Comments on: Do you tip movers, and if so, how much?

Question: Do you tip movers, and if so, how much?

FreezBoy — Thu, 13 May 2004 06:28:33 -0800

Etiquette question: Do you tip movers? And if so, how much? I've hired 3 Men, 1 Truck for an across-town move that will probably take about 4 hours. The move is billed by the hour and the hourly rate is pretty steep, so I assume (hope) they get a decent wage.

By: yesster

yesster — Thu, 13 May 2004 06:30:41 -0800

When I've had moving help - volunteer or paid - it seems that pizza-and-beverage is always appreciated. That beverage doesn't have to include alcohol.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Thu, 13 May 2004 06:57:25 -0800

When I hired movers, they took four hours to do a three-hour (max) job. I'm a pretty laid-back guy, but I found I really had to hound them--at $2 a minute, I considered paying for that extra hour to be the tip.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Thu, 13 May 2004 07:00:48 -0800

On the other hand, I have had a positive experience, too. I hired two college students, gave them pizza and beer, and gave them about a 25% tip on top of what we agreed, because they earned it. Plus I gave them all the stuff that didn't fit into the new place. Oh, and those empty 5-gallon water jugs I never got around to returning, so they got the deposit on them.

By: yangwar

yangwar — Thu, 13 May 2004 07:42:14 -0800

Food and beverage should be given liberally. Many people provide food for lunch but I'd recommend buying doughnuts for the morning as well. Think of it as a tip given PRIOR to the service to ensure good service for the rest of the day.

By: heather

heather — Thu, 13 May 2004 07:57:57 -0800

i always tip movers. while it's done after the fact and won't change the quality of care you receive, i think it fosters good will for the future.

i'd also wait to ask what they would like to eat and drink. the last time i moved, i used delancy street movers (they also have a great restaurant down in soma) which enables people out of prison to develop new skills. they couldn't accept anything other than bottled water with intact seals. they were great... really nice guys.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Thu, 13 May 2004 08:11:54 -0800

I always tip them too--they're doing the work i don't want to, and aren't strong enough for (and i always live up narrow staircases).

By: ttrendel

ttrendel — Thu, 13 May 2004 08:20:08 -0800

The movers probably don't get very much of that hourly rate. I worked as a mover a few summers ago. The billed rate was $24.50 per man per hour. We got $7.50 of that. A large percentage of the hourly rate goes towards insurance.

I'd tip if they do an especially good job and definitely have some drinks to hand out. I'd estimate that we got tipped about 1/3 of the time, so it wasn't anything that was counted on.

I might mention that if they do the job quickly, they'll get tips. It's pretty easy to take your time when your only getting such a small percentage of the billed rate. I've also seen lots of guys knock some billable time off the bill for customers who promised tips if the job was done quickly.

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Thu, 13 May 2004 08:20:17 -0800

Our moving service was a corporate-based company, so our fee went to the company and the movers themselves were paid on the clock. We had a team of four guys and we gave each of them $20 at the end of the job. They might have gotten more if they didn't spend half the day hitting on my sister.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Thu, 13 May 2004 09:24:57 -0800

I think 10 to 25 percent being typical was what I read before my last move. I assumed I could throw it onto the final check, but they insisted on cash, so they only got a 10% tip since that was all I had on me. It was the first time I used movers and I have to say it was worth every penny. I'm never moving again by myself, it's just stupid to put your family, body, and friends through such pain.

By: PrinceValium

PrinceValium — Thu, 13 May 2004 09:29:00 -0800

For apartment moves, 40-50 bucks a person sounds reasonable, I think. Usually for small jobs you get 2 people, and medium 3.

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 13 May 2004 10:28:45 -0800

it's fucking hard, grueling work. if at all possible, tip them.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 13 May 2004 11:26:52 -0800

My mother and my stepfather just hired a small company like the one described in the post (Two Men And A Truck, or something like that) to move them to a new house, and when the job was finished the stepfather tipped each man $100. From the looks on their faces you'd have thought they'd never seen Benjamin Franklin before. I'm guessing that probably doubled their wage for the day.

Frankly, since the last time my mom moved I was the one who did all the heavy lifting, I'd have happily tipped them $100 myself just to thank them for saving my back.

By: FreezBoy

FreezBoy — Thu, 13 May 2004 14:00:43 -0800

Yeah, I did try to set up a moving fund by inviting all my friends to pay me money, rather than have to help me move. It didn't work out so well.

Thanks for everyone's advice. I'll definitely be supplying food and drinks and I'll have a goodly amount of tip money on hand.

By: me3dia

me3dia — Thu, 13 May 2004 14:04:33 -0800

Last time we moved, we tipped $60 or $80 extra bucks and a 12-pack of beer. The movers seemed more grateful for the beer than the money, but it was a really hot day. (The fee for the move was about $300 IIRC, so you do the math.)

By: Nelson

Nelson — Thu, 13 May 2004 15:19:35 -0800

In general I find that if I'm unclear whether I should tip someone or not, that means I should.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Thu, 13 May 2004 19:20:54 -0800

Tip them. They work harder for the money than just about anybody else. (I think 20% is about right.)