Bogleheads

[ice_tea]

went in for an Introductory 1-Hour Massage Session.

there is a big sign there saying based on our regular rate which is 78/hour,
tip for good service is 15, better is for 20, best is for 25.
that means 19.2%, 25.6% and 32%.

the Introductory rate is 49, and if you are a member for a year, it is 39 regularly.

so i am confused how much should tip, based on regular rate or the real rate i am getting? what about those member rate?

i searched on internet, most saying 15-20%, but how come their office sign is much higher.

of course, i end up paying 25.6% of regular rate of 78 since i do not know how much to tip.
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Mission:
To see the world and spread happiness, one couch at a time

[Fbone]

It sounds like you tried out Massage Envy.

I gave between $10-$20 depending on the quality.

They suggest a high tip because the therapists receive a small salary. They probably expect the customers to pay the lion share of their income.

If it was Massage Envy, PM me for my experience with them.

[travelnut11]

I'm a ME member and tend to tip around $15 (sometimes more if it was really good) of my $49 massage every month. I think they have the right to ask for higher tips since the massages are so cheap. I tend to think of it as similar to when I was a waitress and the restaurant would run a 2-for-1 special so the total bill was much lower than usual. People would always tip on the lower bill which wasn't especially fair to the servers because we were doing the exact same work regardless of the special. Please appreciate the fact you're getting a cheap massage and tip generously.

Travelnut11

[mikep]

[travelnut11]