How to tip the Movers
Letting movers know you are going to tip them could save you money on the final bill
Tipping the movers, and how much to tip, is always a tough decision, but if you keep the following suggestions in mind, you will be sure to find a suitable answer for your particular moving job situation. Perhaps because consumers rely so much on the movers doing a good moving job that they do not consider them as service professionals. But they actually are and proper etiquette requires that they be treated as such – it is proper to offer a tip, whether it is cash or you buying the crew lunch and drinks or even both. As with any other service providers, you would base your moving tips on the moving job overall performance. If you think your crew was helpful and professional, then give them what you believe is fair.
Moving is a stressful process overloaded with hundreds of small details that need particular attention. One of those is how to treat the crew moving your life’s precious belongings, so here is a quick reference that should keep the movers happy and moving:
- Moving is hard and back-breaking work so it would only be common decency to have cold bottled water, coffee, soda or whatever is suitable to the weather and time of day on hand on in the fridge.
- Provide food if the move takes a longer and extends over the lunch time; pizza, sandwiches, something quick they can eat while on the move. Some people prefer to buy the crew lunch in stead of a tip and this is perfectly fine. Some do both. It’s whatever you are comfortable with. If you do offer to buy the crew lunch, make sure to ask if they have a preference as to food choice.
- Avoid giving the guys beer or alcohol at the end of the day. Make the tip cash so the movers can spend it how they wish.
You will hear varying advices on how much is common to tip. Percentage do not really work as in a restaurant for example. Usually the difference between a 1000 moving job and a 10000 move is likely the actual distance the moving truck travels between your moving locations, and not how much time it took to for the movers to load the moving van. Basically, if it is a half-day 3-4 hours moving – $15 per mover is considered appropriate tip and if it is a 7 hours move – $25 is the right tip. If you have a lot of heavy furniture pieces and narrow or winding stairs, you should consider increasing the tips amount. If the crew works above the 12 hours to get your precious belongings packed and loaded, consider $50 as fair. If you received absolutely amazing professional moving service, tips can reach up to $100 and even more. But the movers need to be really good, really helpful and do the extra step, such as helping with last minute packing, taking their time to carefully wrap fragile expensive items, or helping catch an escaped cat. This is definitely a sign of really good movers that deserve gratuity.
The Moving Blog starts an initiative “Tip the Movers” to help customers receive a better moving service and keep the movers provide even better stress-free moving experience. We will contact many moving companies to support our initiative and improve the industry’s overall performance by providing a pleasant relocation service.
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