The moving industry is big business. After all, thousands of people change locations every year. If you’re about to be one of them, there’s one common question that you’ll likely have as you orchestrate your cross county move: how much should you tip your movers? Thankfully, we’re here to guide you and clear up any confusion or myths that you may have.
Commonly when it comes to restaurants and other service industry jobs, people tip 15 to 20 percent of the total bill. If you simply apply this same method to the moving industry, you’ll end up in over your head and paying too much. Instead we advise paying 5 to 10 percent of the total cost of your move in a tip. So if the total moving cost of your move is 2,000 dollars, an 100 – 200 dollar tip would be more than generous to split between a few movers. However, all moves are not created equally. Here are some things that you should consider when king out how much you should tip your movers.
1. Their Performance
Never tip before your long distance move is complete. While it is always nice to tip a moving team, you don’t want to over-reward a poor performance. If your movers showed up on time, worked hard and did everything you asked for then they are in line for a good tip. On the other hand, don’t feel pressured to tip a moving team that’s lazy and failed to meet your expectations.
2. The Moving Process
Did you make your own move more difficult by changing your mind about things a few times? Or maybe your move involved hard to move specialty items like a grand piano or a hot tub and you watched how hard the movers worked for you. If you had an especially difficult move due to any of these factors or really inclement weather, consider that strongly when deciding how much you should tip your movers.
3. How Much they Did
Sometimes people hire movers just because they’re busy and don’t want to be bothered with lifting things and planning the specifics of a move. In other cases, the move is such a major one that movers are absolutely essential and there’s no way a DIY move would be possible. If you are hiring a moving company for a full service move – where they pack and unpack your household goods, move them across town and clean up your old residence after, you should feel inclined to give them a nice tip. This is far from your standard move so reward them for their hard work.
4. Total Moving Time
While moving companies allocate a certain amount of time for each move, it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes one move can take 6-8 hours and go late into the night. This can be caused by weather delay, equipment failure or conditions restrictions among other things. If you realize that the movers you hire are working hard overtime to complete your move, do your best to show your appreciation with a tip. Consider 5 dollars per hour per mover as a baseline for where you should start.
Now that you’re ready to move, we hope this blog gives you some clarity when the time comes for you to tip following your move.