Shaitel macher helper, why don’t people tip

amother

Tan

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:15 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I know that in many or even all service/ beauty industries the boss isn’t tipped but very often workers who provided a service are given a tip.

I work for a shaitel macher, I wonder why in this industry no one ever tips? I prepare the wigs and the shaitel macher styles it on the clients head… the most I get is a thank you..

It's been a long time since I got my hair done in a salon. (Almost 30 years now). I remember tipping the hair washing lady a dollar. That was a respectable tip back then. And very much the norm.

It never occurred to me to tip a hair washer at a sheitel place. Truth be told, I have no idea who does what or what goes on there. I drop off, I pick up. I never even met a hair washing lady at any sheitel macher that I've gone too. In fact, for years I didn't even go anywhere. She picked up and dropped off at my house.

I'm sorry if you feel under appreciated or underpaid. Best thing is to ask for a raise.

amother

Azalea

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:23 pm

Op do you wash the wigs too? If you don't then should the wig washers also get tipped? Do you tip everyone you come into contact with that does work for you and therefore expect others to?

I think your boss should be paying you more now that wash and sets have gotten so expensive. I don't think people don't tip you because they are rude...it's because people are paying a lot for the service as it is, and people also don't know who deals directly with their wig. Just because you handed it to the sm doesn't mean you washed it and prepped it.

amother

Goldenrod

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:32 pm

I am a very generous tipper but I only tip when I feel a job was done above and beyond the expectation.

If I get a wax and the waxer took extra time and care to make me comfortable, or if at a restaurant the server went out of his way to make sure I had a good experience.

Otherwise I don’t really understand the point of tipping. I’m not going to tip someone for just doing their job, that’s what a salary is for. I don’t get tipped at my office job for doing my job, why is service any different? It really makes no sense to me that it has become so obligatory even for example if you have a bad experience.

I also really really don’t appreciate establishments who use customer tips as an excuse to pay their employees less and earn more for themselves

amother

Mimosa

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:34 pm

amother [ Wandflower ] wrote:

What? In my frum world people tip and they tip nicely. Don’t understand how you can make that statement

I don't mean it in a bad way. Its just a different pay structure. I pay my shaitelmacher quite well - probably way more than a hair salonist would get - why do I need to tip? I pay for goods and services and that's it. And I pay through my nose, if I may add.

ETA: and I don't really understand tipping the delivery guy either (although I do because its expected). I ordered my groceries and I'm paying an extra fee to have it delivered. Why isnt the extra fee going to him? I mean, I don't tip the mailman (at least not every day) and I don't tip the UPS guy or Amazon driver....

amother

Electricblue

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:36 pm

Tips are usually for people who service the customer directly (manicurist, delivery guy, waiter, valet etc) not those working behind the scenes, even if they are working just as hard. Unless you are actively involved in fitting the sheitel and styling or cutting it while the customer is wearing it (and you are on your own without the SM overseeing it) people won't be tipping. That's tipping culture. (Which only exists in America, btw.)

amother

Ruby

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:37 pm

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

Tipping for wax or manicure in salon is expected for basic decent job. Not extra.
That is just how the industry works

Legally restaurants can pay waiters 1/2 minimum wage bec of tips. It makes no sense but allows employers to exploit waiters and pay them nothing. therefore tips became mandatory. I just think of it as the expense of the meal. Bec if there were no tips my food would need to be 18% more to pay the wait normally.
If it wasn’t coming off the top we’d be paying it anyways. The waiter needs to be paid somehow.

amother

Tan

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 5:40 pm

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

Right. Except you don't expect to get tips at your office job. You understand that whatever your boss pays you is what you get.

In a service industry unfortunately it doesn't work this way. You might think to yourself $30 is more than enough for an eyebrow wax - I'm not adding more to the bill. And I sympathize with this thought. I often feel the prices for a few minutes of work are obnoxious. But here is the reality: The girl who waxed your eyebrows isn't getting paid $30. She might only get 20-25% of that. The salon takes most of the money. She is relying on tips to make up the difference for a living wage. So understand that when you take a stand against getting ripped off for these overpriced services, it's at the esthetician's expense and not the salon's. Not really fair. (Same set up for waiters in restaurants. You don't tip them, they get paid bupkis).

amother

Impatiens

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 6:01 pm

I think it is because you are doing work behind the scenes and so I would imagine no one realizes that you are doing the wash and possibly the set. At a salon it is obvious there is someone who is washing your hair and also sometimes there is another person who assists the stylist while they are cutting or coloring and who might also be the one who does the preliminary blow job.

I don't understand the rationale of anyone who DOESN'T tip in those working situations in which a tip is customary. You tip the minimum 15% for basic service if they haven't messed up or done something terrible and you tip over that for extra service or when you have a long standing relationship with one of the workers.

If you can't afford the service - cost PLUS minimum tip, then don't get the service because you are exploiting the people who are working and depriving them of a significant portion of their income.

In the US tips are part of the pricing structure. Some restaurants tried to eliminate tips but people actually preferred the illusion of. being in control of the tip so they went back to the classic tipping structure.

To OP because the manner in which your services are provided you won't get a tip because no one knows or sees you or realizes what you are doing. That is the reality. If you want to make more money ask for a raise and I would hope that you are using this low level work to train in how to become a SM because in general that is what even the assistants in hair salons do - they use the opportunity while at the poorly paid assistant job to learn how to be a high end stylist.

amother

Lawngreen

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:07 pm

Op, so sorry for the way you’re feeling.
I just want to pipe in and say, I honestly don’t understand why I have to tip a manicurist..... (I do tip, because it’s a given) but I don’t understand it. They have a set salary, so why do I still have to go and add money to my manicure. I recently saw someone tip $5 for a manicure. I was horrified. I don’t have that kind of money. I wonder the amount ppl actually tip for a manicure. It’s hard for me to believe that majority tips $5.
And this wasn’t with polish.

amother

Dill

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:28 pm

amother [ Lawngreen ] wrote:

I stopped tipping for a manicure as well, so did my freinds. The fees aren't cheap.

amother

Dill

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:29 pm

amother [ Honeydew ] wrote:

Sheitel macher assistants are generally paid very well. That is one reason they don’t get tips.

Delivery guys and waiters get paid very little so people are forced to tip. I don’t agree with the tipping system either.

That's the owner of the restaurant issue not mine. We pay top price for our food, no need to tip ontop of that.

amother

Tan

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:44 pm

amother [ Dill ] wrote:

That's the owner of the restaurant issue not mine. We pay top price for our food, no need to tip ontop of that.

Your opposition to this system I understand. Your taking it out on a waiter I don't. If you refuse to tip, it's not the restaurant owner who gets hurt.

amother

Lawngreen

Fri, Jun 17 2022, 7:45 pm

amother [ Dill ] wrote:

I stopped tipping for a manicure as well, so did my freinds. The fees aren't cheap.

The salon I went to the past time- I left after the manicurists, so when I paid the owner asked me if I tipped the manicurist before she left- I had, but was so disgusted by it