The barber's tip

[Brendan]

How much should I tip my barber? I never know whether I'm giving too much or too little

[Frenchy]

.

[Townleygreen]

Never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life!! Frenchy, what are you thinking of?

I tip 1 GBP to my barber. Tipping the man who reads the meter is just unheard of in polite ED society.

[SeanMacGabhann]

I get 3 a week (meter men) sometimes - I'd be broke

[Asset]

bloody hell - you tip the meter readers. that's why they give me dirty looks as they leave! would not even consider it.

[Ant]

Tip the metre reader!?

You know they're not even metre readers, don't you? They're just people who come round your house.

[Bleep]

Tip a meter reader? For er, what?

[Asset]

Oh My Goodness, I just realised I spelled metre in the American fashion above, don't know what came over me. I'm surprised no one had a go.

Just realised again - meter is spelled that way. Bit hungover this morning.

[dulwichmum]

Dear Frenchy,

This is not America.

I tip the bin men at Christmas and give them ?20, The window cleaner the same - 50p per window for a tip??? Have you any idea how much that would cost? My house is just enormous! As for the meter man - he should could himself lucky I don't have him flogged - he has marched his muddy boots through my perfect home on more than one occasion. Tip him with the toe of my boot more like.

I think you have more money than sense. Perhaps you should try not to drink so much, and maybe get yourself a part time job wafting about Dulwich picture gallery. You could even try shopping - it is really a wonderful way to use up your excess cash.

DM

[Keef]

Er, am I the only one that thinks Frenchy was having a laugh? :-S As for the barbers, a quid or 2 is plenty!

[Nero]

My barber charges ?9, so I tip a quid. Nero

[Ant]

I stick to a quid. My haircut never costs more than a tenner (including tip), so I reckon a quid's more than enough!

[Frenchy]

Well spotted, Keef. Bravo!

[SimonM]

What preposterous nonsense! There's long been a custom for women to tip their hairdressers because, more often than not, their hair has been done by a young woman paid a pittance by the salons' - ahem - madame. Blokes should not tip barbers - ever - it is both unmanly and insulting. The guys - usually self-employed - post a list of charges for various services and if more is expected on top of those charges than that then the carte should be redrafted...

I recall the old (and I do mean old) Jimmy Tarbuck joke - "I went to me barbers for an 'aircut: the sign said "cuts 1/6d, shaves 1/- - so I told 'im the shave me 'ead..."

Tipping! Huh! Hoity-toity poncey southern ways... >:D<

[*Bob*]

I think there's a difference between 'keep the change' and a 'tip'.

For the record, I have never tipped a barber, binman, postman, tinker, tailor, sol.. you get the picture. Why would I?

"Here's some extra money! For no reason at all!"

[TillieTrotter]

You blinking old tightwads!! I always give my hairdresser anything between 4-6 quid.

[*Bob*]

Why? WHY ??!!!?

Sheer madness.

[Nero]

Try living or visiting the US. It is awful. The 'docents' (guides) even at historical monuments say at the beginning of their spiel 'if you enjoy what you hear, please feel free to offer gratuities'*. On one trip, the bloke on the boat (in which I was meant to be viewing the wonders of the deep through the glass-bottomed hull but ended up feeling like I'd drunk a gallon of castor oil and gin and then been shaken and heated up to 100F) had a suitably ocean-themed fishbowl in his grubby paws waiting for my dollars at the end of my trip. It is a ludicrous tyranny but when in Rome etc!

* another of my very hated words, an unnecessary complication, like 'beverage' instead of 'drink'. Nero

[TillieTrotter]

Because it's a low paid job and they rely on their tips, same as a waitress or barmaid.

[Nero]

I know, that is why I tip as I don't want to be an 'ugly Brit' abroad. But it is demeaning for both the tipper and tippee when everyone knows that the wages are crap and the tippee is basically begging in some circumstances. Yuk. Nero

[TillieTrotter]

I'm not sure they see it that way. I personally dont and I have done abit of bar maiding in my time.

[Nero]

But in teh US it is very different. My post really has to do with what it is like in America. Nero

[*Bob*]

I don't go for the 'I tip because I know they're low paid workers' thing.

There's a good reason why unskilled jobs are low-paid and its not my job to top-up someone else's pay-packet. That's right.. I'm all heart!

Hairdressers and barbers, however, are neither unskilled nor low-paid. Most of them do just fine.

[dulwichmum]

Oh dear, was Frenchy joking Keef? I wasn't! I would like to flog the meter man for spoiling my carpet... And I really do like shopping!

[Michael Palaeologus]

I tip my hairdresser ?1. This is the ?5 hairdressers next to the "Spamalot" theatre - the lovely Romanian that slit chickens necks as a child.