is completely voluntary, not tipping should not affect your service; but knowing what you know now, why not give a little extra... your therapist will appreciate it more than you know. For those that wonder, for an hour at $60, 10% = $6, 15% = $9, 20% = $12, and 25% = $15. I average $10 per 60 min massage. Thanks for reading.  [/quote]

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