Man left stunned by $200 tip request for Botox

A man was floored after his Botox office asked for $200 as a standard tip and then blacklisted him as a client for failing to pay up.

Tipping culture has been heavily criticized in the United States. What was once only a standard 20 percent tip for restaurant or bar service is now being applied to takeout and fast casual food ordering, courtesy of the seemingly now ever-present iPad touchscreen asking you to input an automatic tip.

The tipping culture shift has even made its way into Botox procedures, influencer Michael Brown, who goes by @DontCrossAGayMan, recently shared on his Instagram reel.

Brown said he got Botox at a new office a few months ago and enjoyed a conversation with his technician.

“The girl who did my Botox was pleasant,” Brown said in his video. “She was very chatty. We talked about how the price of living in a big city has gotten crazy, and she said, ‘But at least I’m one of the lucky ones. I make $60 an hour.'”

The woman even shared that she had just purchased a new Tesla, Brown added. So, suffice to say, he was very surprised upon going to the lobby to pay for his $750 appointment and being asked for a gratuity for the 15-minute procedure.

“I said, ‘For a med spa treatment?'” Brown said. “‘What do people normally tip?'”

That’s when Brown was flabbergasted to hear the standard tip is $200.

Brown instead left $40. However, the next time Brown had an appointment scheduled, he got an abrupt email saying his booking was canceled.

Upon going to the website to look for another Botox tech, he saw his original one’s schedule was wide open for when his appointment had been scheduled for.

‘They Canceled Because I Didn’t Tip’

Brown investigated the strange situation one more time and called the office to schedule another appointment. He was once again told his original technician was available at the same exact time his appointment was canceled for.

“They canceled because I didn’t tip,” Brown said.

The entire experience led to total shock and discomfort, Brown said, and it was a harder pill to swallow than the typical tip request due to how aggressive it was.

“It wasn’t a case of an iPad swiftly being pushed in my face to give me an option, but a person verbally asking me to give her a number and suggested to tip over 25 percent on such a large bill,” Brown told Newsweek.

Despite his negative experience, Brown is sympathetic to the plight of service workers.

“I don’t want my story to hurt service workers who depend on tips,” Brown said. “However, with constantly rising prices, service and convenience fees popping up everywhere, and now the expected tip practically everywhere, it feels like tip exhaustion will only negatively impact those service workers.”

Many people might feel a sense of responsibility to tip workers when asked, but in some cases, it’s a larger reflection on the business not adequately supporting employees with a living wage.

“People love to comment ‘if you can’t afford it, don’t get Botox’ but to businesses I say ‘if you can’t afford to pay your employees, don’t have a business,'” Brown said.

What Are The Rules For Tipping?

This isn’t the first-time consumers have expressed outrage about the growing tipping expectations for services today.

During the pandemic, many doubled down hard on tipping as a way to thank service workers who were on the frontlines potentially dealing with coronavirus day after day. But many feel this gratitude has gone on too long, and now the expectations are beyond normal.

A recent report from Bankrate found around two-thirds of Americans had a negative view about tipping, especially concerning contactless and digital payment prompts. And one in three Americans said outright that tipping culture had “gotten out of control.”

But what exactly is the proper tipping etiquette?

According to financial expert Pattie Ehsaei, if you’re unsure about how to proceed with a tip, you need to ask yourself two questions.

“You are obligated to tip anyone that provides a service which includes physical labor,” Ehsaei told Newsweek. This includes movers, bellhops, housekeepers, nail technicians, food delivery and ride share workers.

“You should also tip those in any industry that typically don’t make minimum wage, for example, servers, salon workers, hairdressers,” she said.

The rest though? They’re making minimum wage and therefore are not entitled to a tip just because the payment method asks for one, she said.

“You are not obligated to provide a tip to anyone else, like the person who rings up your order, or makes the coffee,” Ehsaei said. “They are making at least minimum wage and are not providing a physical service for you.”