Should you tip the bootfitter?

[Bravosarah]

My custom footbeds will be ready on Monday. My bootfitter did not want to adjust my canting until the footbeds were in place. So, I have an appointment for Mon afternoon.

My alignment is atrocious and he will have a lot of work to do. This is my first professional bootfitting and I was wondering how much I should tip him? Are you suppose to tip your bootfitter? Did you tip your bootfitter, if so what did you base it on?

 

[Toucan]

While I don't remember dollars and cents, I do remember tipping the bootfitter that spent several hours working on my boots. During my first visit, he did some repair work on my old boots to make them bearable and then when my new ones came in, he spent a significant amount of time fitting and then aligning them. He didn't charge a ton of money (we recycled my old footbeds) so I decided to tip him based on what I sort of figured his hourly rate was. A year later when I needed some more tweaking, he didn't charge much for the work, so I tipped him again for his time. WELL worth it!! Good luck and I hope your bootfitter makes your feet happy!

 

[skigrl27]

Considering what he charged & that he wouldn't work with my current boots & I had to buy brand new boots....ummm hell no. I thanked him & walked away. But he did a great job!

 

[altagirl]

Yeah, I paid a total of $1200 for boots, footbeds and custom fit work... I figure there's a tip built into that. ;)

If I was going in with my boots and they're just charging you a small amount for blowing out a toe or something like that, or gave you a discount/deal - yes, I'd tip them. (Or more likely, tip them with whatever beer they like).

Totally depends on the shop and situation.

 

[persee]

Hrm... interesting discussion. As the bootfitter we use is a co-owner of the shop we're buying at I figure that by doing good service which makes us want to buy stuff there (rather than on the 'net at a discount) that is somewhat his tip. Today I was talking to said bootfitter about some issues with my boots and he measured my feet felt them to feel their shape, my ankles/heal width, and went in back to see what they had - which ended up being nothing in my size that was appropriate. He then grabbed my boots and took them back and tightened them up to get me through the season. He didn't even charge me since he knew I'd be back for boots in the fall when they have stock! My DH did get boots today, so perhaps this was why the lack of charge but still. This type of service ensures that we will buy more equipment there, even though we could probably find some of it (not boots since they need fitting) cheaper elsewhere.

 

[abc]

I didn't tip and didn't see others do.

However, since he's done a pretty good job I felt I want to thank him. So I asked what kind of beer he likes...

 

[marta]

I once asked my boot guy about tipping, or about leaving a 6-pack at the back door etc. He said "nah". But these guys deserve something for all their hard work! When I went for my last fitting (visit #5 I believe...) it was the day before Xmas, so I brought a big tin of home made chocolate chip cookies. You betcha I got the royal treatment and huge smiles from all the guys in the shop.