If you get laser hair removal......do you tip after each treatment? And if so....how much? I saw a sign at the place I'm going to be getting it done. They listed their normal price for each session and the suggested tip which was 20%! So that's $40 per visit. That's a lot for a 10 min session. I am using a groupon for the services.
Thoughts?
Laser hair removal is a medical service that should be performed by a medical professional. I would never tip at my dermatologists office after a visit.
i have gone to American Laser and have never tipped. I don't even think they are allowed to take tips, but there are no signs posted re: that.
I've had several laser treatments and have also worked for a doctor and assisted with the laser. It's a medical type procedure and I've never heard of or been tipped for this service.
You're already getting a discount with the groupon so why not tip the 20% on the full treatment price?
I am a medical aesthetician and certified laser technician. I work in a MedSpa where we ran a Groupon. Our owner has printed a gratuity sheet and posted it at the front desk for this reason... Our Groupon was for 6 LHR treatments on 1 small area for $129. If you wanted a larger body part done you bought more Groupons accordingly. So lets take the Brazilian LHR for example. Normally you would spend $225 per treatment x 6 = $1350. For Groupon you would have to buy 2 which equals $258. WOW!!! What a deal!! Well for you it is... Not for the ones of us doing the laser treatments!! I make 35% commission on every service I perform. So lets look at this... Normal LHR commission $472 divided by 6 treatments = $78. Groupon LHR commission $51 divided by 6 treatments = $8. If you were a normal paying client I would not expect gratuity. But since you are a Groupon client and you are getting a steal of a deal YES I would like to be acknowledged for my service. I work on a commission base... no salary and no hourly rate... straight comission!! So Groupon affects us. Will we do this again... probably not!!
I've never tipped for laser. My place doesn't even have a line for it on the credit card slip.
Whatever the service 20% is typical. That you save with Groupon is great, but don't use that as a gauge for tipping.
I believe in tipping is to the descreation of the person receiving the service. If you are doing a "one time" visit or a few sessions, I would tip according to the service YOU feel you received. I had sugaring done (as I have fine blonde hair) and it was 9 sessions (every 6 weeks), which I paid ALOT (approx $1600.00) for the pkg deal, and end results were not satisfactory/achieved as I had been told would be...however the person doing the treatment was pleasant & if not distracted by her phone every now & then did a good job for the most part. I would leave $10-$20 every now & then. I do not look at it as "%" to base my tip on, but what I felt the treatment was good or bad. $5, $10, or $20 range.
To add:
I personally believe that Groupon's are offered as an enticement to get your business, so basically a low cost way of the business advertising for their place or product offered, as more people come to the place the more business is generated and thus revenue acchieved...where otherwise you probably would not have been a customer.at all. No matter what the service being offered is, the whole concept is to generate more business/more income for them, in other words some money is better than no money, so don't let the tip influence your decision of whether you like the place or the person servicing you. Again to tip or not to tip is to your descretion. Bottom line, you tip off of service, not the amt of what the "normal" service costs is, because as far as I'm concerned it's ALL overpriced especially in this economy today, where what your doing is a luxury, not a necessity. = 0 ) (I say that with a smile of enjoyment).
It's your money, you decide if you want to tip or not tip at all &/or how much you want to tip. Good luck on your decision!
I didn't tip for my laser hair removal. It's a medical procedure, and I sure don't tip my doc! And anyway, it literally took 5 minutes for each session for me, and the price was still outrageous even with a Groupon. So no, I wouldn't tip.
Actually, I always tip my technician. Contrary to what has been said in other posts, laser hair removal is NOT a medical procedure (look it up in Texas law!). I usually tip $20 for my procedures, just like my hairstylist!
