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We're moving house on Monday, and have just had a discussion around tipping the removals guys. the questions raised were:

1. ) Is it standard protocol to tip the removals men? if so how much are they expecting?

2. ) What refreshments should be provided? I would have thought the offer of a mug of tea at each end should suffice, but my wife was suggesting feeding them aswell.

Any advice from those with experience would be welcome.

Are you not paying a fee for the removals? If yes then why are you going to tip?
Cup of tea OK but don't feed them.

No tip, this ain't the USA. Cups of tea/biscuits is polite.

Coinsidence...

Family in middle of using removal men and are paying £35/hour, more than enough, imo. It might be even one man, but he has a shock coming if he thinks I am giving him a lift getting stuff here!

No tip for sure, they are overpaid binmen, imo.

Aaron you really are a knob sometimes.
How are they bin men? And what's wrong with bin men anyway ?
It's a skilled job with a lot of heavy lifting that is usually very awkward to say the least.
£35 p hour is about right. Most people pay over £50 p hour just to get the car or washing machine fixed .
Now that's overpriced !

Oh and I've never been a bin man or removal man  but if they do a good job and your happy with the service what's wrong with giving a fiver for a Xmas drink ?
Tipping is all about the service you have received and what mood your in imo.

Anyone who comes to my place gets a cup of tea, and if they're here when we eat we offer them food.

this this this !

Its costing us £1100!

 

That's the same in my house but  don't think I'd be cooking in the middle of a house move.
When I moved house, the cheapest quote I received was close to 2k. I chose to hire a transit for a weekend and got family to help. I fed them and treated them all to something nice.

If I were to pay 2k to a professional firm then the tip would certainly stay in my back pocket.

Reason removal quotes/ charges are so high is the insurance they are paying.
It's scandalous what insurance premiums they have to pay to operate. Employers liability , public, not to mention running the lorry and covering all your worldly goods.
Look at the bigger picture.
Unfortunately the days of a man and a van and getting something done for a couple hundred quid cash are long gone.
Too many control measures , too many overheads.

My heart bleeds for them. There aren't many trades/firms out there who aren't struggling with high expenses.

Would you tip a car salesman when you buy a car?

Does anyone tip the supermarket delivery driver when they deliver the weekly shop?

All this tipping everyone shit gets on my tits to be honest, this country is expensive enough without us importing that stupid septic culture over here. At least over there stuff is cheaper in the main to compensate, we can do without it for the most part.

Lol deffo not tipping the car salesman .
Have tipped the delivery guy though.
always turns up smiling and one day when snow on the ground hes soaked thru freezing cold. Carries it up our garden which is on a slope and a long walk . So I gave him a couple quid. That's what you do ye ?
Guy was made up . He's obv on a shite wage and has a family to feed too.  Karma gotta be all good imo

Yeah I tip restaurants and pizza delivery etc, think that's pretty much it though.

I agree. We offer the people who come to our home food and drink because that's part of our culture.

Giving money away is not part of our culture.

Agree when it comes to trick or treat and shite like that.
Any kids that ever knocked my door got offered an orange or satsuma lol
Infact most times they were made up with it  : )
Remember though a lot of people rely on tips to prop up their wages.
This is wrong I know but it's not their fault is it ?

My last big move..young kids for us.. the removal guys could not have been better..put up four beds at the other end, basically left us after a ten hour day with a house we could sleep in with everything needed set up

I thought this deserved a tip, and left enough that the team of four knew their efforts had been appreciated...tenner a head minimum


If its a short move mug of tea at either end, for a long move involving a whole day then food, but nothing you have to cook or anything considering you've just moved in! shop bought snacks, sandwiches etc

I think tipping should not be standard, but rewarding good service beyond what you would expect.

I took Jake Ten Pin Bowling the other weekend.

We couldn't work out how to operate the score pad, and she talked me through so even an idiot like me could do it.

The Jake bowled a ball which got stuck in the gutter and she cheerfully ran down and retrieved it.

I thought she was ace, and tipped her a fiver when we left.

It nearly brought tears to her eyes, she said she'd worked there 3 years and never got a tip before!

We moved house a year ago and the removal firm went out of their way to accomodate us at very short notice and did the whole job over two trips and were really quick and even finished off on a saturday morning. They broke nothing, they got a few tricky items in through doorways that i could not have done myself so was really happy. They were also half the price of the next quote so i gave the boss an extra £30 which was a tenner each for the lads he used and gave them a crate of stella as it was coming up to christmas. Didnt have to but wanted to. They didnt expect it and i could have saved myself a few quid but whatever.

ha, interesting thread.  I did removals for a firm when i was 19 for about a year or so. Was actually ok, hard work though.

As for tips, think it was often about £10-20 a man or some beers or something like that.

Usually a couples of cups of tea when loading and same again when unloading van should keep the lads happy im sure. I guess it depends how big of a move it is too. Usually if its a big move and they know the owners have got a few quid theyre going to help out a little bit more. Obv shouldnt effect it really but it does a on a few little things.

You'll get what you pay for too. Where i was we would do pretty much what Tighty said if needed, help put beds up and basically leave you with a house to sleep in with everything set up if you wanted. If your going cheap they prob wont even offer to do that sort of stuff for you and will just want to be in and out as quick as possible.

Not sure if its same in places now either, but we used to get paid by the day, so sometimes we'd start at 8am and not get home til 9pm on big moves, long long days. Other days though, could start at 8am and finish by 1.

Basically if you look after them, they'll look after you. (with decent firms anyway)

^ Hmm every time I've move I've agreed exactly what they will do at both ends up front as part of the price.

As for food, i wouldnt be cooking anything on day of move at either end, thats for sure!

The guys will have lunches and stuff with them most of the time anyway, but we did get bought Fish & Chips, Bacon sarnies here & there. Mainly big jobs though...

Yeah, i think a way of them saving a bit of £. They used to tell them they didnt want anything doing at other end then get a few of the guys to do it once theyre in and let em know they'l slip em a few quid at the end. shhhh tho ;)

If you feel someone has gone the extra mile for you then why not?

Available to come to your home anytime for tea and food. You won't even have to tip me any cash.

Tipping barbers and hairdressers?

My wife pays £50+ for a haircut that takes an hour then tips the hairdresser a fiver, i nearly exploded, i told her to give them a quid next time, she'll probably spite tip em a tenner now.

When i last moved there were 3 guys I gave them 24 Carling and they were happy enough. My mate who moved not long ago bought his guys Fish and Chips as ChipRich said. Having been in the forces myself and with my wife still in we move every 2-3 years. Everything I have seen would suggest tipping the removal guys has always been the norm. Unless they are shit obv.

I did removals from 18 to 24 on average we did like 5 jobs a week I think in the 6 years I did it I got a tip prob a dozen times. No one ever offered us a drink or tea apart from the old people either. At the end of the day we were just scumbag working class removals men to most of the customers who just want us to do it as quickly as we could.