waiting for my new furniture to get here. i paid 80 bucks for the delivery fee. tips still needed? thanks.
- lift with your legs, not your back - stretch before you lift - don't overdo it - be careful on the stairs
I was a furniture deliveryman for a year and a half. A small tip is appreciated, but it really depends on the circumstances. We got tipped probably 30-40% of the time, which was way more than any other deliverymen before us ever got tipped. Me and my friend prided ourselves on milking every cent we could get. I was the charm, he was the eye candy. We'd hit up some old broad's house with a sofa and chair... I'm commenting on how I love her decor while he's making sure to bend over a lot in her sight on the lifting. One time we got the largest tip ever recorded by the company... A nice old man who was giving us 20 bucks each every time his new stuff came in. We went there at least 7 times and each time it was the same tip. Then his final piece came in and it was a lot of heavy wood furniture... he handed us a C-note at the end. That was pretty damn cool. It really is subjective though. Sometimes we'd set up a complete bedroom set, move 2 sleeper sofas up a flight of wooden stairs, then bring in 3 King sized mattresses, set up all the bedroom sets, haul all the old furniture out and we wouldn't even get offered a glass of water. Sometimes we'd bring in a recliner and we'd get sodas and 10 bucks. It all depends on the customer. If the guys have to do more than an hour's work of labor in your house... 5 per man would probably be a nice gesture. At least offer beverages.
If they make an effort above and beyond what is needed to honestly to say they did the job, like moving your furniture around a few times, because you were not sure where you wanted it (and delaying when they could go tripping off to their next gig), then sure... give each guy a 5 or 10 spot and a big "Thanks!" Depending on the cost of the job, of course. Never more than 20%. If they just did the minimum effort needed to fulfill the contract, just the "Thank you very much!" And check your stuff before they leave. If anything is banged up, get their names, take pics, and take action. That's the other side of the coin.
Always offer a tip when someone does a good job. If they are nice and put up your furniture for you, and don't damage anything, go ahead and give them a tip. I agree with pgabriel, $5 per sounds about right.
Unless the deliverymen acting like aholes, they will get tips from my family. How much is depending on who was at home. I usually give $10 each if they did a good job, $20 if it was bad weather. My sisters or mom probably give a little less, my dad maybe a little more.
My dad owns a moving company and things like that are considered a hot shot, meaning you're just going in and out as fast as you can. On a $80 hot shot a tip is usually not expected, but most clients give one anyways. (About $10/guy.) When they move a whole house full of furniture, you should definitely tip if they did a good job. Tips on full blown moving jobs range from $20-$100/guy depending on the client. The highest tip someone gave was $500, but that was on a whole move up to Aspen.
We are talking about tips, right? So how much would the service charge be? When you pay for delivery, isn't that for the labor of delivering? Sure, if a they are really friendly or does some extra things then, sure some tips is good. But $500 for tips?! Whoa.
LOL My dad has ran his business for almost 20 years with no advertising of any kind. His clients have $$$$. These are people from River Oaks, Sugarland, etc. He's even moved a few professional athletes. As noted, the $500 tip was on a move to Aspen where they had a lot of difficulties from the weather.
i tipped them $5 each in the end. they just had to move a sofa, a dining table, and a bunch of chairs. thought that was enough since i paid $80 for delivery already.
