Do I tip the removal men ? and if so how much ?

namecheck

I tip removal men (apart from one nightmare company some years ago).

As others have said, the pay isn't great and they do work very hard. They also have to contend with the aggro of having to wait somewhere when monies do not get transferred at the expected time.

The fact that the removal company is paid well is neither here nor there (IMO). The people who do the hard work are not the ones who benefit.

picklepick

I find the tipping mentality difficult to understand too. I never understand why waiters and waitresses get a tip and the poor sod in the kitchen scrubbing the plates on minimum pay gets nothing.

It's a strange culture!

sinbad182

picklepick wrote: »

I find the tipping mentality difficult to understand too. I never understand why waiters and waitresses get a tip and the poor sod in the kitchen scrubbing the plates on minimum pay gets nothing.

It's a strange culture!

I worked in a few restaurants as a kid and it was always the case that the tips were collected and pooled to be divided amongst all waiting staff and junior staff in the kitchen, so the pot washers and porters etc do get tipped.

It's just a nice thing to do when you receive decent service from hard working yet low paid staff.

agrinnall

I usually tip removal men £20 each, not only do they work very hard for their money they are doing something that the rest of us would find very difficult to do anywhere near as well. Given the overall cost of moving house I think refusing to tip is pretty tight.

picklepick

sinbad182 wrote: »

I worked in a few restaurants as a kid and it was always the case that the tips were collected and pooled to be divided amongst all waiting staff and junior staff in the kitchen, so the pot washers and porters etc do get tipped.

I can assure you, that as someone who has worked in kitchens too, this is definitely NOT always the case!

Welsh_Totster

Not a tip but we bought the lads that packed and moved us a few slabs of beer that they were more than happy with.

smunchkinp

I tip, keep the kettle flowing, and make sure theres enough grub around.
(moving all my stuff burn serious calories)

But as my hubby used to do the job, i know about the long hours, the stuff that wasnt quoted for but householders still expect the guys to shift. (garden furniture/large planters being the most common)
I've known my hubby leave for work at 5am and not return home until lunch the next day. his gaffer didnt pay hotel or meal costs either. it was sleep in the van and bring a sandwich.

All that for minimum wage, on a PAYE.

sinbad182

pacific4130 wrote: »

Just curious (as I don't get the tipping culture),

Do you tip every hard working but low paid trade? This is the bit I don't get... for example, people tip the waitress but not the bin men (or it's not as common to do so).

I also don't get the hard working and low paid bit. People don't tip the till girl in tesco but she'll most probably be on minimum wage - so the 'low paid' bit doesn't hold true. A hospital doctor works extremely hard and sacrifices a lot - but it's not the norm to tip them (them not being allowed to accept aside) - so the 'hard working' doesn't hold true.

We also don't have the US system of working only being paid by tips, so that can't be it...

I'm still convinced it's just because most people feel awkward having someone working for them. I wonder if anyone has ever look into the tipping cultures between those who employ people themselves (and so used to having people work for them) and those who don't....

A hospital doctor works hard but is far from low paid. A checkout worker is low paid but doesn't work in a fast, high pressure environment like waiting staff. The bin men comparison doesn't stack up either - they're permenant, salaried staff who earn a respectable amount these days and benefit from things like a pension and holiday allowance which a casual labour such as waiting staff doesn't.

Fair enough you don't accept the tipping culture yourself, but use some relevant comparisons if you're going to rebuke it.

themull1

I would tip, yes.

azzabazza

If the guys do a good job then yes, I would tip them. I always tip our dustmen at Christmas because once or twice they have taken extra refuse away when asked nicely.