Tipping movers

[Kefir King]

I had 3 movers and maybe a driver who stayed in the truck, and a $1000 bill for 4 hours work including the drive from Jersey City to UES, so I tipped the head guy $100 and said "For the three of you."


I am certain 1 box went missing or they forgot to pick it up. It happens. Plus they forgot to take a floor lamp that went bye-bye, but my partner stayed behind so he should have seen the lamp.


If it was not enough for them, so be it. I will never see them again.

[deeken]

Before you tip your movers make sure you go through all of your furniture and stuff and make sure nothing is damaged or missing. When we moved from Brooklyn to LI the moving company we used gave us a great 5 hour moving rate and everything went along quickly. We thought the guys did a great job moving our stuff so we tipped them $100 EACH!!! That's a $300 tip for doing a quick job.

However once they left we started looking at the furniture and we noticed A LOT of damage. All of our expensive furniture that we bought from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel was damaged while the cheap ikea crap was in pristine condition. The ruined two dressers, night stand, TV Stand, Dining room table, bed frame, a bunch of chairs and few other things I can't remember.

I was so mad at myself for tipping them so generously for shoddy work. It seemed like they were in such a hurry to get the job done that they went off roading to take a shortcut. I did call the moving company and they made things right but the over generous tip I gave those hacks are gone.
Next time you tip your movers make sure you take a little time to go through your stuff and make sure nothing is damaged or left behind. Try to make a small inventory of your stuff.

[WhyRUMad]

I was a mover back during my college summer days and so have inside info.


If you really want to get on the movers' good side, you'll offer to buy them coffee when they get there. I always have a few bottles of water in the fridge as well. Movers very much appreciate that and will take extra care of your stuff. If it is a big move where they will be packing and moving your stuff all day, offer to buy them lunch (pizza). Then at the end of the move tip them $40 - $50 each if they did a good job.


The more typical is plastic cups and tap water with $10 if you're lucky. lol

[livingsinglenyc]

Originally Posted by WhyRUMad

I was a mover back during my college summer days and so have inside info.


If you really want to get on the movers' good side, you'll offer to buy them coffee when they get there. I always have a few bottles of water in the fridge as well. Movers very much appreciate that and will take extra care of your stuff. If it is a big move where they will be packing and moving your stuff all day, offer to buy them lunch (pizza). Then at the end of the move tip them $40 - $50 each if they did a good job.


The more typical is plastic cups and tap water with $10 if you're lucky. lol

I always have cold bottled water for them, enough so they can have 2-3 bottles, buy something from Entenmann's and have some snack bars on hand. If they don't drink and eat everything I say take it with you since I know they go from job to job and I'm always the first job of the day.
I have always used cheaper movers as nothing I have is that expensive. They are always appreciative for the snacks and of course the tip at the end. Last time though like the post above I noticed a few things missing and a few things broken. Like my bed frame, I had to jimmy to use it. It pissed me off but what are you gonna do.

[LizfromtheBronx]

Originally Posted by deeken

Before you tip your movers make sure you go through all of your furniture and stuff and make sure nothing is damaged or missing. When we moved from Brooklyn to LI the moving company we used gave us a great 5 hour moving rate and everything went along quickly. We thought the guys did a great job moving our stuff so we tipped them $100 EACH!!! That's a $300 tip for doing a quick job.

However once they left we started looking at the furniture and we noticed A LOT of damage. All of our expensive furniture that we bought from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel was damaged while the cheap ikea crap was in pristine condition. The ruined two dressers, night stand, TV Stand, Dining room table, bed frame, a bunch of chairs and few other things I can't remember.

Did they not pad or wrap the furniture? Even my fave company, which is a man with a van service, always wraps the pieces. I have some still wrapped 2 years later (haven't been using them so may as well kep 'em protected).

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by city living

We only tipped like $20-$30 each but we had a pretty easy/short move and we basically brought almost none of our big furniture from our previous place.

I'm pretty tipped out. Everyone wants a tip for everything.

I agree. It's so annoying when there's a tip line on CC receipts at a to go place like a coffee shop, etc. I don't mind them leaving a tip jar open since the solicitation is less active (noone has to leave a line blank, enter 0 for tip, etc.) but I'd rather they didn't request tips on CC receipts.

If someone is unhappy with their compensation or feels underpaid, they should take that up with their employer, not their customers (who are the reason they have that job to begin with). If I asked my company's clients for a raise, I'd find myself in an unemployment line in a NY minute!