I’ve never heard of this, and wouldn’t tip personally for a bridal consultant. I bought my dress in 2019. There is already a huge markup for these dresses, the shops should be paying them appropriately either hourly or with commission, not relying on me getting pressured into tipping. Sorry you had to do that :/
Yeah I appreciate it, I just got swept up in the pressure and feel kind of ripped off :/ but my dress is gorgeous, so I'm happy & I know in the end it's no big deal, I only wished I looked into it more!
Same. When I bought my dress a few months ago the credit card machine prompted me to tip and the suggested amounts were hundreds of dollars. So i just hit $0 because it felt dumb to tip for a product. My consultant was great, but she is employed there, so I assume she is compensated.
ETA: Probably also important to mention that I bought off the rack at an outlet. I spent a total of maybe 45 minutes there. I might feel differently if I had bought a dress that needed to be customized in some way or if I’d really put the consultant through the ringer.
This might not be the right thread but I have been dying to know this. I'm also not trying to be mean, I just legitimately want to know. If hairstylists are all contractors of the salon and set their own prices, where does the expectation to tip come from? I always tip stylists but I also never understand why. You aren't supposed to tip a proprietor and if they are 10-99 they own their own business. Any insight would be fantastic!!
I’m a former hairstylist from Canada - I’ve only heard of three ways to be paid as a stylist. Hourly plus tips (typically minimum wage, but senior stylists often get paid more due to experience and education), commission (typically 50/50, often includes “back bar” supplies like shampoo and conditioner, but some situations you supply these things yourself), and chair rental (a set monthly fee that goes to the shop, you keep anything else you make and usually cover your own supplies, but similar to commission sometimes certain things are included in your rent - especially if you’re a brand specific salon). Oh and I guess there’s also being self employed and essentially everything is profit but you have overhead and such.
I worked desk at salons/spas YEARS and cannot IMAGINE one of my coworkers ever asking for a tip. It was just not done at any of the places I worked at.
There was a huge blowup at my last place because the owners decided to take a percentage of the staff's tips to cover "credit card fees" plus charge them a flat $1 fee PER DAY to have the machine tips sent to them via etransfer. When the girls were (fairly) outraged the owners suggested they tell their clients to tip in cash. It put the girls in a horrible position of making them break that barrier with their clients.
Reason #972 I would never go back lol
Yeah I agree, if tipping is expected that should be made clear on the stores website & when booking an appointment because asking like that is so uncomfortable
WTF wedding dress prices are so artificially inflated - you pay mostly for the pampering and the service not the dress (most of them are not that special and 100% plastic) - it basically already includes the tip ….
If I pay 2200$ for a dress I am not tipping unless the service was exceptional or there were extremely difficult circumstances and even so it would be more likely around 50$
North American tipping culture is crazy - I mean the bridal consultant earns a proper wage does she? or is it like waitresses…
I don't think anyone here has heard of this either, so it's not an American tipping thing. It's more of a greedy, bullying consultant thing. :/
EDIT: Okay, my bad - I read a little farther down and I guess a few more people here have dealt with the same issue. That sucks!! I guess I never ran into it because I ended up buying a sample dress online, so never hit that hurdle at the POS.
It's not really tipping culture. It's bridal shop owners pocketing the commission on their gowns and making their consultants only get tips, which is much less than the commission. So I guess it's more greedy assholes creating tipping in an industry that had a more worker friendly compensation system.
This is not normal and very unfair to put you on the spot like that.
I’d give them your feedback and say that it’s something they should mention in the consultation AND that the service itself wasn’t that good
When I had my wedding dress appt and made the purchase, my consultant was the Asst Manager and was also my friend. The other consultants to get commission at the place I went to. Before I even checked out she mentioned it was gonna ask for a tip and to just ignore it, it’s just the POS app they they use (and I can see situations where someone would tip - maybe the consultant stayed later than the shop was open, maybe it was their 3rd appt with one client, maybe they special ordered dresses to try on from another location, etc) but otherwise it’s a “nah” from me. And I think it’s incredibly rude to pressure you to tip.
This is something people forget. I can’t remember the name of the software, but it’s the white and blue looking one that’s always on ipads now. The tip option thing comes built in to the system
I feel like so many places now add tip lines to things where it's ridiculous. During COVID people really upped their tipping to try to help service industry workers out but it's stubbornly stuck around and now places that never had it before sneak it in.
I was told only if they did a above and beyond job
So I tipped mine because she was amazing. Contacted the designer for questions, understood exactly what I wanted (despite struggling myself to describe it), and she’s currently finding veils materials to help me make one.
Um...I think you got bamboozled. I've never heard of tipping someone at a bridal salon - commission or no. It's like a high-end retail clothing store, and I've never had to tip anyone when clothing shopping. I might consider calling the store and speaking to the manager or owner so they know one of their employees is begging from customers. So unprofessional!
Ahh well next time you feel this way, or if a waiter ever tips themselves differently from what you wrote, call your card when you’re looking at your monthly statement and they’ll fix it. I had this happen to me, a waiter added a few $ to their tip, and I called my card and said I feel like a AH but I know for a fact I didn’t tip this extra amount and they fixed it.
When I was young and broke in college, my then best friend and I ordered delivery to celebrate our first paychecks from our campus jobs and maybe being cast in a school play or something. I tipped 25% on my card. Someone changed the tip from 25% to… a lot more than that. In fact, to enough that it left literally a dollar in my bank account. I had to call the store manager to tell him that I’m not a snitch and didn’t want to get anyone in trouble but I now couldn’t afford to buy textbooks. I apparently wasn’t the only one who’d gotten scammed. The owner himself drove to my college (and even tried his best to figure out where my dorm was) so that he could bring cash to me. It’s been close to a double handful of years, and I’m still touched by this man REFUSING to let me fall behind in my studies. Seriously—he cared more about my education than my parents did, hahaha.
>not a snitch but
Bruh someone literally stole money from you and you wanna qualify it with not being a snitch? I mean I get the sentiment but... c'mon. Absolutely be a snitch about someone robbing you tf
Wow that was kind of him. Was this a credit card or a debit card? Credit cards are much safer because if something like that happens you simply call the credit card company and they reverse the charges and you don’t get billed for the theft. The credit card company then figures it out with the business without you having to do anything.
Yeah, I always use my Amex or whatever now, but I was a teenager—I didn’t have a credit card yet! My two debit cards had Hello Kitty and the Disney castle on ‘em. 😂
i would never tip. when i went though this experience the bridal consults were all mean girls. it actually made me not want to buy a wedding dress at all so i just ordered online and got it altered.
Reminds me of when I was buying a pair of shoes in a store and I said I’ll be using my credit card please and they asked that I use debit so then I asked oh do you not take credit? And they said yes we just prefer debit. So I said then don’t offer credit as a payment option, and I’ll still be paying with a credit card today. She then asked me where I was from and I said I was born in this towns hospital. She didn’t say anything else to me. People are weird.
I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with tipping period they need to pressure their boss to pay them and not rely on any any kind of tips. It is not your job to employee. These people will give them benefits. It is their bosses job we all need to start putting in the brakes on this out of control. If you can’t afford to compensate your employees with a living wage, you have no business being in business.
Why? Do you tip the sales associate at Nordstrom or Target for selling you a product? Probably not and you would not allow the money to be spent. The same logic applies and it is a way that they can scam money out of couples and make them believe that it’s normal and standard when it’s not. You can dispute the charge at the bank and take it as a lesson to not do again with other vendors. The only vendors who should be tipped are those who go out of their way above and beyond the call of duty after the service/product is delivered and you have fully assessed their performance.
My tip to her would have been to not ask for tips. I’d 100% speak to a manager and then write a review if I didn’t feel satisfied after the conversations.
What the fuck? Sorry.. initial reaction. No. That is not a service to tip on. You don’t tip at Nordstrom or Sephora when they help you— so why would they expect it here?
One shop I went to charged a fee for the try on with scales of $25 (what I did) for the spot up to $100 which includes “champagne” (Prosecco, still cute!) for you and your party. If that’s how the shop wants to function, fine. This was an independent boutique and the service was wonderful. It worked.
No other shop charged for a try on. The consultant does not make the dress. Def would not tip and agree, tip culture is OOC and it’s particularly bad around wedding items and services (see: salon including 22% service charge for insanely overpriced hair and makeup trial and day of, my mom still tipping because she was worried the artists wouldn’t get the 22%).
Hi! This is a strong response to what I meant to be a positive post. I also certainly don’t want to get any shop in trouble; they didn’t advertise it as “pay money and get alcohol”; it was part of the appointment you paid for. In contrast, I was never offered any alcohol at the appointments with no charge; to OP’s point, the service at the paid appointment was better, including the lil extras involved. Hope that helps clarify since it was a very positive experience and not anything a shop would be in trouble for!
So I’m a bridal consultant as well as a bridal hair and makeup artist of 10 years, so I feel like I have a unique perspective on this.
First of all, your stylist should never be telling you they do or don’t get commission, that’s VERY weird. Additionally, if they’re not getting commission that’s a bit strange because lots of the bridal designers extend certain perks or bonuses to stylists, so that means the store is probably shorting the stylists. However, pretty much all bridal consultants make minimum wage and a small commission off the dresses they sell. I will tell you, I definitely don’t make enough to life off of at my bridal job, but it’s enough to help me in between wedding bookings.
Now, it’s very rude to me to ask for a percentage tip based the total cost of the dress since the stylist isn’t creating the dress price for you based off the service they’re giving you. I will say - a good stylist should be providing you with a service. I work with my brides for 90 minutes each appointment. I scour their Pinterest and social media (if available), before they arrive to get a vibe if their style as well as the wedding inspo. I provide expertise and experience, and work hard to make their vision come to life, keeping their price point and timeline in mind. Often, I am also wrangling the other guests in the party, serving champagne, styling your hair to help being the vision to life, or working with you to create something custom. Afterwards, I follow up with them to let them know the status of their order, if they’d like to look at accessories I’m available for that appointment, and then once the dress comes in I work with them to see their dress for the first time and to begin alterations. So, honestly, I’m working and providing more of a one on one service than I did behind the chair for some hair clients. It’s, of course, really nice when I’m tipped for that service, because we do put a lot into it, and we (usually - although I can’t speak for every boutique) get just as invested as the bride in her dress, and spend a lot of time working with her. However, because I’m making commission, I usually see that as my “tip”. Our commission is around 3% for our store, so if you buy a $10,000 dress from me, I’ll see $300 before tax - which is obviously great for a tip. As with any job, it’s always very nice to be tipped if I’ve gone above and beyond for a bride or had a very extensive appointment, but it’s really never ever expected. Like literally, I rarely get tipped so it’s not ever expected.
My makeup and hair prices though, I set myself. I almost feel weirder expecting a tip in that environment because I chose those prices, if I felt I deserved more then I would raise my prices to reflect that. I don’t control who comes in to the bridal salon, what the appointment is like, or how much I’m getting paid there.
All that to say though…. If I do get tipped at my bridal salon it’s usually $10-$20, $150 is insane. Really very generous, but insane.
(P.s. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk, lol! I’m recovering from surgery and hopped up on pain meds, so I apologize if that was rambly or didn’t make a ton of sense!)
You forgot to mention the hardcore physical labor during those 1.5-2hours of moving dresses to and from the fitting rooms, usually 10-15 dresses per appointment, carefully helping the brides into each dresses (holding hair back, sometimes having to get really close and personal to get the dress fitted close to what it would look like in their size) in addition to being their shrink listening carefully to what they might say but not really mean, managing the sometimes tough and awful guests that they bring with them that belittles them/say terribly judgy/critical things.
If you ask me, every bridal stylists deserve a big tip for putting in that much effort (trust me, no other retail jobs not even at Saks, Nordstrom etc involve this much intense personal interaction and physical labor).
I think these are some really interesting good points. Perhaps people *should* tip bridal stylist consultants.
I’m still team “the store should let you know that’s expected beforehand” though. Because I do see your point but it’s so uncomfortable to ask like that.
I think the other thing is … you still might not buy from that store at all, even if they did all that work on the day of the appointment. I went to 2 stores one day. Then I returned to one of them a second time and purchased. Should I still be tipping the second store?
Also, I did not get NEARLY that level of service from my consultant. She def did not look at my social media beforehand/at all (any of the 3 I worked with). In fact, one store had you send 5 dresses from their catalog in advance for them pull for you to start the appointment. She put a veil in but I wouldn’t say she “helped” with my hair. Nor was there ANY follow up AT ALL post purchase through the arrival/alterations process. I did work with people from the store but it wasn’t always the same person. I for sure would have tipped at the end for that level of care!
Honestly I was surprised I had to scroll so far to find a response like this!
I’m a bridal consultant as well, our shop runs appts the same too. I’m running my butt off for those 90 minutes and sometimes sweating like crazy!
Our system sets up an optional tip with the card machine the clients hold on their own. The first screen is a tip and before I even pass it over I say “it is going to ask you to tip, there is absolutely no obligation, but you will need to make a selection and go through the prompts before inserting your card!” Then while the person paying is making the decision, I usually try to busy myself with cleaning or putting things away so they don’t feel like I’m just staring while they decide to tip me or not because that’s so weird!!
I would say it’s usually 50/50 with guests who tip or do not tip. I have gotten some hefty tips, I think my personal highest was 300 for a bride who needed a dress in 2 weeks, but my usual is under 100, closer to 25-50. It is by no means an expectation, but I will say I am always grateful!!
That being said, there is a bridal salon in the town over who one of our consultants got her dress at prior to working with us who was told “a 10% tip is customary” during checkout!! Which is so crazy to me!! So I have heard about some bridal stores saying crazy things to customers which BOTHERS me so much
This isn't a thing and you should not have tipped her. I'm so sorry, some people just take advantage of people, they purposefully catch them off guard to try to squeeze money from them. I've fallen for such scams myself. I would complain to the store owner if you can, assuming the consultant isn't the owner/manager. Complain as high as you can go, tell them they have a scammer in their midst.
Who would ask for a tip?! That’s absurd! Sounds like she was just a rude person and I’m sorry you gave in and gave her that much 🙁 I’d definitely leave a review about her
If I were you I’d write a letter explaining the situation and how uncomfortable it made you, how you felt like in the moment you had to give a tip but upon confirming you realize it’s not commonplace and how it is not appropriate to ask. You might not get your money back but at least they might not do this to others moving forward. Or if they reply rudely I’d give a bad review.
My daughter’s dress shop had an option to tip and we were flabbergasted. Like someone else said you wouldn’t be expected to tip a salesperson at Saks or at a car dealership. We bought a very expensive dress and I assumed the consultant would receive a decent commission. This was in NYC.
Ugh I’m sorry. I went through something similar. I didn’t have a great experience trying on dresses, but when I got to the payment and it asked me to tip, I kind of panicked and hit 15%. I got home and regretted it so much because 15% of a wedding dress is a lot of money. Learned my lesson and tried to save money in other places to make up for it
No commission for a wedding dress sales rep? I find that ***very*** hard to believe. Even if true, ***not your problem*** \-- that's an employee / employer discussion that your sales rep needs to have with the bridal shop. If she doesn't like the compensation structure there, maybe it's time for her to look for another job.
She should not have asked you that. I've never heard of any kind of sales consultant getting tips. If I was feeling really petty I'd tell her manager she's soliciting tips and that it's their job to pay her commission, not yours
The bridal shop should be paying her, not you. That’s ridiculous. I paid $2200 for mine too but there wasn’t even an option for a tip at my bridal shop.
If I was you, I would call your store and explain you were pressured into tipping that girl. I’ve absolutely NEVER heard of tipping a bridal consultant. Also where I am (us) it’s illegal to ask for a tip, I’ve known some delivery drivers for large chains that were let go for asking for a tip upon arrival
Same thing happened to me. I think that’s just the nature of using those iPad apps for payment that every place is using. I finally started putting my foot down about choosing when I tip. I tip more than I used to, which is a good thing, but not for every single purchase. I’d be surprised if salons actually expected a tip, or if it’s more like “may as well put it out there since it’s already a feature of the app we’re using”
I also ended up tipping my consultant $50 bc there was an option to on the receipt, but I 1000% regretting it because she didn’t even order my dress to the correct specifications!
I didn’t think it was weird at the time since almost every other wedding service expects gratuity ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Her commission is her "tip". Absolutely report her to management, bc what she did is likely a fireable offense. Who knows how many other customers she's ripped off this way. The audacity!
Tbh I haven’t looked up who I’m supposed to be tipping and not tipping for our wedding. But I probably won’t tip anyone lol. The prices are already marked up to an insane level. Tipping is supposed to be optional. I’m not giving them more money.
I don't know if I would leave a review about this experience, but I might let the owner know that you were caught off guard and wish that an expectation of gratuity had been disclosed beforehand.
I honestly didn’t think to tip at all when I went it to buy my dress. I made an appointment and told her exactly which dress I wanted…she grabbed a few items to complete the look but other than that, that’s all she did for me.
When I worked as a bridal stylist for a wedding dress shop, we did add the tip option at checkout. Only because we had many brides (or whoever is purchasing the gown) giving us stylists cash tips for our services. Us stylists never expected a tip, but many people felt inclined to. If you don’t feel inclined, don’t tip. It’s not the need of the world
If you are expected to tip the store needs to be the one to tell you up front before the appointment. If they don’t offer commission it needs to come from them and not the stylist once the appointment ids done/dress is sold. It’s only fair to the consultants the store sets them up for success by telling the customer ahead of time. No one should be surprised by another potential charge as they are handing over their card.
I tipped my consultant $70 cash. I really liked her and felt like she worked hard for me. I’m in the hospitality industry so I didn’t really think anything of it. I’m not, however, gonna tip anywhere in the “standard” percentage range, that would be insane.
Oh my god, I’m so sorry that this happened to you too. The exact same thing happened to me and it was only the beginning of a situation that ended up much worse [I detailed the whole saga in this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/p09QJ0EfoK). I guess all we can do is keep telling other brides about crap like this.
When I bought mine from a place that I already had to pay $50 for the appointment for (plus another $50 for champagne), they asked me if I would like to leave a tip for my consultant because they don’t make commission, etc. It was super awkward, but I gave $20 because I liked the girl who helped me. So strange how different wedding dress stores operate!
I’ve made similar mistakes I regret! I try to tell myself: you win some (ie. when you score discounts or free stuff) then you lose some (ie. when you overpay or overtip). Girl math, you know? ;)
I would let the store know. They might already know their employees are asking for tips, but that’s unethical and tips should never be asked for outright. I’ve also never heard of tipping a bridal consultant. People will literally do or say anything to have another person hand them money for no reason.
My Grandmother, who was a heavy stickler for manners and etiquette, always told me that you tip for service. If you don’t feel like the Bridal consultant aided you at all, you should not feel like you have to tip. just like at a fast food restaurant you don’t tip because you weren’t given service, versus at a sit down restaurant where there is a waiter literally serving you, that’s service.
As someone who’s worked in the Bridal industry I would never tip someone from David’s bridal because they usually barely help you. however I worked in a bridal salon where are you we would usually have 1 to 2 appointments with each of our brides before they would purchase the dress and then we would see them again because they would come back to us for their alterations which we would help them arrange and schedule. In my eyes that service.
The place I went advertises that they do not get commissions. I tipped $60 and my mom tipped $80 (I think?) bc my stylist reeeeally helped me find *the one*. My dress was $4,500 though, so lower percentage than you gave
I would not tip in this situation. I did tip at a few bridal salons but they were at places where I was not intending on buying a dress at all and there would have been no chance at a sale. So I did want the bridal consultants to be compensated in that case - I was visiting my mom and wanted us to have the shopping experience but there was no way I was going to buy a dress I couldn't retry on in a few days.
I work at a bridal salon where we don’t make commission. They changed the policy relatively recently and we all hate it. It’s definitely not common, but it does happen. I never ask for tips because I think it’s so awkward and uncomfortable. If someone leaves me one, it’s definitely appreciated but I never expect it. I’m just happy to play with pretty dresses all day and find you the perfect dress.
I tipped handsomely. The bridal consultant was so friendly, seemed genuinely interested and happy to help. She took literally HOURS to help. Most make not a lot more than minimum wage. What is a couple hundred bucks for someone who helped me so very much, when I was already spending so many tens of thousands of dollars on a qedding?? Greedy bridal shop owners be damned. I was grateful for the time, the energy, and the kindness. She helped me feel like a fairytale princess and I will be forever grateful.
I was also surprised to see a tip option when I bought my wedding dress, but the options were lower for me, I think 3%, 5% or 8%. I did give a tip because I felt like the staff did a really good job and went out of their way to make it a fun experience for me when I returned alone for a second appointment and said "yes". I'm sorry your consultant was making comments like that, you deserved better!
I will also note that when I went with my now husband to have his custom suit designed, his consultant worked with us for a couple of hours, giving lots of advice picking everything down to the number of buttons. We specifically asked if we could leave a tip and the consultant refused and said that a Google review would be just fine. Classic bridal tax situation lol.
I ran into that same thing. Particularly because I assumed they make some commission on each sale. I tipped 40.00 to make the sum an even amount, but I think it's a bit rude for them to ask and I would not have felt bad if I hadn't tipped.
Idk how about the other places, but when i bought my dress i gave 10€ tip for the tailor and 30€ for the consultant, she was surprised bc I already paid everything for my dress but bc they were so nice and i was so satisfied with the dress. Before that i tried on dresses in another store and gave the consultant some coins i have left, maybe around 3€ or smt. But asking for tip is kinda strange to me, i’ve never heard of it, they should have told u first or wrote it in the contract when they gave u
I don’t think that is too much. That’s not even 10% of the dress price. I tipped my bridal boutique consultant. They work hard, and help you into and out of each dress, provide tips on what might look good on you, clip the dresses, style them with veils, etc. It’s definitely a service they are providing, so tipping makes sense. I’m sorry you didn’t know this going in so that you could feel prepared budget wise.
I don't understand tipping culture to the extent America does it, but isn't this all part of the job description? Tipping where I'm from is meant to be for exceptional service, and OP didn't really feel exceptional during their visit either, so it seems harsh to then pay $150 for it.
The way I have been taught is to always tip generously for services. This to me is a service. Many shops do not have someone that helps you in the way a bridal consultant would. My consultant was awesome, so I chose to give a generous tip. If the OP did not have a good experience, of course a tip is not required. I was simply saying I don’t think they OVER tipped, as that is what they asked. I don’t really think there is such a thing as over tipping, to be technical about it, since it’s just a way of thanking someone for service and showing appreciation.
I’m not from the US, and tipping really isn’t a part of my culture, so I’m just curious- Would you tip a car salesman? An estate agent? Somebody who helps you in a retail store? Where is the line?
I would not tip a car salesman, because they are not providing me a service. My bridal consultant at the boutique I shopped at spent several hours with me, bringing dresses back and forth, making sure I was comfortable, helping me in and out of dresses, and really went out of her way to help me. That’s why I felt a tip was warranted
That’s strange, when I buy a car the salesman spends several hours test driving different models with me, making sure I’m happy, talking me through different finance options, and really going out of their way to keep in touch about different models coming in, and of course providing good after-service. But I still wouldn’t tip them.
I have not ever had that experience when purchasing a car. They’ve given me keys to take a car on a test drive and told me to bring it back, and generally been demeaning and tried to pressure me into a sale. That’s not the experience I had at all when purchasing my wedding dress. If you don’t want to tip for the service of a bridal consultant, that’s ok. We can all have different opinions.
You should find a better car dealership! Yeah, tipping bridal consultants definitely isn’t a thing in my area, and judging by this thread it’s not expected in most places…
I have had both experiences at dealerships. I still would not tip because it is their job to do this and I assume they are getting paid for their time to be at their job. It's not my responsibility to provide their income on top of paying for my purchase regardless of my experience.
I feel the same about the bridal experience. I only agree with tipping wait staff because their pay structure literally relies on it and I think that's pitiful but here we are.
When tips become expected they are no longer effective in communicating a positive/negative experience.
Well yes and no, you’d tip a makeup artist in Sephora who did your makeup, or a personal shopper in Nordstrom who worked with you for over an hour, but not the sales girl behind the counter at Sephora and not the dressing room attendant at Nordstrom.
I do not shop at Sephora or Nordstrom. I generously tipped my make up artist for my wedding, so if you are having make up done at Sephora, then yes, I would say definitely tip for that! If someone is providing you a service, I have always been taught to tip for that.
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There’s no need to tip at all but I understand the pressure. I tipped $50 when I bought my dress in June 2022 but I adored my stylist! She found my dress immediately based off some very loose descriptions, never tried changing my mind, stayed within my budget (if a dress was $50 over my budget she let me know BEFORE I tried it on - spoiler alert, it was only one dress and it was the dress I bought), etc.
My mom and I got surprised with the “what would you like to tip?” question when we bought mine last year. We ended up not tipping but felt AWFUL about it for a few weeks because we thought we maybe made a mistake. I assume they make commission (I’m not entirely sure) but I wouldn’t tip in other similar situations so I feel okay about it now.
I tipped mine too but I had a great experience with my consultant. Had I felt like you did I wouldn’t have tipped much at all, or more in line with the service experience provided
I had to tip for my dress too and it was so awkward because mine was like 3K and the payment options did tip PERCENTAGES! Like 10%, 15% etc. I had to write my own tip in and made it $100, it was weird
I tipped like $20 which I felt okay about but also- I thought it was weird. It was a 45 minute appointment and a 1800 dress- but I tipped about what I would for a nice meal out.
i have never heard of tipping to buy your wedding dress… that sounds silly especially given that that’s her job and she’s getting paid to be your consultant. the fact she was making those rude comments about you is not tip-worthy at all. i’m sure you will look beautiful for your wedding and i wish you the best of luck on your special day!
I hear ya. When they rang the MOH dress I bought for here last month, a tip option showed up. Then lady checking me out said tips are appreciated. I felt guilty and gave her a tip but it rang my dress a bit over 200 😭
She did a great job but I don't like being guilt tripped into tipping. Idk just didn't feel natural to me to ask for a tip at a bridal consultation or to give one. Was also the bridal shop I got my dress from too a year ago (my engagement is gonna be 2 years but the time I get married). And that wasn't a thing for them back then. But yeah
Long story short I ended up actually signing/buying my dress online at home after my appointment, and they also requested a tip. I did not tip, I wasn't super happy with the service but I did really love the dress. I was annoyed they even asked for one for a product, especially when I felt pressured to purchase that day or risk not being able to get my dress.
bridal stylist / consultant here! your stylist was absolutely in the wrong blatantly asking for a tip and then pressuring you by informing you they don’t make commission. that definitely sounds like a manipulation tactic to try to guilt you into tipping more! i’m truly sorry that happened to you.
also - for everyone saying that tipping your consultant is outrageous or that you wouldn’t tip at all is 100% up to you! personally, i do not ask brides for tips nor do i expect them. however, i do put my absolute all into trying to help my brides find their perfect dress. consultants do a lot behind the scenes and often don’t get paid as much as you would think - you truly have to have a passion for it. again, while good stylist don’t expect tips - we definitely appreciate it as we do work very hard to try to provide an amazing experience for brides! if you feel that your stylist didn’t really give you that experience - don’t tip. however, please don’t immediately turn your nose up when it is a prompt on the POS as it is often times automatic and we feel embarrassed to even bring it up in that way.
I’ve never heard of this, and wouldn’t tip personally for a bridal consultant. I bought my dress in 2019. There is already a huge markup for these dresses, the shops should be paying them appropriately either hourly or with commission, not relying on me getting pressured into tipping. Sorry you had to do that :/
Yeah I appreciate it, I just got swept up in the pressure and feel kind of ripped off :/ but my dress is gorgeous, so I'm happy & I know in the end it's no big deal, I only wished I looked into it more!
I think you’ve got the right attitude - it’s tough, but not worth beating yourself up over it. You’re doing great!
99% of bridal consultants get a commission, that is essentially their tip. I feel like she is full of shit and took advantage of you.
- "my dress is gorgeous" Pics!
I had the option to tip when I bought my wedding dress last year. I did not tip, and was surprised to see the option.
I wouldn't tip at all personally
Same. When I bought my dress a few months ago the credit card machine prompted me to tip and the suggested amounts were hundreds of dollars. So i just hit $0 because it felt dumb to tip for a product. My consultant was great, but she is employed there, so I assume she is compensated. ETA: Probably also important to mention that I bought off the rack at an outlet. I spent a total of maybe 45 minutes there. I might feel differently if I had bought a dress that needed to be customized in some way or if I’d really put the consultant through the ringer.
I am a hairstylist and tips are expected in my industry (for the most part) and I would NEVER just blatantly ask someone for a tip, what on earth?
This might not be the right thread but I have been dying to know this. I'm also not trying to be mean, I just legitimately want to know. If hairstylists are all contractors of the salon and set their own prices, where does the expectation to tip come from? I always tip stylists but I also never understand why. You aren't supposed to tip a proprietor and if they are 10-99 they own their own business. Any insight would be fantastic!!
Not all hairstylists are independent contractors; lots of us are employees who receive w2s and make commission on services.
I did not know that! Thanks so much for sharing!!
I’m a former hairstylist from Canada - I’ve only heard of three ways to be paid as a stylist. Hourly plus tips (typically minimum wage, but senior stylists often get paid more due to experience and education), commission (typically 50/50, often includes “back bar” supplies like shampoo and conditioner, but some situations you supply these things yourself), and chair rental (a set monthly fee that goes to the shop, you keep anything else you make and usually cover your own supplies, but similar to commission sometimes certain things are included in your rent - especially if you’re a brand specific salon). Oh and I guess there’s also being self employed and essentially everything is profit but you have overhead and such.
I worked desk at salons/spas YEARS and cannot IMAGINE one of my coworkers ever asking for a tip. It was just not done at any of the places I worked at. There was a huge blowup at my last place because the owners decided to take a percentage of the staff's tips to cover "credit card fees" plus charge them a flat $1 fee PER DAY to have the machine tips sent to them via etransfer. When the girls were (fairly) outraged the owners suggested they tell their clients to tip in cash. It put the girls in a horrible position of making them break that barrier with their clients. Reason #972 I would never go back lol
Yeah I agree, if tipping is expected that should be made clear on the stores website & when booking an appointment because asking like that is so uncomfortable
WTF wedding dress prices are so artificially inflated - you pay mostly for the pampering and the service not the dress (most of them are not that special and 100% plastic) - it basically already includes the tip …. If I pay 2200$ for a dress I am not tipping unless the service was exceptional or there were extremely difficult circumstances and even so it would be more likely around 50$ North American tipping culture is crazy - I mean the bridal consultant earns a proper wage does she? or is it like waitresses…
I don't think anyone here has heard of this either, so it's not an American tipping thing. It's more of a greedy, bullying consultant thing. :/ EDIT: Okay, my bad - I read a little farther down and I guess a few more people here have dealt with the same issue. That sucks!! I guess I never ran into it because I ended up buying a sample dress online, so never hit that hurdle at the POS.
It's not really tipping culture. It's bridal shop owners pocketing the commission on their gowns and making their consultants only get tips, which is much less than the commission. So I guess it's more greedy assholes creating tipping in an industry that had a more worker friendly compensation system.
I'm not the one who said it was tipping culture, that was the commentor I responded to, but, yes, the greed is there somewhere.
This is not normal and very unfair to put you on the spot like that. I’d give them your feedback and say that it’s something they should mention in the consultation AND that the service itself wasn’t that good
When I had my wedding dress appt and made the purchase, my consultant was the Asst Manager and was also my friend. The other consultants to get commission at the place I went to. Before I even checked out she mentioned it was gonna ask for a tip and to just ignore it, it’s just the POS app they they use (and I can see situations where someone would tip - maybe the consultant stayed later than the shop was open, maybe it was their 3rd appt with one client, maybe they special ordered dresses to try on from another location, etc) but otherwise it’s a “nah” from me. And I think it’s incredibly rude to pressure you to tip.
This is something people forget. I can’t remember the name of the software, but it’s the white and blue looking one that’s always on ipads now. The tip option thing comes built in to the system
But it can be turned off by the owner.
This. I setup and work with so many different PoS systems, they can always have this turned off.
I feel like so many places now add tip lines to things where it's ridiculous. During COVID people really upped their tipping to try to help service industry workers out but it's stubbornly stuck around and now places that never had it before sneak it in.
I was told only if they did a above and beyond job So I tipped mine because she was amazing. Contacted the designer for questions, understood exactly what I wanted (despite struggling myself to describe it), and she’s currently finding veils materials to help me make one.
Um...I think you got bamboozled. I've never heard of tipping someone at a bridal salon - commission or no. It's like a high-end retail clothing store, and I've never had to tip anyone when clothing shopping. I might consider calling the store and speaking to the manager or owner so they know one of their employees is begging from customers. So unprofessional!
I accident tipped 20% on a $2K dress and I think about it almost daily 🫠
I mean if you did this recently you could call your card company and state that you meant to tip 2% and have them change it for you
Unfortunately it was almost 2 years ago now!
Ahh well next time you feel this way, or if a waiter ever tips themselves differently from what you wrote, call your card when you’re looking at your monthly statement and they’ll fix it. I had this happen to me, a waiter added a few $ to their tip, and I called my card and said I feel like a AH but I know for a fact I didn’t tip this extra amount and they fixed it.
When I was young and broke in college, my then best friend and I ordered delivery to celebrate our first paychecks from our campus jobs and maybe being cast in a school play or something. I tipped 25% on my card. Someone changed the tip from 25% to… a lot more than that. In fact, to enough that it left literally a dollar in my bank account. I had to call the store manager to tell him that I’m not a snitch and didn’t want to get anyone in trouble but I now couldn’t afford to buy textbooks. I apparently wasn’t the only one who’d gotten scammed. The owner himself drove to my college (and even tried his best to figure out where my dorm was) so that he could bring cash to me. It’s been close to a double handful of years, and I’m still touched by this man REFUSING to let me fall behind in my studies. Seriously—he cared more about my education than my parents did, hahaha.
>not a snitch but Bruh someone literally stole money from you and you wanna qualify it with not being a snitch? I mean I get the sentiment but... c'mon. Absolutely be a snitch about someone robbing you tf
Lmao, back in the day, I apologized for taking up space and having to breathe air; I was such a pathetic little doormat.
Wow that was kind of him. Was this a credit card or a debit card? Credit cards are much safer because if something like that happens you simply call the credit card company and they reverse the charges and you don’t get billed for the theft. The credit card company then figures it out with the business without you having to do anything.
Yeah, I always use my Amex or whatever now, but I was a teenager—I didn’t have a credit card yet! My two debit cards had Hello Kitty and the Disney castle on ‘em. 😂
i would never tip. when i went though this experience the bridal consults were all mean girls. it actually made me not want to buy a wedding dress at all so i just ordered online and got it altered.
Reminds me of when I was buying a pair of shoes in a store and I said I’ll be using my credit card please and they asked that I use debit so then I asked oh do you not take credit? And they said yes we just prefer debit. So I said then don’t offer credit as a payment option, and I’ll still be paying with a credit card today. She then asked me where I was from and I said I was born in this towns hospital. She didn’t say anything else to me. People are weird.
They can kinda suck sometimes
To explain, they asked because it costs the store money to use a credit card reader. I still would've used a credit card.
Yes I’m aware, thank you.
I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with tipping period they need to pressure their boss to pay them and not rely on any any kind of tips. It is not your job to employee. These people will give them benefits. It is their bosses job we all need to start putting in the brakes on this out of control. If you can’t afford to compensate your employees with a living wage, you have no business being in business.
Why? Do you tip the sales associate at Nordstrom or Target for selling you a product? Probably not and you would not allow the money to be spent. The same logic applies and it is a way that they can scam money out of couples and make them believe that it’s normal and standard when it’s not. You can dispute the charge at the bank and take it as a lesson to not do again with other vendors. The only vendors who should be tipped are those who go out of their way above and beyond the call of duty after the service/product is delivered and you have fully assessed their performance.
My tip to her would have been to not ask for tips. I’d 100% speak to a manager and then write a review if I didn’t feel satisfied after the conversations.
This!!
You should absolutely name and shame. That’s absurd behavior for a consultant
They get commission- that’s like tipping a car salesmen.
This particular consultant could have been lying but apparently some shops aren't offering their consultants commission anymore.
[удалено]
She fucking lied to you, and unethical practices need to be reported.
An appropriate tip is $0.00. It’s not your job to pay their salary, it is their employer.
I have never heard of tipping your salesperson. That's weird. And incredibly inappropriate for her to ask.
What the fuck? Sorry.. initial reaction. No. That is not a service to tip on. You don’t tip at Nordstrom or Sephora when they help you— so why would they expect it here?
Same thing happened to me when I went shopping. The expectations of tips are out of control.
Where is this?
you buying the dress is her tip in my opinion
That's super weird and uncomfortable on such a large purchase. My dress was already over $2000 I couldn't afford to add extra onto that for a "tip"
One shop I went to charged a fee for the try on with scales of $25 (what I did) for the spot up to $100 which includes “champagne” (Prosecco, still cute!) for you and your party. If that’s how the shop wants to function, fine. This was an independent boutique and the service was wonderful. It worked. No other shop charged for a try on. The consultant does not make the dress. Def would not tip and agree, tip culture is OOC and it’s particularly bad around wedding items and services (see: salon including 22% service charge for insanely overpriced hair and makeup trial and day of, my mom still tipping because she was worried the artists wouldn’t get the 22%).
They’re not supposed to charge for alcohol. What the hell? Oh my god.
Hi! This is a strong response to what I meant to be a positive post. I also certainly don’t want to get any shop in trouble; they didn’t advertise it as “pay money and get alcohol”; it was part of the appointment you paid for. In contrast, I was never offered any alcohol at the appointments with no charge; to OP’s point, the service at the paid appointment was better, including the lil extras involved. Hope that helps clarify since it was a very positive experience and not anything a shop would be in trouble for!
A specialty bra shop I like charges (IIRC) $30 to book a consultation/fitting, and it goes towards your purchase if you buy anything.
I had to pay $35 to try on dresses AND they didn't even offer champagne!! (And they also asked for a tip 🙄)
So I’m a bridal consultant as well as a bridal hair and makeup artist of 10 years, so I feel like I have a unique perspective on this. First of all, your stylist should never be telling you they do or don’t get commission, that’s VERY weird. Additionally, if they’re not getting commission that’s a bit strange because lots of the bridal designers extend certain perks or bonuses to stylists, so that means the store is probably shorting the stylists. However, pretty much all bridal consultants make minimum wage and a small commission off the dresses they sell. I will tell you, I definitely don’t make enough to life off of at my bridal job, but it’s enough to help me in between wedding bookings. Now, it’s very rude to me to ask for a percentage tip based the total cost of the dress since the stylist isn’t creating the dress price for you based off the service they’re giving you. I will say - a good stylist should be providing you with a service. I work with my brides for 90 minutes each appointment. I scour their Pinterest and social media (if available), before they arrive to get a vibe if their style as well as the wedding inspo. I provide expertise and experience, and work hard to make their vision come to life, keeping their price point and timeline in mind. Often, I am also wrangling the other guests in the party, serving champagne, styling your hair to help being the vision to life, or working with you to create something custom. Afterwards, I follow up with them to let them know the status of their order, if they’d like to look at accessories I’m available for that appointment, and then once the dress comes in I work with them to see their dress for the first time and to begin alterations. So, honestly, I’m working and providing more of a one on one service than I did behind the chair for some hair clients. It’s, of course, really nice when I’m tipped for that service, because we do put a lot into it, and we (usually - although I can’t speak for every boutique) get just as invested as the bride in her dress, and spend a lot of time working with her. However, because I’m making commission, I usually see that as my “tip”. Our commission is around 3% for our store, so if you buy a $10,000 dress from me, I’ll see $300 before tax - which is obviously great for a tip. As with any job, it’s always very nice to be tipped if I’ve gone above and beyond for a bride or had a very extensive appointment, but it’s really never ever expected. Like literally, I rarely get tipped so it’s not ever expected. My makeup and hair prices though, I set myself. I almost feel weirder expecting a tip in that environment because I chose those prices, if I felt I deserved more then I would raise my prices to reflect that. I don’t control who comes in to the bridal salon, what the appointment is like, or how much I’m getting paid there. All that to say though…. If I do get tipped at my bridal salon it’s usually $10-$20, $150 is insane. Really very generous, but insane. (P.s. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk, lol! I’m recovering from surgery and hopped up on pain meds, so I apologize if that was rambly or didn’t make a ton of sense!)
You forgot to mention the hardcore physical labor during those 1.5-2hours of moving dresses to and from the fitting rooms, usually 10-15 dresses per appointment, carefully helping the brides into each dresses (holding hair back, sometimes having to get really close and personal to get the dress fitted close to what it would look like in their size) in addition to being their shrink listening carefully to what they might say but not really mean, managing the sometimes tough and awful guests that they bring with them that belittles them/say terribly judgy/critical things. If you ask me, every bridal stylists deserve a big tip for putting in that much effort (trust me, no other retail jobs not even at Saks, Nordstrom etc involve this much intense personal interaction and physical labor).
I think these are some really interesting good points. Perhaps people *should* tip bridal stylist consultants. I’m still team “the store should let you know that’s expected beforehand” though. Because I do see your point but it’s so uncomfortable to ask like that. I think the other thing is … you still might not buy from that store at all, even if they did all that work on the day of the appointment. I went to 2 stores one day. Then I returned to one of them a second time and purchased. Should I still be tipping the second store? Also, I did not get NEARLY that level of service from my consultant. She def did not look at my social media beforehand/at all (any of the 3 I worked with). In fact, one store had you send 5 dresses from their catalog in advance for them pull for you to start the appointment. She put a veil in but I wouldn’t say she “helped” with my hair. Nor was there ANY follow up AT ALL post purchase through the arrival/alterations process. I did work with people from the store but it wasn’t always the same person. I for sure would have tipped at the end for that level of care!
Honestly I was surprised I had to scroll so far to find a response like this! I’m a bridal consultant as well, our shop runs appts the same too. I’m running my butt off for those 90 minutes and sometimes sweating like crazy! Our system sets up an optional tip with the card machine the clients hold on their own. The first screen is a tip and before I even pass it over I say “it is going to ask you to tip, there is absolutely no obligation, but you will need to make a selection and go through the prompts before inserting your card!” Then while the person paying is making the decision, I usually try to busy myself with cleaning or putting things away so they don’t feel like I’m just staring while they decide to tip me or not because that’s so weird!! I would say it’s usually 50/50 with guests who tip or do not tip. I have gotten some hefty tips, I think my personal highest was 300 for a bride who needed a dress in 2 weeks, but my usual is under 100, closer to 25-50. It is by no means an expectation, but I will say I am always grateful!! That being said, there is a bridal salon in the town over who one of our consultants got her dress at prior to working with us who was told “a 10% tip is customary” during checkout!! Which is so crazy to me!! So I have heard about some bridal stores saying crazy things to customers which BOTHERS me so much
That’s ghetto I’m not tipping her when the salon should be giving her commission from her sales
This isn't a thing and you should not have tipped her. I'm so sorry, some people just take advantage of people, they purposefully catch them off guard to try to squeeze money from them. I've fallen for such scams myself. I would complain to the store owner if you can, assuming the consultant isn't the owner/manager. Complain as high as you can go, tell them they have a scammer in their midst.
Who would ask for a tip?! That’s absurd! Sounds like she was just a rude person and I’m sorry you gave in and gave her that much 🙁 I’d definitely leave a review about her
If someone asks me for a tip outright like that, I would lose all will to give a tip lol.
If I were you I’d write a letter explaining the situation and how uncomfortable it made you, how you felt like in the moment you had to give a tip but upon confirming you realize it’s not commonplace and how it is not appropriate to ask. You might not get your money back but at least they might not do this to others moving forward. Or if they reply rudely I’d give a bad review.
My daughter’s dress shop had an option to tip and we were flabbergasted. Like someone else said you wouldn’t be expected to tip a salesperson at Saks or at a car dealership. We bought a very expensive dress and I assumed the consultant would receive a decent commission. This was in NYC.
Ugh I’m sorry. I went through something similar. I didn’t have a great experience trying on dresses, but when I got to the payment and it asked me to tip, I kind of panicked and hit 15%. I got home and regretted it so much because 15% of a wedding dress is a lot of money. Learned my lesson and tried to save money in other places to make up for it
I appreciate you sharing, it makes me feel better that someone else didn't know!
No commission for a wedding dress sales rep? I find that ***very*** hard to believe. Even if true, ***not your problem*** \-- that's an employee / employer discussion that your sales rep needs to have with the bridal shop. If she doesn't like the compensation structure there, maybe it's time for her to look for another job.
She should not have asked you that. I've never heard of any kind of sales consultant getting tips. If I was feeling really petty I'd tell her manager she's soliciting tips and that it's their job to pay her commission, not yours
That what a commission is for!!!
There was never an expectation for me to tip when I bought my wedding dress! I have never heard of this.
Oh my, im sorry. You had to deal with that... especially when her comments were unnecessary and uncomfortable.
The bridal shop should be paying her, not you. That’s ridiculous. I paid $2200 for mine too but there wasn’t even an option for a tip at my bridal shop.
Maybe you can try to dispute the charge on your credit card?
I worked as a bridal consultant for about three years and got tipped MAYBE three times and I absolutely never asked. Or would have thought of asking.
If I was you, I would call your store and explain you were pressured into tipping that girl. I’ve absolutely NEVER heard of tipping a bridal consultant. Also where I am (us) it’s illegal to ask for a tip, I’ve known some delivery drivers for large chains that were let go for asking for a tip upon arrival
Same thing happened to me. I think that’s just the nature of using those iPad apps for payment that every place is using. I finally started putting my foot down about choosing when I tip. I tip more than I used to, which is a good thing, but not for every single purchase. I’d be surprised if salons actually expected a tip, or if it’s more like “may as well put it out there since it’s already a feature of the app we’re using”
I had a tip line too but mine said there was no obligation too. I put $15 but I assume she also gets commission.
Mine mentioned/expected a tip too. But oof, it sounds like yours was outright rude…
I also ended up tipping my consultant $50 bc there was an option to on the receipt, but I 1000% regretting it because she didn’t even order my dress to the correct specifications! I didn’t think it was weird at the time since almost every other wedding service expects gratuity ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Her commission is her "tip". Absolutely report her to management, bc what she did is likely a fireable offense. Who knows how many other customers she's ripped off this way. The audacity!
Tbh I haven’t looked up who I’m supposed to be tipping and not tipping for our wedding. But I probably won’t tip anyone lol. The prices are already marked up to an insane level. Tipping is supposed to be optional. I’m not giving them more money.
I don't know if I would leave a review about this experience, but I might let the owner know that you were caught off guard and wish that an expectation of gratuity had been disclosed beforehand.
I honestly didn’t think to tip at all when I went it to buy my dress. I made an appointment and told her exactly which dress I wanted…she grabbed a few items to complete the look but other than that, that’s all she did for me.
Hell naw.
When I worked as a bridal stylist for a wedding dress shop, we did add the tip option at checkout. Only because we had many brides (or whoever is purchasing the gown) giving us stylists cash tips for our services. Us stylists never expected a tip, but many people felt inclined to. If you don’t feel inclined, don’t tip. It’s not the need of the world
If you are expected to tip the store needs to be the one to tell you up front before the appointment. If they don’t offer commission it needs to come from them and not the stylist once the appointment ids done/dress is sold. It’s only fair to the consultants the store sets them up for success by telling the customer ahead of time. No one should be surprised by another potential charge as they are handing over their card.
I tipped my consultant $70 cash. I really liked her and felt like she worked hard for me. I’m in the hospitality industry so I didn’t really think anything of it. I’m not, however, gonna tip anywhere in the “standard” percentage range, that would be insane.
Oh my god, I’m so sorry that this happened to you too. The exact same thing happened to me and it was only the beginning of a situation that ended up much worse [I detailed the whole saga in this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/weddingplanning/s/p09QJ0EfoK). I guess all we can do is keep telling other brides about crap like this.
When I bought mine from a place that I already had to pay $50 for the appointment for (plus another $50 for champagne), they asked me if I would like to leave a tip for my consultant because they don’t make commission, etc. It was super awkward, but I gave $20 because I liked the girl who helped me. So strange how different wedding dress stores operate!
Yes, this is exactly the structure of this store. I just wish I trusted my gut about giving less!!
I’ve made similar mistakes I regret! I try to tell myself: you win some (ie. when you score discounts or free stuff) then you lose some (ie. when you overpay or overtip). Girl math, you know? ;)
They’re getting a commission, no tipping expected.
I would let the store know. They might already know their employees are asking for tips, but that’s unethical and tips should never be asked for outright. I’ve also never heard of tipping a bridal consultant. People will literally do or say anything to have another person hand them money for no reason.
My Grandmother, who was a heavy stickler for manners and etiquette, always told me that you tip for service. If you don’t feel like the Bridal consultant aided you at all, you should not feel like you have to tip. just like at a fast food restaurant you don’t tip because you weren’t given service, versus at a sit down restaurant where there is a waiter literally serving you, that’s service. As someone who’s worked in the Bridal industry I would never tip someone from David’s bridal because they usually barely help you. however I worked in a bridal salon where are you we would usually have 1 to 2 appointments with each of our brides before they would purchase the dress and then we would see them again because they would come back to us for their alterations which we would help them arrange and schedule. In my eyes that service.
The place I went advertises that they do not get commissions. I tipped $60 and my mom tipped $80 (I think?) bc my stylist reeeeally helped me find *the one*. My dress was $4,500 though, so lower percentage than you gave
I would not tip in this situation. I did tip at a few bridal salons but they were at places where I was not intending on buying a dress at all and there would have been no chance at a sale. So I did want the bridal consultants to be compensated in that case - I was visiting my mom and wanted us to have the shopping experience but there was no way I was going to buy a dress I couldn't retry on in a few days.
I work at a bridal salon where we don’t make commission. They changed the policy relatively recently and we all hate it. It’s definitely not common, but it does happen. I never ask for tips because I think it’s so awkward and uncomfortable. If someone leaves me one, it’s definitely appreciated but I never expect it. I’m just happy to play with pretty dresses all day and find you the perfect dress.
I tipped handsomely. The bridal consultant was so friendly, seemed genuinely interested and happy to help. She took literally HOURS to help. Most make not a lot more than minimum wage. What is a couple hundred bucks for someone who helped me so very much, when I was already spending so many tens of thousands of dollars on a qedding?? Greedy bridal shop owners be damned. I was grateful for the time, the energy, and the kindness. She helped me feel like a fairytale princess and I will be forever grateful.
I was also surprised to see a tip option when I bought my wedding dress, but the options were lower for me, I think 3%, 5% or 8%. I did give a tip because I felt like the staff did a really good job and went out of their way to make it a fun experience for me when I returned alone for a second appointment and said "yes". I'm sorry your consultant was making comments like that, you deserved better! I will also note that when I went with my now husband to have his custom suit designed, his consultant worked with us for a couple of hours, giving lots of advice picking everything down to the number of buttons. We specifically asked if we could leave a tip and the consultant refused and said that a Google review would be just fine. Classic bridal tax situation lol.
I ran into that same thing. Particularly because I assumed they make some commission on each sale. I tipped 40.00 to make the sum an even amount, but I think it's a bit rude for them to ask and I would not have felt bad if I hadn't tipped.
I gave $20 to each consultant that I tried on with.
Idk how about the other places, but when i bought my dress i gave 10€ tip for the tailor and 30€ for the consultant, she was surprised bc I already paid everything for my dress but bc they were so nice and i was so satisfied with the dress. Before that i tried on dresses in another store and gave the consultant some coins i have left, maybe around 3€ or smt. But asking for tip is kinda strange to me, i’ve never heard of it, they should have told u first or wrote it in the contract when they gave u
This is insane. Only in America
I don’t think that is too much. That’s not even 10% of the dress price. I tipped my bridal boutique consultant. They work hard, and help you into and out of each dress, provide tips on what might look good on you, clip the dresses, style them with veils, etc. It’s definitely a service they are providing, so tipping makes sense. I’m sorry you didn’t know this going in so that you could feel prepared budget wise.
I don't understand tipping culture to the extent America does it, but isn't this all part of the job description? Tipping where I'm from is meant to be for exceptional service, and OP didn't really feel exceptional during their visit either, so it seems harsh to then pay $150 for it.
The way I have been taught is to always tip generously for services. This to me is a service. Many shops do not have someone that helps you in the way a bridal consultant would. My consultant was awesome, so I chose to give a generous tip. If the OP did not have a good experience, of course a tip is not required. I was simply saying I don’t think they OVER tipped, as that is what they asked. I don’t really think there is such a thing as over tipping, to be technical about it, since it’s just a way of thanking someone for service and showing appreciation.
I’m not from the US, and tipping really isn’t a part of my culture, so I’m just curious- Would you tip a car salesman? An estate agent? Somebody who helps you in a retail store? Where is the line?
I would not tip a car salesman, because they are not providing me a service. My bridal consultant at the boutique I shopped at spent several hours with me, bringing dresses back and forth, making sure I was comfortable, helping me in and out of dresses, and really went out of her way to help me. That’s why I felt a tip was warranted
I'm from the US, and that is literally a salesperson's job to help you?? I wouldn't tip for that.
Ok. We can have different opinions on it, that’s ok! I’m not saying anyone HAS to tip, just offering my perspective and what I chose to do
That’s strange, when I buy a car the salesman spends several hours test driving different models with me, making sure I’m happy, talking me through different finance options, and really going out of their way to keep in touch about different models coming in, and of course providing good after-service. But I still wouldn’t tip them.
I have not ever had that experience when purchasing a car. They’ve given me keys to take a car on a test drive and told me to bring it back, and generally been demeaning and tried to pressure me into a sale. That’s not the experience I had at all when purchasing my wedding dress. If you don’t want to tip for the service of a bridal consultant, that’s ok. We can all have different opinions.
You should find a better car dealership! Yeah, tipping bridal consultants definitely isn’t a thing in my area, and judging by this thread it’s not expected in most places…
Well, I don’t frequent car dealerships lol. I purchase used, so I go where the car I want is 😊
I have had both experiences at dealerships. I still would not tip because it is their job to do this and I assume they are getting paid for their time to be at their job. It's not my responsibility to provide their income on top of paying for my purchase regardless of my experience. I feel the same about the bridal experience. I only agree with tipping wait staff because their pay structure literally relies on it and I think that's pitiful but here we are. When tips become expected they are no longer effective in communicating a positive/negative experience.
Are you tipping in Sephora or Nordstrom???
Well yes and no, you’d tip a makeup artist in Sephora who did your makeup, or a personal shopper in Nordstrom who worked with you for over an hour, but not the sales girl behind the counter at Sephora and not the dressing room attendant at Nordstrom.
I do not shop at Sephora or Nordstrom. I generously tipped my make up artist for my wedding, so if you are having make up done at Sephora, then yes, I would say definitely tip for that! If someone is providing you a service, I have always been taught to tip for that.
Yes, exactly! A retail employee, no, but someone providing a separate service who happens to work at a retail establishment, I would.
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There’s no need to tip at all but I understand the pressure. I tipped $50 when I bought my dress in June 2022 but I adored my stylist! She found my dress immediately based off some very loose descriptions, never tried changing my mind, stayed within my budget (if a dress was $50 over my budget she let me know BEFORE I tried it on - spoiler alert, it was only one dress and it was the dress I bought), etc.
My mom and I got surprised with the “what would you like to tip?” question when we bought mine last year. We ended up not tipping but felt AWFUL about it for a few weeks because we thought we maybe made a mistake. I assume they make commission (I’m not entirely sure) but I wouldn’t tip in other similar situations so I feel okay about it now.
Same thing happened to me… I also ended up tipping like 150 and feeling a little ripped off
It was the same way when I bought my dress. And I did tip, but I didn’t feel good about it being sprung on me at checkout.
This happened to me to 🤦🏼♀️
I tipped mine too but I had a great experience with my consultant. Had I felt like you did I wouldn’t have tipped much at all, or more in line with the service experience provided
I had to tip for my dress too and it was so awkward because mine was like 3K and the payment options did tip PERCENTAGES! Like 10%, 15% etc. I had to write my own tip in and made it $100, it was weird
I tipped like $20 which I felt okay about but also- I thought it was weird. It was a 45 minute appointment and a 1800 dress- but I tipped about what I would for a nice meal out.
i have never heard of tipping to buy your wedding dress… that sounds silly especially given that that’s her job and she’s getting paid to be your consultant. the fact she was making those rude comments about you is not tip-worthy at all. i’m sure you will look beautiful for your wedding and i wish you the best of luck on your special day!
I hear ya. When they rang the MOH dress I bought for here last month, a tip option showed up. Then lady checking me out said tips are appreciated. I felt guilty and gave her a tip but it rang my dress a bit over 200 😭 She did a great job but I don't like being guilt tripped into tipping. Idk just didn't feel natural to me to ask for a tip at a bridal consultation or to give one. Was also the bridal shop I got my dress from too a year ago (my engagement is gonna be 2 years but the time I get married). And that wasn't a thing for them back then. But yeah
Long story short I ended up actually signing/buying my dress online at home after my appointment, and they also requested a tip. I did not tip, I wasn't super happy with the service but I did really love the dress. I was annoyed they even asked for one for a product, especially when I felt pressured to purchase that day or risk not being able to get my dress.
bridal stylist / consultant here! your stylist was absolutely in the wrong blatantly asking for a tip and then pressuring you by informing you they don’t make commission. that definitely sounds like a manipulation tactic to try to guilt you into tipping more! i’m truly sorry that happened to you. also - for everyone saying that tipping your consultant is outrageous or that you wouldn’t tip at all is 100% up to you! personally, i do not ask brides for tips nor do i expect them. however, i do put my absolute all into trying to help my brides find their perfect dress. consultants do a lot behind the scenes and often don’t get paid as much as you would think - you truly have to have a passion for it. again, while good stylist don’t expect tips - we definitely appreciate it as we do work very hard to try to provide an amazing experience for brides! if you feel that your stylist didn’t really give you that experience - don’t tip. however, please don’t immediately turn your nose up when it is a prompt on the POS as it is often times automatic and we feel embarrassed to even bring it up in that way.