This came up recently in a discussion and I'm curious about what other people do. It never occurred to me to tip an appliance delivery person, but I imagine it is a very hard job so it's understandable. Just not something I thought of before.
Do you tip for this service? If so, about how much? Does it matter whether you paid a separate delivery charge? Thanks!
Thanks for all the responses so far! It's not something that has come up for me until recently (our house came with appliances and most of our furniture is pretty old or came from family) so I never thought about it before. It's funny - after I posted this, the comcast guy came for an installation (not free) and I swear he was hinting for a tip! I'm so dense I didn't even realize it until after he left. I almost never have cash on hand, so I guess the result would have been the same . . .
Anyway, thanks, everyone! I think I agree that if something is just dropped off, it's one thing; if they have to go up flights of stairs and go out of their way, they should get something. I really, really hate that companies can't pay people enough that I don't have to make up the difference (I'd rather have it included in the delivery charge so I don't have to think about it) but that's not the delivery person's fault, I suppose.
Absolutely tip them! I can't believe there are actually people who think it's acceptable not to tip them.
No! I would not tip them but you could offer them something to drink. They are paid to deliver you appliances, it is their job, and a tip is not expected in this line of work. You pay the men when you pay a delivery charge.
Good Luck
Absolutely. $5-$10 a person depending on the job — set-up, lots if stairs, etc. It is a service and the service industry works partially on tips to make a decent living. And you're right, it's not an easy job. If you tip your stylist or manicurist, you should tip delivery people.
Absolutely! And if they set up your bed, appliance, furniture, etc. and take away the mess, $10.00 is approiate. Any service that keeps you from having to figure out the way to get the product where it belongs and set it up for working surely deserves a tip.
It depends. We had a la-z-boy chair delivered to our house that was set up in one step. We didn't tip him. He was in and out of our house in less than three minutes.
We also had a set of twin beds for our guest room delivered. The assembly took almost an hour. I tipped both men very well since the work would have taken me days.
These men are doing what they are already paid for. There is no reason you should feel obligated to spend even more of your money when they have done nothing more than drop off an appliance. You've already paid the delivery charge.
I completely agree with Barb A - however, if you have tons of "extra" money lying around and are dying to get to rid of it, by all means I am sure they are glad to take it off of your hands. Also, tip according to how heavy the item is, how far they have to move it, etc, if you do decide to tip. But remember, these people are paid a regular salary, not like waitresses who are paid far less than minimum wage and rely on tips as their income.
Have a good day!
I do tip them, and they are usually nice and careful with whatever they are delivering. We just got a new fridge and gave the guy $10. You dont have to do it, but it is a nice gesture, especially if they are setting up anything.
no you dont but you can if you want to
We recently had a washer delivered (it was offered with free delivery and hauling away my dead machine) down a flight of stairs to the basement and it included set up. I did a search to see what was customary and found that delivery people should be tipped for their work. The amount depends on a number of factors - was it a big piece? 2 man job? Stairs? Were they clean? Haul away garbage/old appliance? Was there set up involved? That should be the determining factor of the dollar amount of the tip - not should they receive a tip at all. This was a good guideline, I thought:
Tipping for Deliveries
Furniture or appliance deliveries - $5-10 per person. If the delivery is huge (like multiple pieces), then $20 per person. (In my case, I gave the guys $10 each - there were 2 guys.)
Grocery delivery - Usually included in the fee.
Flower deliveries - $2-5 for normal deliveries and $5-10 for large ones.
UPS/Fed Ex - None.
Dry Cleaning or Laundry Delivery - Nothing. Most services instruct drivers not to accept gratuities.
Liquor delivery - 10-15%.
Pizza deliveries - 15%, but not less than $2.
Delivering a big box like a TV to your car - Nothing. Most stores prohibit employees from receiving tips, and the employee may be subject to discipline for doing so. (But a nice note to the store manager/filling out a comment card on an employee who went above and beyond are perfectly acceptable too.)
/y husband is a big tipper - i mean he loves to give the money away he'd tip the mail man every day if he could :)
But Me being European not so hot on it. I guess it depends on the level of work also if they were nice. I think coke / cookies is do good idea-
I think MarieB and I must have married relatives. My husband always tips everyone. He is so nice. That's why I married him. But anyway I think a coke and some cookies are fine. I'm sure they'd like the money better though. Teehee.
no, not as a rule. A drink for sure, praise for sure, but not money unless it's been an unusual situation. Let your heart decide. xo
I do not tip delivery service people. I do offer them a can of coke or other portable beverage though.
edited to add:
Service men make at least minimum wage, if not more. Additionally, most of the time I am shelling out $100 or more for delivery. For example, I am having a patio set delivered to my house which will take all of 3 minutes to unload. They've already gotten PAID to do their job. On the other hand, servers in restaurants make minimum wage or less. If you don't tip them, then they are actually paying the government (through their taxation) to wait on you. Their 'salary' is figured by assuming a tip and receive tiny, tiny paychecks (although they do walk out the door with cash on hand nightly).
I wasn't going to respond since i figured a lot of others would. I tip if the delivery goes smoothly and the guys know what they are doing. My husband worked with a friend of his some time ago. This friend is a contractor for the trucking company Sear outsources to. The person that owns the truck gets maybe $500 for delivering for that day. The owner will then give his guys $100 for the day to make all the deliveries. With this case, if there are 8 deliveries made the store gets to keep some of the money, the owner of the truck that may be able to sit back and let others do the actual work gets a large portion and then the guys get $100 to deliver heavy appliances or furniture. That is why I tip depending on how well the delivery was completed. If the truck does not have the store's name, it is outsourced.
Everyone expects a tip these days even if all they did was hand you a bag of food. The service industry originally set up so that tips were part of wages of those who presented you with a skill or talent such as hair designers, waiters(yes it is a skill to get your dinner order right and get drinks to your table), and a few others. These people though are hired at less then minimum wage and it is expected that we will bring up their hourly wage to a legal wage with our tipping for their service. I however don't think that since either the service men are delivering an item to your home that you should have to pay again as usually delivery is expensive and many stores pay outsource groups to do delivery. Sometime and you will never know it the owner of the business is delivering your furniture. The only exception I see to this is if in a few more weeks you are going back to the same store to buy another appliance/furniture then I would as you will see these people again and they will know not to ding the drywall.
I do not tip but offer something to drink if they've been nice.
Yes. Depending on the level of work involved, the tip increases. Two guys spent an hour laboring over a new, complicated fridge: $10 each, plus Cokes and some cookies I'd made. Hauling in and setting up a big sectional: $5 each for two guys, plus Cokes. Everyone has always been nice and friendly. If they weren't, I suppose I would have skipped the tip!
