I was asked to tip before my $80 massage — I almost walked out

A woman is at her tipping point over gratuity culture.

Taylor Stewart, a model and artist in her mid-twenties, said she went to get an $80 massage and the salon owner asked her to tip before her service — something that left her baffled, Business Insider reported.

The Post has reached out to Stewart for comment.

Stewart, who goes by heyitstaystew on TikTok, posted a video about the ordeal on the platform earlier this month that has garnered nearly 6 million views.

“I really don’t consider myself to be a cheap person,” she said in the video. “I’m more than happy to tip, but I feel like tipping nowadays is just getting out of control.”

She said the woman didn’t even remember that she had an appointment and when she was asked to pay before her massage, she gladly did.

The woman then handed her a piece of paper to write her tip, and Stewart felt uncomfortable.

“Now I’m standing there kind of wondering what’s a fine, acceptable tip, because obviously when I go out to eat, it’s a $15 or $20 bill,” Stewart explained.

“So I have no problem tipping 20% because I’m already only paying 20 bucks for the bill. But here I’m paying $80 as it is for the service.”

She tipped the woman $5, and the shop owner’s immediate response was “Is that it?”

“Hey, if I was a multimillionaire, I’d be happy to tip a thousand dollars,” Stewart said.

“But it’s like, I’m trying to kind of budget and I’m already paying for the service.”

Stewart asked the woman what she thought was a more appropriate tip and was shocked when she said she wanted $20 or $30.

Stewart said that while a younger version of herself might hand over $20, she felt the need to stand up for herself. The woman was not happy.

“She goes, well, the girls here work really hard,” Stewart explained.

“And I said, oh, I’m not questioning that at all. I’m sure they do, but that’s why I am already paying $80.”

That’s when the woman told her the service was just paying for her space’s rent.

“Then I’m like, well, respectfully, that’s not my problem,” Stewart said she told her.

“I am sorry if maybe your boss doesn’t pay you guys enough. That’s really unfortunate, but it shouldn’t be up to me to make up for that.”

She then told the woman she’d be happy to take her business elsewhere. The woman told her it was no problem and that she could tip more afterward. Stewart said after going to the massage room she heard the salon owner and the woman talking in another language and it felt like they were talking about her.

She said she got a “bad vibe” and decided that she was going to leave. She thought she’d just go and get a refund from her credit card company. That’s when the woman from the front desk started chasing her out the door.

“Come back,” she said the woman told her before offering her a discount and even taking the tip off the bill.

“I’m like, well, no, that’s fine. I’m fine with paying full price. I’m fine with leaving the tip. I’m not trying to pay less or anything,” Stewart recalled.

“I’m happy with paying the full price and the tip, but I just don’t appreciate being made to feel bad for what I am able to tip right now.”

She said the woman at the front desk told her they weren’t talking about her, which Stewart had a tough time buying, but she decided to go through with the massage which she said was good.

Stewart ended up tipping an additional $5 afterward.

“So I changed the tip to 10. Everything was good. Told them to have a good night. Everything was fine,” she said. “But I left still just thinking to myself, was that kind of rude or am I a cheap person? I don’t know,” she said.

Droves of people in Stewart’s comments section agreed with her that king to tip before a service isn’t standard.

“Nope. Full refund and a honest review on Yelp is what you should have done. Toxic tipping culture is ruining consumers’ experience,” one person said.

“Tipping BEFORE service?!! That’s insane!!,” another added.

“Nowadays, you buy ONE SMALL THING and there is already a Tip screen,” a third chimed in.

“I swear tip culture is so companies aren’t responsible for paying their employees enough, and making us fight each other over it,” said a fourth.

Stewart and her followers aren’t the only ones reeling over tipping culture.

According to a survey from Bankrate, one in three Americans think that tipping culture is out of control.  Americans report anger over “tipflation,” and say more and more places are asking them to tip more than ever before which means people end up leaving less.