The house moving process is a rather stressful period during which you’ll have tons of things to worry about.
In the very beginning, you’ll be worried about how to find the best movers in your area – reputable, licensed, insured, experienced, and of course – affordable.
A bit later, you’ll be anxious about the packing task – where to start packing, how to best protect your fragile items, where to find good packing supplies, and naturally – whether or not you’ll manage to finish packing up your home on time.
Much later, your worries will most likely shift to the eternal dilemma of how much to tip movers. Of course, before you even get to that point, you’ll have to know for sure if you should tip your movers at all.
Tipping movers is a tricky matter – you don’t wish to look stingy or ungrateful but you’re not crazy about over-tipping your hired men, especially when you consider how expensive moving is.
So, should you tip your movers at all? And if yes, how much to tip movers?
Read on to learn the answers to these important questions so that you don’t have to go through the awkward situation of not knowing what to do when your hired workers finish up their job.
Should you tip movers?
The most important thing to understand about tipping movers is that you are under no obligation whatsoever to do it. In other words, you don’t have to do it if you don’t wish to.
But it’s never that simple, is it?
Moving companies happen to fall into the service industry, and therefore tipping serves as a fair indicator of good service. Look at it this way: when you’re happy with a service provider, your initial reaction is to reward the person who’s provided that satisfactory service. Think of waiters and waitresses at bars and restaurants, or think of cab drivers or the electricians and plumbers you occasionally call to your home. You’ve tipped those service providers before, haven’t you?
Tipping your movers is a classy way of showing your personal gratitude for a job well done. What that means is that you should only tip movers when you’re really satisfied with their work, attitude, and professionalism. To put it simpler, you should tip your movers because they really deserve the praise and not because you are supposed to do it.
So, should you tip your movers? The straightforward answer is YES… unless they did a crummy job packing, moving, loading, and transporting your prized possessions OR they were rude, unfriendly, and even disrespectful with you or a family member.
Tipping movers: How to know for sure
The fact that you realize that you don’t have to tip your movers doesn’t make it any easier to help you decide whether you should do it or not. Maybe a bit easier but that’s it. You still need to figure out if your movers deserve to be tipped, and if yes, then how much you should tip them.
Read on to learn the proper amount to tip movers. Now, let’s focus on how to know for sure whether or not you should reward your movers for their work.
Ask yourself the following questions and by the time you answer all of them, you should know beyond any doubt how to best handle the situation that oftentimes proves to be too awkward for tip givers.
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Observe your movers while they work and you’ll know right away whether you should tip them or not.
Did the professional movers arrive on time? Or were they really late and never cared to apologize for the delay? Let’s assume your movers did not mix up the scheduled move-out day.
- Did your movers act in a truly professional manner ever since they arrived in your home? Or were they a bunch of random guys not really knowing what or how to do it?
- Were the movers nice, friendly, and respectful from the very start? Or were they rude, unsociable, and even disrespectful?
- Did the professionals treat your valuable possessions with care? Or did the packers just shove your things into random cardboard boxes?
In fact, when you’re not sure if you should tip your movers or not, all you have to do is watch them work for a while and you’ll know it right away. - Did your movers take the necessary precautionary steps to prevent property damage?
- Did the movers bring the necessary moving equipment to get the job done quickly and safely? As you probably know, a moving dolly is a mover’s best friend.
- Did the hired professionals work hard? Or were they using every presented opportunity to waste time, thus prolonging the work hours on purpose? When you’re getting charged by the hour, such shameful tactics by your local movers will definitely earn them NO TIPS, period.
- Did the movers just leave the freshly-delivered boxes randomly throughout the new house, with many KITCHEN-labeled boxes inside the bedroom?
Remember that it’s not rude not to tip movers. After all, tipping is a way to show your gratitude for a job well done, so if you’re really not satisfied with the provided service, then you really shouldn’t tip your movers at all.
On the other hand, high-quality services must always be rewarded and encouraged, so you should seriously consider tipping movers in case you’re happy with both their work and attitude.
Read on to learn how much you should tip your moving crew.
What to Look for in a Moving Company
How much to tip local movers?
As you know, cross-country movers charge their customers a flat rate while local moving companies charge on an hourly basis. Nevertheless, the tipping formulas for both types of residential moves will be calculated similarly.
First, let’s take a look at how much to tip movers when you’re moving locally.
- Bad job. If your local movers did an awful job that left you pretty disappointed, dissatisfied, and even angered, then don’t even think about tipping your moving crew. Instead, you should be thinking about complaining to the moving company at once.
- Satisfactory job. If your movers did an OK job, not great in any way but not bad either, then you should consider tipping them around $5 an hour per mover.
Let’s do the math: if the move is done in 4 hours, then you should tip each worker roughly $20. If the local move is finished in 8 hours, then $40 per mover is believed to be a decent tip for local movers. - Great job. If your local movers did a great job that was beyond your expectations, then you may think about rewarding their efforts by giving each mover around $7 per hour.
Let’s do the math again: if the move is over in 4 hours, then you should tip each worker roughly $30. If the local move is finished in 8 hours, then $50 per mover is believed to be an appropriate tip for local movers.
Keep in mind that the above tipping amounts are only approximated, so feel free to tip your movers less or much more if you wish to do so and can afford it.
How much to tip long distance movers?
As a rule, it’s much more expensive to move across the country due to the greater distances, and that’s exactly why you should NOT base potential tips for long distance movers on a percentage of the final bill.
Don’t forget to prepare tipping money in advance.
When tipping long distance movers, the first thing you need to understand is that there may be two moving crews that will handle your interstate move: one moving crew to pack and load your items from your current location and another moving crew to unload and maybe even unpack your stuff at the destination.
Make sure you know beforehand how many moving crews will handle your move – one or two. Get that important piece of information by calling up your moving company. In the case of two moving crews, you may need to tip the movers on both ends of the move.
So, how much to tip movers when moving long distance?
- Bad job. If your cross-country movers did a horrible job, don’t bother tipping your movers at all. Instead, consider lodging an official complaint with the interstate moving company, explaining in detail exactly what it is that the movers did wrong and asking them for some sort of compensation, if applicable.
- Satisfactory job. If your interstate movers did an OK job, not outstanding in any way but not too bad either, then you should consider tipping each mover approximately $40.
- Great job. If your long distance movers did a great job that was beyond your expectations, then you can reward their dedication by giving each mover roughly $50, or even $60.
Needless to say, you can choose to be more generous with your tips if you feel like your movers did their job exceptionally well and definitely deserve all the praise you can afford to give them.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire Movers?
What you must know before you tip your movers
Now that you know much you should tip movers (approximately, of course), let’s turn your attention to a few very important things you should be aware of before you decide to give those tips. The idea here is to save you any awkward situations and to ensure that all parties involved in the house move end up satisfied, with no hard feelings of any kind.
Use your best judgment
Not knowing whether you should tip your movers or not can cause you to worry a bit but having no clear idea of how much to tip movers can be even more stressful than you think.
The tipping amounts mentioned above should only serve as a reference. In reality, you should feel free to tip your moving crew less or more depending on the quality of their services.
The best advice on how much to tip movers is to use your best judgment. There’s no right or wrong tipping amount here, just give your hired workers what you believe to be fair.
Tip each mover individually
The foreman – who often happens to be the truck driver himself – is in charge of the moving team. So, if you’ve got any problems, the foreman is the person you should talk to in order to find a good solution.
When it’s time to give out the tips – that’s usually when the job has been completed – do NOT give the lump sum to the foreman, assuming that he or she will distribute the money evenly and fairly to the team members. You don’t really know the person in charge, so you should not make the mistake of trusting them too much – they may or may not do what’s right.
Instead, the best way to tip movers is to tip each mover individually, thus rewarding their specific contribution to the successful house move. By following this tipping etiquette for movers, you’ll rest assured that the considerable effort of each individual mover will get appreciated.
Leave a positive moving review
Tips are always appreciated. And so are positive moving reviews.
By far, handing out cash to your hired men is the best way to thank them for their hard work. However, you can choose to add a bonus to their tips by leaving them a positive customer review at reputable moving reviews websites.
The best way to do just that is to ask the names of the guys who have worked really hard (maybe all of them?), and to mention those movers by name in your moving review.
You can be sure that such gestures won’t go unnoticed. A genuine moving review will not only help those hard-working movers keep their jobs in the future, but your honest account of what they did right may prompt the moving company they work for to give them bonuses or raise their wages.
Click here to leave a moving review about your movers.
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