Should I tip my builders ?

diywhynot

A friend of mine is a plumber/gas guy...best tip he has had in the last few years was £200. Lots of his customers do the tea, biscuits and homemade cake thing and sometimes give him a 'drink' i.e £20+. Have to say he is house-trained...many aren't:eek:

fluffpot

if you were really happy with your work then why not? But it's probably easier to give a bottle of wine/pack of nice beer rather than money. I'm a sparks and have been tipped a few times with £ and alcohol - if you're self employed it's really nice as you don't tend to get much feedback!

But I should say I don't expect it. Cups of tea are most welcome though!

AquaJen

We do sometimes get tips (plumbing/gas company) but we never expect it. I'm happy if the customer provides tea and biscuits. Around Xmas time we sometimes end up with a bottle of wine here and there, and also if its a job where I have undercut the competition and maybe only making a few quid on it then the customer knows and they will give a decent tip. Its a way of saying you are really happy with the work and we do appreciate it. Even a fiver gives you a nice fuzzy glow

ListysDad

I'm well odd then as I quite often (once a fortnight) get tips from customers!

I certainly don't expect it and frankly you can never tell if it's coming or not but I never refuse it as I think it's genuinely rude to do so.

Like anything of this nature, if you feel they have done more than was expected of them (and that is the ONLY criteria you should apply) feel free to reward that good behaviour.

By doing that the next person, all other things being equal, will benefit too.

Good on you I say but make sure you DO NOT feel obliged but genuinely WANT to.

david39

ListysDad is correct.

I often worried about whether I should tip tradesmen and, if so, how much.

Rather than worry further, I adopted the policy of not tipping anyone unless they had done something extra to what had previously been arranged.

For example, we had a new stove delivered. The delivery men unpacked it, and took away the packaging and the old stove as well. This was part of the deal when I bought it, so I didn't tip.

On the other hand, we had some new cladding put onto the walls of the house and, while he was up the ladder, the workman cleared the guttering out and refitted a tile that had been slipped for some time. This was done by him without me asking, so I gave him a tip as he had performed an extra service that was needed but not asked for.

I don't think you should tip for work that has a pre-arranged price on it or where the price is given after the work is done. A tip, in these circumstances, is an expression of thanks to someone who has performed something worthwhile and extra to what has been agreed beforehand.

ListysDad

My tip in this case David would be a 'Thanks' ...

capeverde

The attitude of customers has a massive impact on the standard of job they receive. There is nothing worse than a stuck up client who is too self important to offer you drinks or the odd bacon sandwich. It really does make a difference.

What I would advise re tipping is that if you negotiate a discount from the company, it will serve you well to offer a bit of this back to the installers. For example if you have the likes of Anglian to do your windows. There is no doubt they have a great product, but this is often let down by shoddy workmanship and rubbish aftersales. When the installers turn up on the first day, I would offer them a couple of hundred quid to really pull the stops out. A lot of the important things are the small finishing touches that can easily get missed or rushed. Companies are constantly cutting fitters wages encouraging them to cut corners in order to not be down on their money. See it as a bit of a modern day Robin Hood. Take it off the company and give it back to the workmen. It will probably be the best money you have ever spent.

ListysDad

CapeVerde.

I agree with the sentiment 100% but also have a problem with it.

Issue one, which I'm sure those who are tightest will fly out of woodwork with comment about, is that if you are paying a 'price', regardless of how you've negotiated, then you are legally and morally entitled to 100% of a job not 90%.

The other side of that coin however is what you describe. That situation can only be addressed by the fitters themselves giving their tight wads of employers the finger and working elsewhere. To pay them as you suggest only makes the long term situation worse as the employer will see his workforce turnover drop and so squeeze even more. Do you see?

If this situation of corporate greed is to be addressed, cos that what it is, then we should all stay away from the guys who treat staff like rubbish and go for those who don't. We'll end up paying the same price regardless but there is far more chance of the money being shared around appropriately.

drummer_666

a random question, how often do builders want cups of tea?

i don't drink it myself, and never know if they want to be left to get on with it, or would want a cuppa every hour, every couple hours or what... lol

john.h

8.00 when they get there, 10.00 for breakfast, 12.30 for dinner and 3.00....

john...