ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — “This is our biggest money-making time of the year.” Maria Garvey, a self-employed hair stylist at Salon Lofts in St. Pete, says the holidays bring in a lot of clients...and a lot of potentially big tips.
She factors holiday tips into her potential earnings, and she knows a lot of stylists rely on seasonal gratuities to pay bills and feed their kids: “It’s not easy, especially this line of work, doing it on your own.”
Tampa Bay’s own etiquette expert Patricia Rossi, the author of best-seller “Everyday Etiquette,” says holiday tips should be a warm thank-you for hard work performed all year round.
Cash should be given in an envelope with a thank-you note; cash should never just be handed over.
Here are some recommended holiday tips for people in the service industry:
-A hairstylist like Maria: $20-$50 of the price of a full session
-Favorite babysitter: an evening’s pay and/or a gift from the kids
-Regular yard workers and house cleaners: $20-$50
-Postal workers aren’t legally allowed to accept cash... but they can accept a gift that’s worth up to $20
-For a dog walker or groomer, standard tip is the price of one full session. But Jessica Montero, a pet sitter/dog walker with J.Tails Pet Concierge, also likes more thoughtful creative acknowledgment. “We become part of the extended family, so people leave us wine, lottery tickets.”
