A Blainville hair salon owner added her two cents to the debate surrounding tipping earlier this week by sharing her experience as a business owner who simply eliminated it for her clients.
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“For me, it’s a way of removing the discomfort from my clients,” explains Camille Landry, hairdresser and owner of Salon Flair.
Photo AMANDA MOISAN/QMI Agency
The 26-year-old entrepreneur decided to implement this measure two years ago. Her salon has a majority of regular customers.
“The customer often wondered how much she should leave me for me to feel it was a good tip,” she says.
“I realized that the last emotion my clients had when they left my salon was: ‘Am I cheap, “Is it enough or have I given too much, without having the means?” she explains.
When handing over the payment terminal, Camille does not give her customers the option of adding a tip.
Photo AMANDA MOISAN/QMI Agency
She says she did not adjust her prices upwards because of the lack of tipping.
“What’s the logic in asking my client to increase the amount of my service when I’m the one who decided how much it costs?” she wonders. “So I found a fixed amount, which is the amount I give myself according to the value of my service,” explains the hairdresser, adding that she feels privileged to implement this formula as the owner.
The young woman is nevertheless aware that her income is affected by refusing the tip.
“I know that not all of the industry can afford this. My rates do not include a tip, but I have listed my prices based on my service. By removing the tip, I am not leaving my income in the hands of my clients,” she explains.
“Hairdressers need the tip”
The Association Coiffure Québec would like to point out that tipping plays a considerable role for the majority of professionals in the field.
“This is an exception in this case. I don’t think many hairdressers, and even owners, can afford to stop tipping,” says Stéphane Roy, president of the Association Coiffure Québec.
Photo COURTESY
The latter maintains that tips represent a significant part of hairdressers’ salaries.
“Tipping has a significant impact. For some, it can represent 20-25% of income,” he estimates.
Not against tipping
Camille, who has been working as a hairdresser for eight years, says she is not against tipping, whether in the hairdressing industry or elsewhere.
Photo AMANDA MOISAN/QMI Agency
“I’m not saying to hairdressers, come on, why do you take the tip, not at all. It’s cultural, it’s how it works. It’s just a different way that I’ve set up my business,” she explains, specifying that her colleagues, who practice in her salon, ask for the tip.
The young woman recently decided to share her reasoning on social networks and the video has reached nearly 135,000 views.
“My video is not intended to be moralistic, but more explanatory,” she concludes.
