Tipping service people

[Meenah]

I tipped the last movers $25 for each person. Last year we had the electrician out for over 6 hours and I gave them (2 of them)$30 and told them to get lunch on their way back to the office. I usually tip something, especially if I know they are not the owners of the company.

[Tenacious_D]

We also made sure there were bottles of water available for the movers and bought the guys pizza when they were dropping off our items but like I said before, these guys were incredible.

[medpedspouse]

We made sure that there was a cooler full of water and bought them lunch. Additionally, we tipped $50 per person - there were 3 packing and unpacking. They were awesome! This was the best move ever!!

[DCJenn]

Most of the time we buy water, breakfast (McDonalds), Lunch (subs) and tip them cash.

Not the movers who packed the cat. They were assholes from the start.

Jenn

[scrub-jay]

Most of the time we buy water, breakfast (McDonalds), Lunch (subs) and tip them cash.

Not the movers who packed the cat. They were assholes from the start.

Jenn

Poor cat!!

[samssugarmomma]

I'd forgotten about the cat Jenn!

The last time that we had movers, we tipped them $30 each (4 guys). They did an awesome job loading, but at the drop off (it was a same day move) they just dropped all of the boxes into the middle of each room. We literally could not move around the apartment because there were boxes everywhere.

[Rapunzel]

Now that we got an army of service people parading in and out of the house on practically daily basis, I'm wondering what I'm suppose to do about tipping. Never had this problem before as the super used to do everything and got tipped once a year on Christmas.

For the most part we use local reputable companies that I'm assuming pay a decent wage and benefits to their employees. Some of the guys take a meaningful pause after I sign the papers and say good bye and others disappear immediately. Does tipping depend on how long they stay and the nature of work they do? Do I just give everyone $5? How does this work?

I'm specifically asking about service people not delivery, so they are fixing/installing and are sometimes here for hours.

No, I do not tip people who fix or install things. A plumber or electrician make SICK amounts of money for their training level. And, people who install appliances are not tipped.

The industries which I DO tip: restaurant wait staff, hotel workers, and moving companies.

[alison]

We went with Allied, and they were great. the only thing that arrived broken was a printer.

On the Chicago end, I tipped $30/mover (there were 2), and ordered sandwiches. When I handed them out, I said "I hope sandwiches are ok," and one of the guys had the nerve to say "well, I guess...it's food, right?" They also seemed displeased by the $30.

I tipped the movers on this end $20 each (3 guys), and they seemed pleased by the amount. They came on a Sunday! After they got the tip, they stuck around to put back together dh's bike, wipe down some of the cabinets that had sweat droplets on them (it was a 90-degree day), and came back up our stairs to remind us to close our garage door -- we had forgotten to do so, and dh had his bike in there...

[scrub-jay]

On the Chicago end, I tipped $30/mover (there were 2), and ordered sandwiches. When I handed them out, I said "I hope sandwiches are ok," and one of the guys had the nerve to say "well, I guess...it's food, right?"

Sometimes I feel that being gracious is a dying art...



-C

[MrsK]

Yikes!

I have a nicer story in that vein. DrK bought lunch for our movers -- the ones that tracked blackberries through the house. Apparently, the lunch orders got messed up and they forgot to get my lunch. One of the movers, having figured out that I was pregnant, shared his lunch with me. Sweet guy. Too bad the leader of his crew was such a jack*ss.