Tomorrow I get my new furniture, I’m getting a chair and ottoman, a couch a bedroom set and bunk beds for the kids. Should I tip the delivery guys and if so how much? It will be a third floor apartment and the bedroom set and bunks are going upstairs if that matters.
The internet does not say much about tipping delivery personnel unless they work for a food industry (pizza, catering). Some companies have regulations in which any tip you give must be pooled and shared among many employees.
My theory is that it’s not required. However…
Are you paying for delivery? Is it a private delivery company/guy (OR GAL) that you hired, or does the service come with the purchase?
If it’s a guy/company you hired, with your load and location, it’s customary to tip unless they were terrible.
If it’s a service that comes with the purchase, I wouldn’t tip unless they did a stellar job. Like washed your cat, vacuumed your house, and made you dinner while they were there.
I tip movers 20%, so I’d tip these guys the same I think.
I guess I’m cheap.
Heh. (heh)
I have never tipped them but haven’t had more than a couch delivered a few times. If I had a whole house set delivered and it took a long time and it was difficult to get certain pieces in the place and they were cool…maybe.
If I was a delivery driver myself and tips weren’t the norm, I would never, ever think I should get one and If I did, I’d feel weird about taking it…but that’s just me.
Awesome.
I tipped the guy who delivered my TV, since I wasn’t sure if it was expected or not and wanted to err on the side of caution. He seemed surprised though, and was ready to bolt out the door as soon as the delivery was made, so I guess it wasn’t expected.
Things might be different with multiple pieces, plus going up stairs, since you’re getting closer to full house-moving territory then.
I work for a furniture store where you do have to pay up front for delivery. Tipping is not expected. However, if it’s a third story apartment and a hot day and you can afford it, you might do it just because they’re doing heavy lifting so you don’t have to.
If giving them water, lemonade or iced tea while they are hauling around your stuff constitutes a tip, then yeah, I tip. I tip WELL.
If you mean with money, then, uhhh, I tip foodservers at restaurants 25% so it evens out? Right? For the record I don’t let waiters drink my beverages while I eat.
Sean FTW. I delivered and installed large audio/video crap Back In The Day ™ and I can tell you that after hoisting 52" of love (can it, Bill) upstairs, you can keep that $5 bill but I sure would like a tall glass of cold water or tea. One guy brought us a cold sixer when we left.
Er, I paid about 2 grand to move from CA to FL, there’s no way in hell I’m tipping 20% :P.
I provide water if appropriate and tip. I live in Vegas, almost everyone tips for service.
Hell, I tipped the guy who rushed my sealed transcripts and saved me having to wait “3 to 5 days”.
I never tip if I know I’m only going to see the guy once.
And your name is Robb. But don’t ask me how I know that!
Buy them a six pack.
Its hard work, something nice and cool would probably be more appreciated than a fiver. It also shows that you did consider them and aren’t a “selfish/stingy” bastard.
I think whether people expect tips or not varies wildly across the U.S.
I always buy food, drinks, and tip for big jobs like this. I would be a real hypocrite not to after having spent most of my 20’s carefully adding up every single item I was putting in my shopping cart at the grocery store and working nights for a year in a warehouse for a company that didn’t pay squat. The only time I don’t tip is when I am protesting a serious screw up.
I would be careful offering alcohol. I also learned not to offer Amish people coffee. They politely decline, but give you the hairy eyeball.
To me you tip people who are below your social stature. You tip them instead of spitting on them. So if you feel an urge to spit on them, tip them instead. Just kidding, of course. :) Seriously though, the only people I gnerally tip are people who rely on tips to make up their income. Waitresses, food delivery, bellhops, taxi cab drivers. That’s it. Auto mechanics, rug installers, travel agents, hotel desk clerks, none of these people get a tip because they are simply doing their job as stated. The people that really annoy me are people like the Redcaps at and airport them you have one bag. They go to grab your one bag and I am placed in the awkward position to go “Hey, it’s ok, I’ve got it”. I don’t know how we got on the trend of tipping 20% for merely adequate service, by the way. My default if it wouldn’t make me a social pariah would be 10% for ok service, 15% for great service, for any bill over $20. Anything under $20 typically gets about 20%. When I eat at the diner for $6 it’s 50%.
I used to tip delivery people actually, but funny story. I bought a 165 lb big screen TV from Best Buy. It came with free shipping. I planned on tipping the guys 10 bucks each. So two guys show up. It turns out that the entrace to the house I was living in at the time had this banister making it near impossible to move past it. The solution was to lift the thing up to about chest level over it then down again. Now both of these delivery guys were big guys with back braces.
So what do they do? They refuse to lift this thing over the bannister unless I pay them, get this, $50 EACH. I say, I think that’s a bit excessive guys, I was goign to tip you anyway but you are trying to extoret me here, which I don’t appreciate. They refuse to take it back or lift it. They leave the TV in my doorway and walk off, leaving it in a position where I can’t even close the door and go to work.
So I called Best Buy and chewed them out. Bastards.
I got nothing … :)
$1 per bag!
As for the 20% rate. That’s because we’re looking to be nice people and rack up extra chits for the karma pool.