As a customer, you put a lot of faith in your movers
You entrust a bunch of strangers with your things on moving day. As a result, you foresee your belongings will be handled with care and respect.
Although, you’re not in the wrong to expect great service, but as with most service industries, you won’t always get what you pay for. With that said, let’s hope you won’t ever have to deal with clumsy and unprofessional movers.
For the most part, you should receive great moving services from hard working men, and when you do, how do you show your appreciation? Moving is hard, physical work, and very few people in the service industry can testify that they work as hard as movers do.
The act of tipping
Is prevalent in service industries and the moving industry is no exception. How much to tip has always been a debatable subject of discussion, with varying opinions on the matter. If your crew was attentive, professional, and performed to your standards, then give what you believe is fair.
Just like you would at a restaurant or a bar. Although, tip is neither mandatory nor expected, it is greatly appreciated when given. For the purpose of this article, let’s take a look at some scenarios when you may feel inclined to tip your movers. How to do it, and when.
If you’re getting ready for your upcoming relocation and wondering how much to tip your movers? Then this article will surely help you answer some of those questions.
Do you have to tip your movers?
As in any service industry, tips are not mandatory. Therefore, the short answer to this question, is no. Whether or not to tip should be based off of personal experience and preference.
If you’re satisfied with the services provided, you can choose to tip your movers to show your appreciation for their efforts. Simply put, tipping or lack thereof, should reflect your overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Moving is not cheap, and even though you may already be paying a small fortune for your move, your movers are certainly not pocketing a significant portion of those costs.
Therefore, if you feel like the guys were hard working, and performed to their best abilities, then why not reward them with tips? They will appreciate your gesture and will be happy to learn you were pleased with their performance.
Who should you tip?
An individual formally known in the moving industry as a foreman will manage your moving crew on the move day. A foreman oversees the entire process and makes important decisions pertaining the move, if need be. You can entrust the responsibility of dividing up the tips to the foreman.
He or she will certainly make sure the money is distributed equally among the rest of the movers team. You can also tip the crew members individually if you wish to acknowledge and show appreciation for their individual efforts.
How much should you tip?
There is no general rule of thumb when it comes to tipping and how much to tip. Unlike with most other service providers, where 15-20% is the industry standard, the same may not always be applicable in the moving industry.
Deciding how much to tip should be based off the overall complexity, time, and performance of the move. Anywhere from $20-$100+ per mover is standard. But again, where in that range you decide to tip depends on your personal circumstances.
Can food and drinks be considered tip?
Moving is back breaking , hard work and to keep your movers hydrated and energized, you should at the very least have cold water available for them, regardless of whether you’re tipping them or not.
With that said, should you decide to buy them lunch in lieu of a tip, ask what they would prefer, as they probably have pizza multiple times a week.