Tipping Providers

[moonlight]

Does anyone have different tipping practices when it comes to masseurs vs. deli providers?

For some reason it feels awkward for me not to tip after a massage, probably because I've received so many therapeutic ones at established spas where tipping is always an expectation. With a deli encounter I don't feel that same baseline pressure.

[TorontoDrew]

I have stopped tipping every time.  Now it is only my regular or for an outstanding time.  no more tipping for normal service.  At $300 to $350 an hour it's already a lot of money.

I'd be more inclined to tip for a multi hour session where the second hour is discounted.

[Ali Gator]

11 hours ago, moonlight said:

Does anyone have different tipping practices when it comes to masseurs vs. deli providers?

Deli providers ? No, I never tip the butcher who slices my deli meat at the supermarket. 😂

[mike carey]

21 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

Deli providers ? No, I never tip the butcher who slices my deli meat at the supermarket. 😂

I'm glad you didn't say, '... slices my meat ...'!

[Ali Gator]

1 hour ago, mike carey said:

I'm glad you didn't say, '... slices my meat ...'!

I wouldn't tip a Rabbi, either. 

[mike carey]

Two tips would be excessive.

[+ ApexNomad]

9 minutes ago, mike carey said:

Two tips would be excessive.

I'm glad you didn't say, “… snips….”

[pubic_assistance]

On 1/2/2025 at 8:51 AM, moonlight said:

Does anyone have different tipping practices when it comes to masseurs vs. deli providers?

An escort typically charges a relatively high fee already for an hour of his time...so I don't feel obligated to tip unless he went above and beyond in his efforts. Then it's 20% to 25% .

A masseur is charging less and sometimes adds more intimate services that aren't included in his fee...so definitely owed a tip...sometimes even a significant amount if the session goes from massage to full escort. In that case minimum $100 additional.

[Guest]

This topic has been on my mind since I'm on my way to get a massage from a new masseur (not on RM or MF. It is a professional massage only.)

Feel free to "school me" if I am missing something, but I get the impression that tipping is an expectation for a massage, and I don't understand that. I'm paying this person over 100 bucks for a single hour.

I understand tipping if the service itself was exceptional and you want to show your gratitude. But a tip being expected doesn't make sense to me when you're already making around $120 an hour.

Yes, I know that there are massage oils and other supplies, plus set up and tear down, washing the sheets, etc. And they're charging for their expertise and skill. And sometimes providers know some very interesting massage techniques.

But still 😂

[MscleLovr]

33 minutes ago, Angel-Ayy said:

a tip being expected doesn't make sense to me when you're already making around $120 an hour.

I guess it depends on where you live or, more precisely, on where you’re obtaining the massage.

I’m rather ‘old school’ about gratuities. It makes sense to me to be generous

(1) when any service-provider goes ‘above and beyond’ to ensure that I receive excellent service.

(2) equally it’s unnecessary to tip if the service is routine AND the service-provider is an individual who sets the rates. (I was brought up NOT to tip a business-owner as it was considered then to be insulting).

(3) If the service is only OK but the provider is working in a spa or hotel where the establishment collects the rate, I’d add a routine gratuity. If the service is bad, however, I’d leave a zero tip…and I’m prepared to tell the provider why.

[boafriend]

On 1/2/2025 at 1:55 PM, TorontoDrew said:

I have stopped tipping every time.  Now it is only my regular or for an outstanding time.  no more tipping for normal service.  At $300 to $350 an hour it's already a lot of money.

I'd be more inclined to tip for a multi hour session where the second hour is discounted.

I would agree too. I have tipped in the past because I've felt pressured. But thinking back now, the prices are insane....there shouldn't be anything more expected. The price is high because they're doing more than a massage.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I'll leave a tip when the escort goes over time

[MuscSami]

I’ve done escorting now in several countries. I think it really depends on the culture of the area in which you’re providing the service. For example, in the UK people are fortunately unambiguously direct with their prices. This goes with everything from restaurants, supermarkets, and escorts. What you see is what you pay. It can become a little greyer in parts of Asia. In Taiwan where I did most of my work, you may find some providers on sites offering the same high quality service for an extremely reduced price. I would implore any people who are travelling to those places to keep in mind that for some people it’s because they genuinely don’t know their worth and / or because they’re desperate. In those cases please tip something. It can mean a great deal to them. I can’t speak on the US really because I’ve only operated there for a few weeks. Not long enough to make any kind of informed decision so I’ll leave that to the experts.

[Chien Andalou]

Here is a bit of back of the envelope math. It obviously oversimplifies everything to make the point.
 

Most of the escorts ask for at least $300 for a 1-hr session. In things like consulting, the rate is generally based on a 2000 hour work year (50 40-hr weeks). At $300/hour you’re trending to $600k annually-so on par with partners in a successful law firm. Even an escort who sees one client a day, five days a week will gross $75k/yr. The US median income is around $62k, so a guy working one hour per day earns 20% more than that. 
 

Theoretically at least, doing massage is less taxing on one’s body than escorting. Assuming a masseur charges $200, that still averages out to a $400k salary. Assuming he sees 2 clients per day, that is $100k a year. 
 

So, no. I generally do not tip at these rates. If someone goes above and beyond and their rate is reasonable, I may round up. I may also give an occasional gift or help out in a crisis.
 

Lastly, when I travel to other countries and meet gorgeous, friendly men who ask for a pittance, I will always give them a tip. Those few extra bucks mean nothing to me but will help them. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

1 hour ago, Chien Andalou said:

Here is a bit of back of the envelope math. It obviously oversimplifies everything to make the point.
 

Most of the escorts ask for at least $300 for a 1-hr session. In things like consulting, the rate is generally based on a 2000 hour work year (50 40-hr weeks). At $300/hour you’re trending to $600k annually-so on par with partners in a successful law firm. Even an escort who sees one client a day, five days a week will gross $75k/yr. The US median income is around $62k, so a guy working one hour per day earns 20% more than that. 
 

Theoretically at least, doing massage is less taxing on one’s body than escorting. Assuming a masseur charges $200, that still averages out to a $400k salary. Assuming he sees 2 clients per day, that is $100k a year. 

Salary of escorts and masseurs have been discussed and theorized for years on this website.  The result is always the same: no providers willing to share their income, and no guidance either way other than no two situations are identical. 

But remember, unlike your consultant scenario above who is likely to command higher pay at age 55 than 25, that's not typical in the escort industry.  Men who devote themselves full time to this career, as you theorize, jeopardize their future in other ways by not gaining paid experience in another industry to help them move up the corporate ladder when the time comes to transition out of escorting into something different.  So, even if a man receives a healthy income escorting while young, he must be prudent to save and invest close to half of it, thereby living below his "peers"  and possibly below the median for a considerable amount of time.

To bring the topic back to tipping: I don't tip based on what I perceive someone's income to be, or what I think his net income might be.  My decision to tip is based on the service, and based on how pricing was set (I don't tip an owner of a business who sets his own prices, but I do tip his staff who provide me personal service at the rates set by the boss).

[Chien Andalou]

1 hour ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

Salary of escorts and masseurs have been discussed and theorized for years on this website.  The result is always the same: no providers willing to share their income, and no guidance either way other than no two situations are identical. 

But remember, unlike your consultant scenario above who is likely to command higher pay at age 55 than 25, that's not typical in the escort industry.  Men who devote themselves full time to this career, as you theorize, jeopardize their future in other ways by not gaining paid experience in another industry to help them move up the corporate ladder when the time comes to transition out of escorting into something different.  So, even if a man receives a healthy income escorting while young, he must be prudent to save and invest close to half of it, thereby living below his "peers"  and possibly below the median for a considerable amount of time.

To bring the topic back to tipping: I don't tip based on what I perceive someone's income to be, or what I think his net income might be.  My decision to tip is based on the service, and based on how pricing was set (I don't tip an owner of a business who sets his own prices, but I do tip his staff who provide me personal service at the rates set by the boss).

My point was that we’re already paying them a lot. I personally don’t feel a need to give them more. 

[mtaabq]

I need to thank everyone for ALL of the opinions that have been expressed on this matter. I'm always torn about tipping providers when I'm already shelling out $300 an hour.  I will admit I tend to go the "gift" route - gifts of nice underwear, new jockstraps or good chocolates. In larger cities when I know that a provider is driving to me I have given gas station gift cards. If a provider has taken a cab or used Uber/Lyft I might throw in a few bucks extra to off-set that expense. But "tipping"? No. 

[Mark_in_SF]

On 1/2/2025 at 7:17 PM, mike carey said:

Two tips would be excessive.

I guess tritip isn't on the menu then.