[Rowdy]

It took us a while to find a good groomer for our rough collie. So, when he was groomed a few weeks ago, we gave the groomer a $25 for Christmas and brought the grooming staff cookies. We've seen how they treat us and our "baby boy". We want them to know that we really appreciate it.

[Joker22075]

Currently I am not a groomer but i am a Bather in a groom shop and from what i have seen there are plently of people who tip and plenty who don't. If you choose to tip don't tip any less then $5.00. anything less seems to be insulting. I can't speek for all groomers but this seems to be how all the groomers in the shop i work for feel.

[grrroomer]

Wow, Im really suprised at the low prices you guys have posted here. You get cheap rates where you live. Im a professional groomer with 7 yrs exp currently in SW Florida. I charge 50.00 for a short puppy style cut on dogs under 30lbs and 60.00 on dogs like Bichons and Poodles. A 30.00 dollar puppy style cut is super cheap.

[peace36]

Originally Posted by Joker22075

Currently I am not a groomer but i am a Bather in a groom shop and from what i have seen there are plently of people who tip and plenty who don't. If you choose to tip don't tip any less then $5.00. anything less seems to be insulting. I can't speek for all groomers but this seems to be how all the groomers in the shop i work for feel.

Oh thats just great. My groomer (also the owner) charges me $23. and I give $25 and tell here to keep the change. Once I just had the face done for $5. and gave a $2 tip. I hope I did not insult her. Maybe I should bring some cookies just in case

[Joker22075]

Originally Posted by peace36

Oh thats just great. My groomer (also the owner) charges me $23. and I give $25 and tell here to keep the change. Once I just had the face done for $5. and gave a $2 tip. I hope I did not insult her. Maybe I should bring some cookies just in case

I guess I was a bit general. I ment for a full service groom $5 or more if you only pay $5 the $2 like said you did is perfect.

[Max'sHuman]

Um, Durb, and others who bash waitstaff for wanting tips... when I was a waitress I made 2.13 an hour. If I came in on a slow night I got dinner to compensate the fact that I was paying my boss to be there. Nevermind the stupid minimum wage law, dinner made up for it, right? Then I had to clean the whole restaurant to close it up. If it was a decent night I was on my feet, literally running for 8 solid hours, carrying hot heavy things to people who often spent the entire night complaining or would sit in my booth of which I only have four for the whole night sharing an entree, then using a coupon and leaving me spare change. Anything that went wrong, along with the cooks screwing up was blamed on me, and then there would be awful behavior accompanied with no tip. I never spit in food, never intentionally messed up and getting 2.00 on a 100 dollar bill is infuriating. I have to live off that money and doing hard physical labor, while being condescended to by jerks half the night is not fun, easy or lucrative. Oh and yeah, you have to give a percentage to the bartenders and dishwashers regardless of how slow, drunk (or great) they were. OK, so some nights you can pull in 200.00, but you work for every penny. Anyone who says otherwise needs to go work as a waiter. Then you'll reconsider. I tip a minimum of 20% unless the service is horrible, then maybe 15%. But if it's 15, you bet I'm leaving a note for management.

So I tip my groomer too. Last time I went I tipped 5 or 7 dollars for Max's simple bath and trim because she did a good job and Max came back to me looking handsome and untraumatized.

[imagroomer]

Do you guys tip your hairdressers? What about the people who do your nails? Of course you do... So why not tip the people who do the same for your dogs?

[Shanette Peters]

I'm a professional groomer, I work from home, have my own business, I think out of all my clients so far there's only been one that hasn't tipped me. Keep in mind I keep my prices low enough the owner won't feel like they are being 'taken' and there is room to feel comfortable to give a tip if desired. Such as a Cocker Spaniel I groom every 8 weeks I charge her 35$, she usually gives me $45-50. Which is nice. Then the nail trims(I also do a ear cleaning,and check the hair in the pads) average $5-10, I end up getting minimum $7-15. Each person tips differently, but any tip is appreciated.

[acanoffleas]

I've only now just seen this thread, and I have to admit parts of it are really upsetting to me. Ive worked in a vast amount of different fields (barista, waitress, bartender, administrative assistant, customer service rep, bather, groomer...blah blah blah), in New York City and also my current home in a smaller town in PA. Especially after having experienced first hand what it's like to work in the service industry, I've come to believe that anytime I pay for a service that is something I could do myself, tipping would be appropriate. I eat in a restaurant, I tip the server. I have someone do my laundry, I tip. Someone cuts my hair, I tip. Yes, you've already paid for the service itself, but tipping is paying for the skill of the provider. If the service I receive is normal/expected, I usually tip 15%, but if it goes above and beyond, I'll bump it up. Below average service depends - I still tip, but it varies.

When you take your dog to a groomer, you're taking them because the groomer has a trained eye, skill, and appropriate tools to take care of your animal. Yes, it can be expensive, but it's a necessary expense for the health and happiness of your pet. If you, as a customer and patron, are pleased with the job done, why wouldn't you want to tip out of appreciation, be it with money, or trinkets, or food, etc.? I don't ever automatically expect a tip, but when I do receive them I am very grateful and take it as a compliment to my work, as well as appreciation to the labor and time that goes into what I do. My experience in the service industry has taught me to not get upset with not receiving tips. Instead I get upset when people bring me their matted and filthy pets and complain about how high the price of grooming is. I had a customer this past weekend who complained about a $5 increase for his matted-to-the-skin, filthy, ill-behaved Bichon, and I flat out told him that for the amount of work that goes into his dog the price was appropriate. My bold response caught him off guard, but he turned around and agreed with me. That dog later went on to pee and poop three times after being bathed and cleaned, and nearly bit me multiple times. By the end of the groom he was exhausted and too tired to jump around and away from me and I was finally able to finish his head and face. This groom took me three hours. The owner doesn't tip. So for a $52 groom, I earned about $47 with commission and hourly wage. If I have help from a bather, I split tips with them.

Tipping is always greatly appreciated, though not expected. If you can't afford to tip, kindness is always appreciated as well. If you ever have a question with pricing or tipping, ASK. People ask me all the time if we accept tips, and I tell them that we do and they are appreciated but not expected, and it's up to them to determine what they feel is appropriate.

[doggone6]

When I groom a dog at home, I'm getting the full price of the groom and certainly do not expect a tip, although I do often get them.

When I groom at someone else's shop, I get 60% of the price (so, figure $36.00 for a $60.00 groom). Most groomers I know only get 50%, so OF COURSE we appreciate a tip and it is appropriate.

Everyone complains about how expensive it is to get a dog groomed, so I always offer this comparison. What would your hair stylist charge if she gave you a mani-pedi, cleaned your ears, full-body wash, massage and conditioning, and THEN styled your hair? All while you were trying to avoid him/her, of course.

Kinda puts it in perspective, doesn't it?

[KyleB]

Yes, I tip our groomer, but not a ton as it already costs enought to have her groomed. I tip anywhere from 3-5$ depending on service.

[lenagroomer]

I am a groomer and trust me when I say we do not get paid enough to do the job we do. Luckily I love my job and I love the animals, that's why I do it.

But for those of you who do not tip...you are absolutely unthoughtful and ungrateful.

Groomers work hard to take care of your baby, and lets face it, most people who have their pets groomed consider there dog a member of the family and love it like a child. So the least a client can do is tip the groomer. I mean you tip your server, your hairdresser, etc, so why not tip the groomer who ensures the health and physique of your baby?

Thing about it next time before you consider stiffing the groomer.

[Durbkat]

When we tip the server or barber we tip about $2. I would think a groomer would think $2 is an insult. We don't have alot of money so paying for a groom sets me back.

[mydogspot]

I groom my own dogs now but I used to tip my groomer a crazy amount. I felt that if I took REALLY good care of her, she'd take REALLY good care of my dogs. She's a doll so I'm sure she would have been kind and gentle to them even if I didn't over tip but I had a horrible experience with a groomer who has since been fired for cruelty.
Now my groomer teaches some little maintenance grooming segments for my puppy class clients and she's fantastic.

Dog grooming has to be a tough job, they deserve to be tipped as good or better than any other service industry person.

[k9's]

no i dont expect to get tipped and if i do its an unexpected bonus. im sorry lenagroomer i think you are just rude most of us good groomers dont expect tips

[jesirose]

Originally Posted by lenagroomer

I am a groomer and trust me when I say we do not get paid enough to do the job we do. Luckily I love my job and I love the animals, that's why I do it.

But for those of you who do not tip...you are absolutely unthoughtful and ungrateful.

Groomers work hard to take care of your baby, and lets face it, most people who have their pets groomed consider there dog a member of the family and love it like a child. So the least a client can do is tip the groomer. I mean you tip your server, your hairdresser, etc, so why not tip the groomer who ensures the health and physique of your baby?

Thing about it next time before you consider stiffing the groomer.

I would think the least the client could do is pay for the service.

There were several posts on this thread where people said groomers deserve to get something for the hard work they do - THEY DO. It's called their SALARY. I work incredibly hard for all of my clients, and never expect a tip. I do the job I said I would do for the fee I said it would cost, and don't expect any more. No one ever tips me, probably because I'm in an industry where you don't tip. I don't know who decided that some people get tips and some don't based solely on their career choice. I work one on one with my clients to provide them a service they need. How is that different than a hairdresser?

That being said, I always tip based on service. When my hairdresser does a great job she gets a great tip. When a trim and highlights lasts 4 hours and turns out the wrong color, you get nada. (Every other time it took 1 hour, not FOUR). If wait staff is attentive and prompt, they deserve a tip. When all they do is take the order and drop off food (and why is it sometimes a different person who brings it?), I don't think they should get a tip. When you have to wait 20 minutes for a drink refill, that's not good service, let alone exceptional.

I haven't gone to a groomer yet but whether or not they get a tip would be based on the service, not just because they are a groomer. Maybe that sounds harsh to all you groomers, but the next time you need a website for your grooming business, tip your developer.

[destinypitbulls]

I have tipped many times before $5-$10 depending on the job they've done, and what kind of service it was .

[poodleholic]

Originally Posted by lenagroomer
I am a groomer and trust me when I say we do not get paid enough to do the job we do. Luckily I love my job and I love the animals, that's why I do it.

But for those of you who do not tip...you are absolutely unthoughtful and ungrateful.

So very, very true! I always appreciated my groomer, and tipped her well, but, since I now groom my (Standard) Poodles myself, I've come to appreciate all that it takes even more!

[thevelvetsnoot]

Durb- If you don't tip food servers- just expect that they are spitting in your food! I wouldn't go back to the same place twice if I were you. It is standard to tip between 15 and 20% on all food service unless something horrible happens. I'm sad that your mom hasn't taught you better. Food servers don't even get paid minimum wage- it's not required by law. They depend on tips from customers. As for groomers, I thing if you want to be taken in at a moments notice and you like the way they treat your dog- give them a few extra dollars. It will insure the same treatment for the next visit.

Sookie Mom- that's really creative! I like those ideas- The Starbucks card is an awesome idea!!

[Durbkat]

I'm not sure if I already stated this but, we are a low income family and can not afford to tip all the time. We usually tip a dollar or two at restaurants but not for pizza delivery when they only have to go a few blocks down the road. Now if they had to drive a few miles and we lived in a place hard to find then yes I would tip.