We Asked: What is your opinion regarding gratuities? Should massage therapists accept tips? Why, or why not?

Here is what you told us...

If a client wants to give a tip then they should have that option. Our profession is a very intimate one, and giving a tip is a sincere form of appreciation. That said, it would be a shame for a client to ever feel pressured into having to give a tip.
Deborah Forrister
Chandler, Arizona

In our profession, we set out to maintain professionalism and acceptance into our communities. With that being said, we shouldn't accept tips—we don't tip our doctor, dentist or any other health-care professional.
Jeane Freeman
Tucson, Arizona

Tips are an expression of gratitude in any service industry, provided the tip is within reason. Clients who feel their session is above and beyond what they expect or have experienced in the past, feel that an extra tip is a way to say thank you.
Renee Tobin
Gastonia, North Carolina

As in most service-oriented businesses, gratuity is how one shows appreciation for the service given. If a client feels we have given an awesome and fulfilling massage and wants to gift us with a tip, we should accept the gift.
Sky Lee Sacay-Larson, L.M.T.
Kainaliu, Hawaii

Accepting tips is OK. The expectation of tips and judging clients based on those tips, or lack of, is not acceptable.
Rose Janssen
St. Joseph, Minnesota

There isn't anything wrong with accepting tips from clients; however, it is something clients shouldn't be made to feel is a necessary action.
Regina Fernandez
San Pedro, California

Therapists should accept tips; we are underpaid for our work and it's a way for the clients to let you know they appreciate the service you are providing them.
RayLynn Kernan
Sheldon, Wisconsin

Gratuities are a matter of subjectivity. As a nutritionist and polarity therapist, my sessions are a professional, alternative medical treatment; therefore, I certainly have no expectation whatsoever.
Rev. Cheryl Caruso, C.N.C., A.P.P., H.H.P.
Manhasset, New York

I am strongly motivated by appreciation. Tips are one way of showing someone your work is special or above average. In the case of private clinics where you are an employee, the base salary tends to be small, and if it weren't for gratuities, it probably wouldn't be worth it for many therapists.
Dean Newton, L.M.T.
Phoenix, Arizona

If the therapist is working for someone, the therapist should be tipped and should always accept it. If the therapist is the owner of the business, he/she does not get tipped. The owner sets the price; an employee does not.
Donna Chen, L.M.T.
Newark, Delaware

It is very acceptable for a massage therapist to receive a tip. However, a massage therapist should not expect gratuity. I have seen massage therapists work in spas who expect that tip and when they don't get it, they do not want to see that client again. I would rather have that client return than to give a tip.
Diana Childers, L.M.T.
Houston, Texas

Gratuities should be part of giving massage. A therapist should and does give his or her all in giving quality massage. The reason for giving gratuity is to reward people who go the extra mile and give superior service.
Garth Stephens
La Quinta, California

I do accept gratuities when they are offered, but I make it clear they are not [expected]. One clever remark I heard from another therapist was "I would much rather you tell others about the quality of my service than accept a gratuity."
Jack Val Spencer
Troy, Missouri

The massage-therapy profession has taken much effort and pain to be classified as a health profession. If the massage therapist is working in a spa setting, then the tip is acceptable. If the therapist is working in a medical setting, the tip is not acceptable.
Jacob D. Gnanakkan, L.M.T., B.L.S., M.M.S.
Miami, Florida

As a client, I believe therapists should accept tips, but not expect them. Nor should a spa outright solicit them. Spas should pay massage therapists a fair wage and not expect them to make salary from tips. Therapists are licensed practitioners, and should be compensated as such.
Julie Phillips-Turner
Queenstown, Maryland

If massage is being done in a spa setting, it is a service and should be tipped. If massage is being done in a clinical setting, tips should not be accepted.
Adele Dirks
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Tips are appropriate in a spa setting, as some treatments cost hundreds of dollars and the therapists receive a fraction of that price. In a medical setting, it's somewhat insulting.
Marita Len
Skaneateles, New York

Massage therapists should accept tips, but not expect them. Tips should not be accepted to benefit the client in a manner that they would receive special treatment over other clients. It helps me to see that clients are truly satisfied with my work.
Eddie Summers
Wake Forest, North Carolina

I see myself as a medical professional, and professionals do not ordinarily accept tips. Usually, I just try to do the gracious thing and accept tips when they are offered. I have a special charity I donate tips to.
Laura Sutherland, R.N., C.M.T.
Paradise, California

It is okay to accept tips, but I think it is unprofessional to mention or request tipping. When a client asks me if they should tip, I always tell them "no," but if a client insists, I don't refuse it.
Marilyn Marques
Austin, Texas

A tip would be appropriate if you worked for yourself, on a cruise ship or in a spa, but not in a medical setting.
Merry Edwards, C.M.T.
St. Joseph, Michigan

As a health practitioner, gratuities are not something I expect because I do not tip my doctor, dentist or any other health practitioner. But I think accepting tips depends on the setting of the therapy.
Nayda Maymi
Brooklyn, New York

Since I own my own massage business, I don't expect tips, nor encourage them, because I set my own prices and I collect all the money. I have heard the argument that massage therapists should be viewed as professionals in the same light as doctors or dentists, who don't receive tips. To me, this line of thinking is ludicrous. We are not doctors or dentists with the same amount of education and shouldn't be considering ourselves on the same level.
Janice King, L.M.T.
Oakdale, Minnesota

It really depends on the massage setting, type of massage and if the client is using a gift certificate. I would expect the person using the gift certificate to tip since he or she didn't pay for the service.
Marjie Smith
Toledo, Ohio

Massage therapy, in most people's eyes, is a luxury. When I receive a tip, I accept it as a great compliment.
Kerry Vucinovich
Diamondhead, Mississippi

It depends on what massage environment you want to encourage. If you want to be regarded as a medical, therapeutic-type therapist, then tips should not be necessary or accepted. If you want to be regarded as a salon/spa environment for relaxation and pampering, then tipping should be expected.
Tina Elwood
Zachary, Louisiana

I do not accept tips from my clients. In Ohio, we are licensed by the State Medical Board and hold a Limited Branch Medical License to practice massage therapy. I don't know anyone who would give their doctor a tip.
William McKinnon
Doylestown, Ohio

I have chosen in my private practice to define myself as a health-care provider and do not encourage tipping nor expect a tip. Should a client choose to tip, I explain that those monies will be donated to a charity of my choosing, allowing me to make small contributions to about six different charities a year.
Deborah Pilkington
Durham, North Carolina

Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with taking tips. I see them as an extra thank you and a measure of how good a person feels. I don't take offense or believe I didn't do well if I don't receive them. Sometimes people can just barely afford to get a massage.
Jill Scoggins
Lima, Montana

I find it interesting that tips are expected and rarely questioned or discouraged in other service industries, but are debatable in ours. For clients to acknowledge our service by tipping is a great compliment to what we do.
Camille Holmes
Chicago, Illinois

Often I feel uncomfortable accepting tips, especially from friends. Those that tip think you have gone above and beyond their last massage experience and want to encourage the ongoing, excellent treatment. The biggest gratuity is a returning client or, even better, a referral.
Michelle Dunham
Champaign, Illinois

I don't believe we can complain about how the medical community doesn't take us seriously, then turn around and take gratuities. If we continue to do that, it undermines what we are trying to establish within the medical community, particularly credibility.
Jorie Schramm
Chicago, Illinois

When I receive gratuity from my clients, not only are they thanking me, they are also telling me how much they appreciate the service I provided them. Massage therapists should receive gratuity only if the client feels the service met [his or her] needs.
Christine Garner
North Las Vegas, Nevada

My wife and I do not promote tipping, but feel our therapists, including ourselves, should accept them. When you don't allow another to give you a gift, you prevent them from having the positive experience of giving. Tipping is another way for us to support practitioners in their path of building a successful practice.
Don and Cindy Murphy
Amelia Island, Florida

Massage therapists should accept tips. In many cases, tips are the only thing bringing the set scale wage into reality.
Dugan Jennings
Lakewood, California

I want to elevate the status of our profession and accepting tips will not do this. Spa massage providers never get paid adequately by the owners, and tips help make up for that. This process, however, does nothing to advance the public perception of our profession.
Dawn Burke
Frederick, Maryland

On one hand, massage is a healing art, and as such, it seems to belong with physical therapy, chiropractic and other medical therapies. Gratuities are not part of the medical equation. On the other hand, a high percentage of massage is delivered in a spa setting where gratuities are definitely part of the picture. There are good reasons to accept tips in the right setting.
Pat Christianson
Savage, Minnesota