$5-10 depending on the difficulty of the job.
Piano movers always get $20 each from me. No matter how many tricks of the trade they use and how many dollies and other gadgets, they are still lifting pianos and that’s miserable work.
It depends really.
I bought a very vanilla fridge from Lowes and I told the guy who sold it to me that I needed the hinges on the left hand side. I made a point to tell him this and despite the effort they came on the wrong side. The guys that delivered it changed it for me and I tipped them 10 each.
If they are providing personal service I generally tip. If you bring my mattress into my home, up my stairs, and put it on my bed and remove the old one without breaking anything, I will generally tip.
Most appliance delivery people don’t expect a tip.
On the other hand I wonder if people tip their movers? These are people who do all the work but I imagine do not get tipped because moving companies are so expensive.
It’s strange. Tipping here is nowhere near as crazy as it is in the States (waiters still take 10%, pizza deliveries get $2, taxis get bupkis) - except when it comes to appliances, where the standard is 100 shekels, or about $28. I guess it’s because almost everyone lives in apartments.
Was this a zombie revived by a (now deleted) spammer?
I always tip, and well. They are doing me a service so I don’t have to. Do it well and be rewarded above and beyond your wages. I see nothing wrong with this.
Normally I tip deliverymen $5 or 10 each for an easy delivery, or $20 each for something that needs to be carried up the stairs or into the house.
A few months ago, I gave my largest tip ever. I tipped the FedEx guy $120 because he spent 45 minutes trying to back his truck up a very steep driveway to deliver hardwood flooring. I was surprised that he kept trying, because I know that it was putting him way off schedule. I’d have stopped him but if wasn’t able to maneuver up that drive, we’d have had to hand carry 17 boxes of very heavy 5" wide hardwood flooring up that steep hill. In 85 degree heat.
He actually tried to refuse the tip at first, but I wouldn’t hear of it.
Another tip story: I was once out at my lakehouse, which is off the beaten path, and a UPS guy delivered 5 huge boxes of bulky but not particularly heavy patio furniture. I asked him if he could maybe bring the boxes around back with his dolly, but he said no because of liability.
I said, “Fair enough.” and then handed him a $20 tip. Next thing I know, he not only brought the boxes around back, but carried them up the stairs to the porch and helped me unbox them! I was very grateful but kind of embarrassed because that was way above and beyond.
Yes, us movers do get tipped. Not every time, but sometimes.
They get their base pay, whatever that is. Home Depot pockets any fees. Just another part of how Arthur Blank owns the Atlanta Falcons and why Bernie Marcus has his name on a hospital wing.
I tend to look at the situation. If they did a lot to get it where it needed to be – if they didn’t just truck it up the driveway and leave it there – I tip them accordingly, especially if they do extra. Did the take it out of the box? Did they haul away all the packing material? Did they set it up? I’m appreciative.
And even if I don’t tip I always offer them a cup of coffee or an iced tea or a soft drink, especially here in the hot as the hinges of Hell South. (Likewise the postman and the garbage men if they do something above/beyond the call, like bringing a big package or hauling off bulky household items.) It’s a tiny consideration to offer them a cold drink on a torrid day; it’s the grease that lubricates the wheels of human existence. It’s the right thing to do. (It’s probably a Southern thing.)
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
This is the Straight Dope. We tip everybody for everything. You should have unloaded the appliance yourself, apologized profusely for not taking the thing home with you in the first place, and tipped at least enough to put his kids through college and let him enjoy a comfortable retirement.
Tipping your movers is ALWAYS a good idea, especially if you want your stuff in one piece.
If you tip your movers as soon as the truck pulls up, you have a much greater chance that they won’t gorilla them around or leave it in a pile in your driveway. I give 'em like $20 each to start and if they do a really great job a little more after. (I offer them a cold soft drink/water/sports drinks too.) Everybody’s happy. Less broken stuff. It’s worth it.
Just a thought.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva