@entwine - Massage therapists at Massage Envy get $15/hr. They have to invest in an education that costs thousands of dollars, invest in license fees, invest in continuing education to keep their license up. And, although Massage Envy claims they get paid for their down time the reality is that they do not get paid for their down time. They have no benefits. ME offers a 401K option but it’s rare for anyone to stay long enough to qualify for it. They are mostly staffed by students fresh out of school. In my area, they usually stay there for 3 - 6 months, rarely over a year, because the working conditions are poor and they can get paid better elsewhere. So yeah, definitely tip the MTs at Massage Envy, they need it.
Regarding the drink machine that had a tip option: I’m guessing that, being a bar/restaurant, the credit card setup included an option for tips whether anyone was serving the customer or not.
Yeah, i understand that, I know quite a few people that have worked at ME. That's what I was trying to say, that some jobs make sense and some don't. And was also trying to say that it usually isn't the therapist asking for it, let alone texting days later wondering why you didn't tip.
It's still not an easy answer.
Massage therapist, Yes, apparently should be obvious (which says more about the company than the employees). But what about Psychologist, No? One helps your body, one helps your mind...idk, is it customary? Doctors? I'm sure tips would help their student loans. No job -should- be customary. But any job -could- get tips. Some employers rely on customer to pay wages with tips (wait staff), other employers don't allow them to accept tips (grocery curb side pick-up deliverers) .
My favorite slogan is "tips not expected, but appreciated". This alleviates guilt from customer/clients and then makes it feels like everyone is benefiting. Exceptional service can deserve extra pay, but what that should be seeking is repeat clients, which is better than a single tip, IMHO.
@entwine Most people see psychologists about 1x week for years or decades - a therapist, esp. a good one gets booked to the rafters. Unlike cuddling or even massage, therapy is in high demand but though it is expensive- it is more of a necessity item to some vs. luxury.
While some rent in expensive office spaces, they probably still make decent dough - I would much rather run a private practice as a therapist than run my own doctor's office. Perhaps the advantage for massage therapists is that they can have clients at home.
@Armyvet330 I’d caution you against leaving negative feedback as a new cuddler. Even though it sounds warranted and would likely benefit the community, you’ll very likely get negative karma in return and that will harm you more as a new cuddler than one negative karma will harm the pro. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it is. Sorry you’ve started off with a negative experience. As others have said, there are many great people in this community, and I hope your next experiences are more reflective of that!
@ pretty much everyone. I wasn’t comparing pros to wait staff. Someone else the one chastising me about sliding off topic slid first. So, yeah. Hypocrisy. I was saying since it was mentioned that “tipping in the US has gotten out of control” that waitstaff still need tips. I was not comparing pros to waitstaff. Maybe reread my comment more carefully then read yours and tell me who went off topic and who responded. I also dig the amount of condescension doing it while being hypocritical is an art.
Also, my price is now at 65$ hr again where I started because I feel people deserve cuddles more than I do 100+hr. So, tips ARE always optional but getting on me for saying they are nice when I set my price weeeellll below the normal threshold isn’t very kind either.
@stormydaycuddle - I was referring to things like a vending machine asking for tips when I said that. That is out of control.
I of course often "tip" in the sense that I agree to certain terms ahead of a session (pay a fee above the pros published rate, or agree to cover the cost of a meal, show, etc.) The difference is that the terms of the transaction are agreed to in advance, before the session. What I don't do is decide to pay a variable discretionary amount after a session, based on how the session went. Also @stormydaycuddle if your rate is $65, it's a very different thing than when it is $100. In a case such as yours, I'd certainly offer to pay a higher price for the session than your going rate as you are charging well below the market. But whatever that amount is it's one we would agree on beforehand.
I tip my bartenders and wait staff well, but I'm not gonna tip some automated drink machine. I guess vending machine companies figure that drunk people like to spend more money.
@CuddlesByDeep not all of that was about you. Especially not the hypocrisy to condescension part but thank you for commenting back regardless. It was nice of you. 💕💕💕
I am so sorry that you had that experience! It is not customary to tip in this circumstance especially after the person talked about their problems the whole time. Please give it another try because I promise you there are a lot of very sweet people here that aren’t just in it for the money.
@Mike403 because they do. 😂😂😂 I’m not saying you do but that racket probably works.
@sweetsnuggie - Right? From what it sounds, the pro should have been paying him!
@Mike403 yes!
What Protector said is correct. I didn’t think of that. You may not want to leave karma because this “pro” may well retaliate and leave you negative karma in return. And that would likely hurt you more than it would hurt her.
@Protector and @MountainCuddles
The mods will absolutely remove retaliation karma if reported. No one here should ever be afraid to leave accurate karma.
@stormydaycuddle
“tipping in the US has gotten out of control” that waitstaff still need tips
I don't think anyone (at least me) blame the employees..what is out of control is businesses/employers paying low fees to their employees because it's expected people will tip. or tipping because it feels like you're paying their wage. Just charge more for the service/product so you can pay your employees a living wage.
So, tips ARE always optional but getting on me for saying they are nice when I set my price weeeellll below the normal threshold isn’t very kind either.
Tips are definitely nice! Having a lower rate is definitely appreciated. Nothing wrong with you liking tips! Who doesn't like getting tips/bonuses. It's when as the OP said they were told it's "customary", that is where I think most (at least me) have questions.
Edit: additional thoughts
I'm sure a big part of businesses is they need to appease the average. Lower prices allow for more customers, some customers may tip more, making up for those that don't. You can set a higher price, but might get less people overall, and less chance for tips. Or you set it low, and have chance no one tips and at a loss. And I feel it should be based on quality of service, not just "standard 20% based on price" - which is a big thing mentioned on another thread of this topic. Example: Hair cuts - set price of $20. Some hair may take 20/30 minutes to cut, others may take 3 minutes (I get a #3 all around, a razer and a few minutes, in-and-out). Big disparity in effort the stylist, but same price. An opposite example, If one person buys a $10 shirt and another buys $100 shirt, same effort to ring it up and bag it, but 1 is tipping more? Just fascinating that tipping is typically based on price at most places, not quality of work. Last thought, the upfront tips that get me the most. As again, should go along with quality of work. If food delivery or a cuddler asks for tip up front, how do I know how the service was? As it seems to go back to price not quality.
@Armyvet330: If she leaves you retaliatory karma, you can report it as retaliatory (and false) and point the mods to this thread.
@Armyvet330 First of all I assume by your title that you served in the military. Thank you for that service. You are appreciated. I think this is just a simple case of having a session with a pro who is only interested in the financial aspect of cuddling. Apparently she had no real interest in providing the kind of service that most pros work hard to provide. The tipping matter has been discussed and so you know it is not required but you can use your own judgement. This is an experience that I believe is so rare that I would suggest you dismiss it as bad luck. I hope you stick around and give this cuddling thing a chance. It is amazing and there are many really great pros out there.
I’ve been tipped generously for every session I’ve scheduled but I didn’t expect it and I certainly would never suggest or ask for one.
You felt like she was trying to take advantage - I would have felt that way also. She shouldn’t have scheduled a session if she could not fulfill her commitment to your session…unless she let you know ahead of time the situation and you decided to schedule anyway.
@DaringSprinter Good point. Retaliatory karma should be a sticky. I remember hearing pros afraid of reporting assault cases due to fear of retaliatory karma. That's bullsh*t, for real.
I can understand if you wanted to bless her or donate an extra $ or whatever to her especially if she did a good job. The fact that you felt it was uncomforting and being that she is a "pro" should of done a better job. She has some nerve to try to end the session early when you paid the full amount and she asked you to tip her with an emoji eye roll... right then and there you should of told her what to kiss.. You should definitely leave an "Honest" review of her like someone said before she claims her next victim.
@Rezz That's only true if it can be proven that the karma is retaliatory. I've seen many cases in which what appeared to be retaliatory karma did not get removed. It can be very difficult to prove what is and isn't true. So, at the end of the day, use your own judgment as to posting negative karma even if well deserved.
Nobody has to do anything. Start from there.
I would definitely agree that tipping for cuddling should always be optional and not expected. For me, I try to build a positive (platonic) relationship with my professional cuddles by bringing some kind of gift or tip.
As someone once told me, “nothing shows you care like cold hard cash”
@UCpaaHVg6u0 no, no I don't think there's any excuse for what she did, I apologize, I responded in a rush that day and didn't think my response through obviously... As a pro cuddler I would never give a session where I just talk about my problems, if I were having a bad day I would just ask to reschedule because I need to be in the right mind space to offer my services of cuddling and helping my client feel comforted and safe. He should write a review to reflect his experience. The cuddler was very tacky and unprofessional to expect a tip and to ask him about it the next day. Especially after cutting the session short. I don't think I've ever cut a session short but if I did I would definitely give some of the money back to reflect the correct pricing for the time or ask if we could reschedule so that I could offer a discount. I was hoping she might have had a unusual situation since he had seen good reviews, but the fact that she texted him about a tip after the fact proves that she is just unprofessional. Definitely not the norm to just talk about our problems during a paid session, or to cut it short because of our problems and especially not the norm to be rude the next day by text mentioning that a tip is customary. If I ever have to drive a longer distance than normal or pay a parking fee it is discussed before the session and the price is agreed before I meet up. If someone decides to tip I express appreciation and explain that it was not necessary, appreciated but not expected. Is it the norm to ask for payment a week in advance? I didn't think so.. if I have to drive a long distance I might ask for the gas money upfront on the day of, but I have never asked for a deposit or money up front for any other reason. (Besides booking a hotel rm for us I guess)
@NQIGCyan 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 no comment. 💕
I was able to make some cold hard cash by soaking $1 bills in water then putting them in the freezer overnight.
@cuddle4health I'm glad you cleared that up! That quick comment you made while you were rushed wasn't a good look! I also hope for the pro's sake that she learns some professionalism from this. The point of any of these discussions should be to improve our community.
@Mike403 it's called Pykrete. There was a plan to build aircraft carriers out of it during WWII.