How much do I tip for lazer treatment??

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hi, I am new to here and US. I’m originary from Japan where we do not tip for any service rendered.

My question here is that how much do I need to tip for lazer hair removal treatment? I leaned from my guide book :blush: that average tipping here is 20%. I just bought a package of $800 for underarms and $1500 for legs with unlimited period. In this case, how much should I tip for one treatment? Should I divide the total amount ($2300) by, let say 10 times, and tip 20% to $230?

Since I don’t have any idea about US or tipping system, could anyone please educate me??

Thank you very very much!

#2

tipping? hmmm… huh… i wonder as well how that works in USA… treatments are sooo expensive. IF u add 10 % for a tip…huh huh… it is alot! Maybe u dont have to tip cause it is already included in the price. That would be good :slight_smile:

#3

I would never tip a professional electrologist or a laserologist, especially 20%. Do we tip other professionals such as lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers in the United States? The answer is no. We are professionals and we do not expect to be tipped. You are paying plenty.

It’s really not expected here for what you want done, but do be very kind and tip your waitress or waiter 20% or more! They are usually struggling and they work very, very hard.

#4

thank god in china you don’t have to tipp for anything. my hair is very dense and it’s really inexpensive in shanghai. sometimes i think i should pay some extra money for what they do.

#5

We charge $395 (full price with no discounts) for 5 underarms, the 6th is freee, and then $29 for any additional treatments needed. And we don’t accept tipping.

hmm $800 plus an additional 20%. What a great deal.

#6

Thank you very much for all your replys :slight_smile:

It really helped me a lot. I was going to give away a lot of money…

Thanks.

#7

this procedure is considered a medical procedure by most, and those types of services are not usually tipped.

#8

Most States have tried to regulate laser hair removal as a medical procedure so that the Doctors can reap the benefits of getting all the business to themselves. However, in 2007, many states have classified laser hair removal as " NOT CONSIDERED THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE " and have started looking into creating sub categories and looking for ways to regulate this industry so that " Trained Personnel " can practice in a safe manner ( Georgia is the latest state to do so ).

Regarding tipping, if the treatment is done in a Spa, I do not see any problems with accepting tips.In New York, approx 80% of the laser Spas accept tips.

#9

What percentage is expected at these spa’s? I mean seriously, are we talking tips like $230! Do you accept tips, Chris?

#10

I personally was not accepting tips. However, I have been offered tips many times and when I refuse them, customers actually get upset and offended !! As such, I have recently started to accept them but turn them over to my technicians instead.( You see, when I go into the treatment rooms, I sometimes do not introduce myself as the Owner )

The usual tips are in the range of $ 5.00 to $ 20.00 per treatment. Whether a customer tips or not, they will receive the same service by my staff.

#11

sorry. I didn’t mean an official classification of “medical procedure”. just what the word is on the street. these treatments are expensive. tips are usually reserved for cheaper spa-like treatments for employees for whom that’s a main part of their income. i agree that at spas, tips are usually more accepted, also for this reason. i wouldn’t expect to tip on thousand dollars of treatments at any office with a doctor on site.

#12

The replies here have been very interesting regarding tipping.

In many countries tipping professionals is suprisingly expected because many, including doctors (ie in Eastern Europe during the Communist regime and beyond, where socialized medicine exists) are government employees with fixed salaries. In Canada there is socialized medicine but professionals don’t get tips for professional/medical services. In MedSpas or DaySpas there should be policies about tipping.

Waitresses and other low paid service providers generally depend on their tips to equal what an average non-tipped employee would make. This tipping issue is confusing to the public and doesn’t make sense for those of us who look at our services as being professional.

If a professional in a medical setting or day/med spa provides a laser treatment and is asked about what is customary for tipping, its because they want to do the right thing and want to express their appreciation for quality of service. Why should any professional do less than quality and why should anyone expect more than the treatment fee for their service. Sure employees would like the extra, unexpected tip and its hard to refuse a tip for techs unless there is a clear company policy about tipping. It may be posted, or if the service provider is asked, there should be a standard answer…

“We feel our treatment fee is sufficient to cover the quality of services we provide. Thank you for asking and we really do appreciate the gesture, but our policy is not to accept tips for the medical based treatments we provide.”

You should ask the manager in private about their policy. SO many practices set their prices on providing quality treatments and give fair market pay for their techs. The price is high enough and techs should be strongly discouraged about receiving tips since it usually means they did more than what was expected of them or they are not in agreement with the treatment fees and are doing something extra to get the client’s “extra” satisfaction beyond the normal quality of care.

#13

On the Tipping Question, look and contribute here: Gratuity and here: Tipping

As you can see, this is a very hot topic in the industry.

I have always said, the difference between lawyers and electrologists, is that one rarely thinks to one’s self “Gee, that lawyer really gave me so much more value for the money that I paid him. I think I want to give him something more just to show him how much I appreciate his services.”

#14

Well said James W. walker VII.

#15

I give my electrologist gifts and she gives me gifts. No tips though.

#16

I was wondering this too. My first clinic was a medical spa where it just didn’t seem appropriate to tip since it was more like a dermatologists office. My second place actually says on their website that they are medical professionals and do not accept tips. However my new place today when I went to pay with Debit it said amount $xxx I hit OK an dit’s like “Add tip?” which a lot of debit machines do if you’re in a restaraunt so I wasn’t sure what to do. I left it at 0 because I didn’t even know how much to give! I think next time I’ll use mastercard and see if it prints the Tip_____ on it as well lol.

#17

I don’t think this procedure should be something that you tip for. It’s a medical procedure, not simply a cosmetic one.

#18

That’s what I figured as well, I never considered it before, it just put me off when the debit machine asked if I wanted to add tip. Might be a default setting too for service industries but my last 2 places didn’t ask that. Do people tip when they do waxing? Because my place is a waxing and laser studio.

#19

Yep, that explains it. Waxing is a purely cosmetic procedure that gets tips. That’s why the tip line is probably automatically there and you can feel free to ignore it in my opinion.

#20

I’m glad somebody asked this, because I was about to create a topic with the same question.

I go to a Laser “Spa” that in addition to LHR, offers facials, massages, waxing, etc… There are tip envelopes on the counter, and i’ve always assumed the tip envelopes were for the aesthetic procedures rather than the medical procedures (LHR, botox, peels, etc.) Still I always feel awkward leaving there without tipping my technician, because I have no idea if they expect it, or if other customers are tipping their LHR technicians.

I haven’t been tipping and I hope I’m doing the right thing.