As one of the most popular flexology companies in the US, Stretchlab is a great place to go if you’re looking for stretch treatments from a trained Flexologist.
If you’ve arranged a session at Stretchlab or you’re thinking about doing so, then you might be wondering what the tipping etiquette is.
Tipping is an important part of US society. Tip too much and you’ll be shredding cash but tip too little, or not at all, and you might end up red-faced.
To help you out with whether you need to tip at Sretchlab, we’ve done some digging and will bring you up to speed on whether you need to tip, how much if you do, what flexologists earn, and much more.
Keep reading to find out more…
Do You Need to Tip at Stretchlab? The Short Answer
In short, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to tipping flexologists at Sretchlab. It’s a bit like tipping personal trainers at gyms – some people do and some don’t. However, we normally do as their employees earn fairly modest salaries and full-time work isn’t always available. If you do want to tip, we’d suggest $5-20 is plenty.
We’ve covered the details more below…
Related Article:
Do You Tip at Stretch Zone?
How Much Do Stretchlab Employees Earn?
Stretchlab employs all manner of flexologists who are from numerous different backgrounds such as physiotherapy, pilates, massage, and personal training.
If an employee’s earnings is a key factor for you when deciding when to tip then the following data might come in handy:
| Role | Earnings |
| Personal trainer | $22.49 per hour |
| Pilates instructor | $23.69 |
| Fitness instructor | $22.34 per hour |
| Massage therapist | $23.46 per hour |
So the ballpark earnings figure at Stretchlabs is around $23 per hour or about $48,000 per year based on a 40-hour work week.
However, we understand that the figures provided by Indeed are actually based on a best-case scenario and most Stretchlab workers earn a much lower base rate of around $15 per hour and they only reach these higher hourly rates when they work with a client.
Moreover, many of their workers work part-time and are not guaranteed full-time hours, meaning their monthly take-home pay is often a lot lower than the above figures would suggest.
Even on the above figures from Indeed, this is still slightly below the average gross yearly salary in the US which according to Mint Intuit stands at $56,310.
Taking into account Stretchlab’s low base pay and there being no guarantee of full-time hours, it’s likely that most of their flexologists receive a lot lower yearly pay when all is said and done.
On that basis, a monetary tip is likely to be well received and we encourage you to pay one if possible.
How Much Does Stretchlabs Cost?
Another key factor to most tippers is how much the service costs in the first place.
If you’re already paying a King’s ransom you might be less inclined to dip into your wallet for a tip.
So let’s take a look at the prices
| Payment option | Price |
| Introductory price 50 minute stretch | $49 |
| Monthly membership 4 x 25 minute sessions | $169 |
| Monthly membership 4 x 50 minute sessions | $289 |
| Monthly membership 8 x 25 minute sessions | $299 |
| Monthly membership 8 x 50 minute sessions | $539 |
This is fairly standard for most flexology classes and is similarly priced to Stretch Zone (Stretchlab’s main competitor) but we wouldn’t class it as particularly cheap.
We’ll leave it to your good judgment as to whether you think the price is reasonable enough for you to stretch (excuse the pun) to a tip on top of what you’re already paying anyway.
How Much to Tip at Stretchlabs?
The standard rate in the US is 10-20% of the total cost of the goods or services purchased.
You could apply that in this situation by working out the average cost of each session but many people might find that a little too meticulous.
Alternatively, given Stretchlabs workers aren’t really expecting tips, you’ll be just fine tipping a fixed amount.
We’d propose a sum of $5 – $20 if you do decide to tip.
But even if you don’t tip at all, it’s unlikely that you’ll be turning any heads.
Tipping in this industry isn’t expected so you don’t need to feel obliged to give one.
However, some flexologists might actually be registered practitioners such as physiotherapists and generally, they will not accept tips due to ethical standards the same as doctors, surgeons, nurses etc… don’t generally accept them either.
Other Way to Show Your Appreciation
There are some places where a non-monetary tip is arguably better and more suited – Stretchlabs might be one of those places.
If you want to show your appreciation you could:
- Give your flexologist a thank you card
- Give verbal praise
- Provide a written testimonial or Google review
- Refer a friend
- Buy your flexologist a gift like flowers, chocolates, or tickets to the game
The truth is that any demonstration of gratitude is likely to go down well.
Final Thoughts
Whether you tip your Stretchlabs flexologist is entirely down to you.
There are no hard and fast rules or customs like in the restaurant business.
However, given the rather insecure work and low base pay at Stretchlab, there is no guarantee their workers will earn anything close to what websites such as Indeed suggest and many will be relying on tips to supplement their income as well as doing other jobs.
On that basis, we consider most people should dip into their wallets for a tip if they can afford it.
If you do wish to tip then we’d suggest a non-monetary display of gratitude is fine and will likely be well received.
If you want to tip with cash then $5-$20 is plenty. Perhaps pay towards the top end of this if it’s around the holidays, if you’re particularly pleased with the results, or if the flexologist has been professional and courteous.
Flexologists only get paid that rate when they are stretching clients, which means when theres less clients theres less pay. Also none of the flexologists work there 40 hrs a week. This means that their income can vary greatly from week to week. They are all considered part time and have to supplement their income elsewhere, often working multiple jobs. So I would disagree with you about them “not really needing your tips”.
Thanks for your excellent comment. We’ve updated the article to reflect your useful insight.
We don’t tip nurses aid or other professions that get paid $15-$20 an hour. That work harder. I’m not sure why people think they should receive a tip for a service.