Tip etiquette outside my normal day-to-day experience is always such a confusing area for me. As a former waitress, I always tip at restaurants and usually generously depending on the service, but I always leave at least 10% even if the service was terrible. And of course there's my hair stylist and the pizza guy, but until recently I had no idea that you (allegedly) should be tipping your movers.
We have always provided lunch and drinks, but never thought to tip. According to the Interactive Tip Guide you should tip your movers between $10-$25 per person. I searched a couple of other sites and that seems to be the normal recommendation, but that could get pretty costly during the average military move--especially if that tip is per day! On our last move we had 4 people pack our stuff and 4 different people load it which would mean $80-$200 in tips on the pick up side. Then on drop off we had another 4 people who unloaded our household goods so another $40-$100 dollars. This move they have scheduled 3 days for packing (???) so if the tip is per day we are looking at a large chunk of change!
Personally, I feel that movers are probably not underpaid and that while I do want to take care of them (all of our personal belongings are in their hands after all), it would be a huge added expense on an already expensive move. Sometimes I feel like tipping expectations for certain services can get a little out of hand. I'm curious to hear what others have to say though. Do you tip your movers? And if so how much?
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5 comments:
i agree. I do not tip the movers. I do however provide them with lunch and or dinner. And plenty to drink, and i get my children out of their hair while they are packing/loading/unloading, and that in itself is a huge tip i think LOL
No, not all families can afford to do that. I feel that the movers should do a good job regardless if they are tipped. You are right, that tipping is getting a little ridiculous now a days! For a military family to tip the movers, they might as well tip the hotel maids for doing their job in maintaining the rooms, the housing (civilian) staff for assigning a house in a reasonable time and for giving an enlisted family a decent home, the gate guards (civilian) for checking ID's, the lawn care ( civilian, and free while a spouse is deployed) people, ext. I mean really! Enlisted military families do not make that much money, so that is ridiculous to expect all military families to do that.
That's how I feel too! To me, it seems military moves keep a lot of these people paid and in business. While I am sure they appreciate a tip that is a lot for most families. Even the lower ranking officers families do not make a huge amount of money. As my husband's father told him when he enlisted, "You'll always be comfortable, but you'll never be rich."
I would say even for a non-military move it's a large expectation. If the family is paying for a move out of pocket I can't imagine stacking on a an extra $100-$300!
I tried to tip amilitary mover once, and was informed that they are not allowed to take tips! I don't know if he/they were just being polite because of my multitude of children, but I had heard that concept before as well...I still try to offer many, many drinks, and a nice lunch and/or snack.
Yes, I do always tip. Just because I feel like I am suppose to. But our last pcs I wanted to move before my husband got orders to find a house early and had to Pay for it myself upfront. Movers are not cheap nor are they underpaid. If they are it's because their bosses don't pay them enough.
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