NWR: Tipping Movers

AprilH81 · May 2014

We are moving in a few weeks (12 days to be exact). We have hired movers to make the day go easier on us and intend on tipping them for their work. How much would you recommend?

We are moving from a 1600 sq ft house (two-story) to a 2700 sq ft house (two story with a basement). The houses are about 5 minutes apart... We aren't moving a lot of appliances (only one fridge), no pianos, or anything that requires a super delicate touch. They estimate it will take 5-6 hours total, but as we box things up we are ending up with fewer anticipated boxes.

I don't want to add to our expenses but I also want to show our appreciation for saving us the back breaking work. I was thinking of $50/mover with the possibility of a "bonus" tip if they get the move done under 5 hours (we pay by the hour). Is the "bonus" rude? I don't want to insult them by saying they would slack off without the bonus, but I would gladly tip them more if it saved us money overall.

Ashes_3 · May 2014

We tipped the two movers who moved us $125.00 each. That was an upstairs one bedroom apartment to a single story two bedroom apartment. But it was cold with ice and snow on the ground also.

blabla89 · May 2014

Wow, y'all are generous. I tipped mine $20 each but my move took less than 2 hours. Offering cold drinks (like gatorade) and/or lunch (deli sandwiches or something) if they're going to be working over a meal time is also appreciated but not required.

AprilH81 · May 2014

lalalaurita said:

Wow, y'all are generous. I tipped mine $20 each but my move took less than 2 hours. Offering cold drinks (like gatorade) and/or lunch (deli sandwiches or something) if they're going to be working over a meal time is also appreciated but not required.

We will have a cooler of cold drinks and have some snacks. The company we are using says that the guys usually don't take a lunch break, they eat as they drive to the new location. If they do take a break they bring their own food so we don't have to feed them an actual meal.

Does anyone have any opinion on offering them a "bonus" if they get done sooner than anticipated?

AprilH81 · May 2014

So after doing more research online (that only served to confuse me more) I actually contacted the moving company to see if they had any recommendations/guidelines.

They recommended $20/person as the most "typical" amount given but it was at our discretion. We will let the guys know that we will be tipping and that the tip will get larger the faster it gets done. We are paying $146 per hour (total for two guys and one truck) so we will come out ahead by bumping up the tip to decrease the over all time.

We are also going to provide some snacks and drinks and offer to get them lunch if they can let us know what they would like. I'm not sure when our crew will be assigned so one of us may be making a run to Subway last minute.

tammym1001 · May 2014

Maybe it's just the cynical side of me, but I probably wouldn't tell them I would give them extra if they did it faster. That would make me paranoid that they would be rushing and wouldn't be careful with my things.

AprilH81 · May 2014

tammym1001 said:

Maybe it's just the cynical side of me, but I probably wouldn't tell them I would give them extra if they did it faster. That would make me paranoid that they would be rushing and wouldn't be careful with my things.

I'm still working on how to phrase the request. I don't want to insult them by suggesting that they wouldn't normally work at a good pace, but I also want to offer an incentive to reward fast work...

JennyColada · May 2014

I think that it's implied that if you are going to tip that you will tip more for better/faster service. I don't think that you have to lay out a gride of how much you are going to tip.

NWR: Tipping Movers

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