Should I tip or buy dinner...wwyd?

juangela

So, my coworker/friend is going to trim and highlight my hair tomorrow night after work (she is a trained stylist...the guy that normally cuts my hair is actually her brother...long story ). She didn't want me to pay her anything at first but I insisted that I pay her something (she needs to make some extra cash...not to mention the supplies cost her!)

She is charging me hardly anything (less than her brother does just to cut my hair - granted he owns the salon and needs to pay the bills).

So...my question is, would you also tip her? I know she feels awkward about taking money from me to begin with...would it be less awkward if I bought us dinner or something since we'll be doing this during meal time?

wittyschaffy

I had a family friend work on my brakes for my car and bought him a gift certificate to Applebee's in appreciation since he wouldn't let me pay him.  It was more of a "you treated me well so I'm going to treat you!" gesture.  Seemed to go over OK.

scottnsissy

I agree with Witty.  I would get her a gift card.  If you know there's something she's interested in then I would try to get her a gift card for that; if you can't find something hobby-related then I would try for a restuarant gift card.  Giving someone a gift card always seems less awkward.  This way you're still tipping her, but not making her eat with you which may not be something that works for her (with her schedule or just not something she necessarily wants to do).  I haven't gotten my hair cut and colored since December.  It's just not the same when you color your own hair out of the box.  Have fun!

Cipolla2Be

If she needs the extra money, I would give her a tip.  That way she can use it for what she needs.  I know she is being nice by saying she can't accept money etc, but when it comes down to it....she probably really needs the money.  I would just write her a check and maybe even put it in an envelope so she won't open it in front of you.  Then she's stuck with it! But that's just me...

krc18

A friend of mine used to cut and color my hair and she was the same way. She would only let me pay her for the supplies - like $10-15...I would always tip her really well though and like Kristina said, when it came down to it she took it. I would just fold the bills up and hand them to her and she would never count them in front of me or anything so I always was able to slip it in that way. The way I saw it was she needed the money and I would have paid someone else just as much, if not way more to do the same thing so why not help her out.

juangela

Thanks, ladies. I did end up slipping some extra cash in with the amount we agreed upon beforehand.