I am the groomer. Tips are nice, we work HARD! Dogs are not always cooperative and many are unkept. The prices you pay may seem steep, but have you ever considered the amount of effort that goes into a grooming? It is NOT only a hair cut. It is brushing out of possibly MONTHS of neglect, it is washing and drying of an entire body of fur, sometimes long and thick. Many dogs take a full hour just to PREP for the tub. And don't even talk to me about the time fluff drying takes. You also get the equal of a manicure and a pedicure on an animal that most likely will fight you just to have the nails clipped. If your dog gets any scissor work, imagine trimming the bangs on a 2 year old child who has eaten 2 pounds of sugar, and then making sure each hair is even and neat. We clean poop off of butts and goop out of eyes. We clean up umpteen accidents in a day plus risk getting bit by even the most gentle dog. We lift and carry a whole lot of dog weight around each day. We listen to constant barking and whining. Most customers press us so hard for time that we get little or no time to stop for a "break". Our equipment is expensive to buy and keep sharp and then a rambuncious dog knocks it off the table or out of our hands and breaks it. I never leave work without new scratches or a bruise from being kicked or bumped.
We are as gentle as we are able, but MANY times an owner will ask us to brush out a matted animal that HATES to be brushed. And no matter how many times you tell the owner that the dog will suffer, it seems more important to most that the dog LOOKS good than feels good.

This of course does not imply that any of you fall into these catagories, but besides all this, the shop owner has very high electric bills (driers are killers), water bills (can't goom without water), advertizing costs (the phone bill alone is over $300 per MONTH).......shall I go on?

So even if your groomer is the owner, if you tip your own hairdresser for a clipping of a head of hair, then I think your dog's groomer deserves no less.