Tipping protocol for the movers. (fit in, apartment, rent)

[smithy77]

I'll be moving next week (downsizing from house to 2 br condo). The movers will be moving only bedroom and office furniture, since I'll be purchasing new furniture for the rest of the place. I haven't moved in years and I'm not sure what kind of tip is expected. I was thinking $20 per guy/gal. Anyone?

[Bigfoot424]

Tipping is never mandatory. Tip only if you appreciate better than average service. Do doubt you are paying a premium for the service already. But yes, $ 20 per person is more than fair.

[packer43064]

Rent a uhaul. Problem solved.

[designer-d]

A good rule of thumb for this area is to expect to split about $200 evenly amongst the team. The more men they have working, the less they will get, but since they are doing less work it evens out. There was a thread about this a while back and I think most people were paying well above $20 per man unless the movers did something wrong/broke something and then you could cut it down some.

Also take into account how many hours the job takes. You are basically filling in the gaps in their hourly wages which are too low.

[Yankeesfan]

I would probably give $15 each so you're sufficiently generous in IMHO.

[airjay75]

I just moved and tipped each of the 3 movers $20. I thought that was very fair myself. That said, my move was a pretty small and quick move that took less than 4 hours from start to finish, and I did all of the packing myself. If my move had been more involved, I suppose I would have considered tipping more.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by designer-d

Also take into account how many hours the job takes. You are basically filling in the gaps in their hourly wages which are too low.

Best advice.

OP, movers look forward to a tip if they've worked really hard.
The last move I had, I tipped each guy (3) $30 each but it was a pretty big move and they were here a few hours.

For your move, $20 is great. Plus a bottle of water or a canned drink is also generous.
Good luck on your move!

[FindingZen]

In your situation, $20 per person seems reasonable to me. It's what I've tipped in past when moving from one apartment/condo to another in the same region.

[Spaten_Drinker]

I tipped the crew that moved me from a house to a condo $20 each because they did a great job of NOT damaging any of my stuff and they had to carry a sofa up three flights of stairs because it would not fit in the elevator.

They did not screw around and "milk" the move. They were in and out quickly thus not costing me any addtional hours.

[spencgr]

I think $20 is sufficient for the small volume of moving involved.

Last time I moved (2 bedroom TH - moving about 30 miles), I tipped the movers (there were 7 of them)$100 each. I didn't intend to, initially, but it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. The entire move took about 8 hours, and I was pretty thankful no one died in my driveway. As I watched them drip gallons of sweat from their heards, and not complain once, I thought about what they were making. They probably only were making about $10/ hour; thus they would only be walking away from a horrendous 8 hour day of hard labor and sweltering conditions with $100. I felt the least I could do was double that amount....and offer a beer when they were done.

(oh, and we had cases of cold water available to them, and we bought them pizza for lunch.)