How much do you leave for a tip: manicure/hair/cab etc.?

It depends.

i really cant understand why we have to give tips and feel bad if we dont. i think everyone get paid for the job they are doing ( i hope) so why should we give tips ?whats thereason behind all this ? if we give tips cuz the ppl (hairdresser, waiter etc) gave us a good service, so why dont the salesgirls, mechanic etc get no tips ? doesnt mean that they dont give good service ? dont get me wrong i myself give tips but i still dont see the reason. i only do it cuz i was tought that way but if im not served right im not ashamed to leave no tips at all. few weeks ago i went to one hairdresser and she charged me the world just to trim my hair. she didnt even cut an inch. before i walked out i left a tip. when i was outside i wanted to cry and kick myself for giving her the tips

It depends, I leave 15 - 2o% of charged amount depending on the service that was extended to me.

Good Housekeeping addressed this once but alas I can't remember the %. Perhaps you can go to their web site and ask.

As far as tips go, 14% is the norm for most services. In my area (Nova Scotia, Canada), we have a 14% tax added on to most things so I just tip whatever the tax adds up to.

Tipping is such a *feudal* practice. :-)

About 10%.

You are correct that you don't tip the owner. I wouldn't say anything about it-no need to make a formal announcement. I would just stop tipping him. Here's how I tip: There are too many people in a salon to tip individually. As you said there's the shampoo girl, the blow dry girl, the stylist, maybe a manicurist, etc. I usually give the amount to the stylist and ask her to share it with the others. Since my salon is small, I don't worry that she'll keep it all to herself (number 1, because I know her and number 2, I know the others can hear me telling her to share). If you are spending $20-25 at the salon, I'd give them maybe $5. If I hired a car service and they were very late, of course I wouldn't tip the driver. For pizza delivery: $1 per pie In a buffet restaurant (where the server only brings drinks, but you serve yourself): $1 per person at the table, but I sometimes throw in an extra $1 if the person was particularly nice. If you ask for a lot of extras, then of course tip more. In a regular full service restaurant: I usually double the tax, then add or subtract depending on the service. For example, if the tax came to $3, I'd double it to $6 for average service. If it was great, I might go up to $8 or $9. For truly awful service, of course, tip nothing. It might just be a quirk of my own, but I tend to tip more at smaller "mom & pop" type restaurants. I just kinda like supporting those businesses over the larger chain style places.

Service personell are tipped, not professionals. I will tip the shampoo technician but not the hairdresser. For waitstaff, a minimum of a dollar if you are just getting coffee. For a full meal, lousy service...nothing. good service, 20% or up if the person is exceptional. Counter servers, nothing. If you have to carry it to the table, don't tip.