Should I tip the delivery guy?

July 14, 2005 7:05 PM

Tipping Filter: Yes, another tipping question. Tomorrow, I am having furniture delivered from a large company. Do I tip the delivery guy? If so, how much?

The bed and sofa are coming from Room and Board which offers in home delivery and furniture set-up for a flat fee. There may only be one delivery guy, but I'm not sure. Nothing too complicated about the set-up, except that the bed goes on the 2nd floor.

posted by picklebird to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

Response by poster: oops. Link to Room and Board didn't work.
posted by picklebird at 7:16 PM on July 14, 2005

I've found when I try to tip for that sort of thing I get turned down and end up feeling kind of dumb. The store may have a policy on tipping. Why not call and ask if a gratuity is included in the delivery fee. I'm sure there's not, but whatever answer they give you will probably tell you if the delivery guy will take tips.
posted by duck at 7:41 PM on July 14, 2005

Best answer: It really depends. My boyfriend delivered furniture for a while, and he said he never expected a tip unless the job was especially complicated or dangerous or if he was asked to do something against company policy (like rearrange/move furniture not delivered by him.) That said, he never turned down a tip and it was definitely appreciated. Delivering furniture is a taxing job and the delivers often don't get paid enough for what they deal with. I've tipped the few times I've had furniture delivered and wasn't refused, usually about $10 per person.
posted by Zosia Blue at 7:58 PM on July 14, 2005

I've had a bunch of guys in the last month, and I couldn't afford to tip them all in cash, so I made sure I had cold Cokes on hand for them. They all seemed very grateful.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:00 PM on July 14, 2005

Best answer: Last time I had furniture delivered, it was a couch and a loveseat and it was literally dropped inside the front door in the living room. In and out in about 5 minutes tops, including the "sign here." No tip there.

The time before that, it was a different couch and loveseat, and after trying the front door and taking a look at the stairs they'd have to traverse, they hauled it around back, brought it through the bulkhead, took the legs off the couch so it'd fit through the doorway into the family room and then reassembled them all. Tipped there.

However, everyone, regardless of nature of the delivery task and if they've already been tipped, gets an offer of a cold soda or bottled water to go, especially in the summer.
posted by jerseygirl at 8:09 PM on July 14, 2005 [1 favorite]

No tip. Offer cold drinks.
posted by cribcage at 8:20 PM on July 14, 2005

You already paid a grand or more for the furniture, plus delivery. You don't need to tip.
posted by Arch Stanton at 8:39 PM on July 14, 2005

You already paid a grand or more for the furniture, plus delivery. You don't need to tip.

Except the delivery guys might not be seeing much of the money, not that I really know.
posted by delmoi at 10:02 PM on July 14, 2005

Exactly, Delmoi. Actually, Arch, considering you paid so much for the furniture, what's ten bucks? Reward for a job well done. I've always tipped for stuff like that. Yeah, I paid twenty bucks for that pizza, too, but I'll give the guy who brought it to me an extra four or five. You don't need to tip a big amount, but an extra five or ten a person is about right. Just think: how many times do you get furniture delivered to your house? If you're me, it's once or twice a year. That's twenty, thirty bucks. Money well spent.

And for those who complain about tipping: then petition your representatives for a national living wage.
posted by incessant at 11:41 PM on July 14, 2005

Offer a cold drink.
posted by Chimp at 4:16 AM on July 15, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks for the tips on tipping.
1) I will call the company and ask about their policy.
2) I will definitely have cold drinks on hand.
3) I will have some cash on hand in case the job turns out to be more labor intensive than expected.
posted by picklebird at 5:10 AM on July 15, 2005

Offer cold drinks. If they do really well, ask them for their manager's/corp's contact information so you can call/write to say what a good job they did. Then do so.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:49 AM on July 15, 2005

Any question about tipping always includes the always tip and never tip camps. Personally my feeling is I am not going to get involved in the employment arrangements of others: I am not going to refuse to tip because of how much I paid their employers or worry about if they are contractors or not, nor am I going to be bullied into tipping because their pay sucks. Jerseygirl states the most important reason: did they half-ass it or did they go the extra mile?

I'd say if you feel like you want to tip, tip. If you're concerned they won't take it or be allowed to take it there's nothing wrong with asking them. I definately agree with everyone who's said make sure to offer drinks - I think that's just a matter of common courtesy for anyone you have laboring in or around your home.

Also, having done on-site jobs in people's homes I can tell you that your free tapwater beats the hell out of what I have to pay $1.50 for at 7-11. When I did that kind of thing I kept granola bars in the trunk for when I (often) didn't have time to stop and eat, so if you want to do a little more but not tip you can have granola bars, bags of chips, candy bars, etc.
posted by phearlez at 4:57 PM on July 15, 2005