Should I tip the builders?

A really lovely gang of builders (between 5 and 7 of them) have put up a flat pack home office for me, it has taken them just over 4 days. I have paid a lot to their head office, but what should I tip the lads? They have had to stay nearby.  They had an extra 3 hours work after a communication error about where a door should be. 
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Comments

  • A crate of beer maybe, not monetary.
  • Ganga
    Ganga Posts: 4,102
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    Should have been loads of bacon sarnies and gallons of tea and coffee  :) you could always give them £20 each as a thank you for doing a great job.
    ITS NOT EASY TO GET EVERYTHING WRONG ,I HAVE TO WORK HARD TO DO IT!
  • youth_leader
    youth_leader Posts: 2,447
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    I've had three builders here for six days preparing my flat roof for the roofer,  and wondered about this.  I texted my surveyor - he said £50 for a curry and a beer is 'the norm' around here.  I had bought bacon Ganga but they politely refused, have their snacks and flasks with them. 

    As you've got so many,  £20 each ?  
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  • rob7475
    rob7475 Posts: 845
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    They probably won't be expecting a tip so will probably be over the moon with anything you give them. Don't feel like you have to tip them and only do it if you can afford to. I'd say £20 each is more than reasonable (I'm a tight yorkshire man though!)
  • I've had three builders here for six days preparing my flat roof for the roofer,  and wondered about this.  I texted my surveyor - he said £50 for a curry and a beer is 'the norm' around here.  I had bought bacon Ganga but they politely refused, have their snacks and flasks with them. 

    As you've got so many,  £20 each ?  
    I suppose if they arent into smoking ganga they can always give it away :-)
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,777
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    I've had three builders here for six days preparing my flat roof for the roofer,  and wondered about this.  I texted my surveyor - he said £50 for a curry and a beer is 'the norm' around here.  I had bought bacon Ganga but they politely refused, have their snacks and flasks with them. 

    As you've got so many,  £20 each ?  
    I suppose if they arent into smoking ganga they can always give it away :-)
    Reminds me of the day our cleaner made 'cookies' for all of his clients. 

    Random. 
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  • Belenus
    Belenus Posts: 2,548
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    edited 26 January 2022 at 5:35PM
    When we had our back garden landscaped five years ago we had three very pleasant, hardworking and competent workers around for about three weeks. They got regular cups of tea and biscuits.

    They did an excellent job so we gave them £50 each when they had finished.

    That may sound a lot but it is a tiny percentage of the total cost of circa £12,000. 
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    He said to the salesman, “My wife would like to talk to you about the Volkswagen Golf in the showroom window.”
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  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783
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    I wouldn't even have thought of it. I would have kept them well nourished with tea, coffee, biscuits but wouldn't have ever thought of tipping builders. They get paid for the job, they do the job. Maybe that's because I've had to live on a tight budget for years on end and couldn't afford it. 

    Sorry if it sounds mean but even £20 each would be way out of my budget. 
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783
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    Andthen07 said:
    A crate of beer maybe, not monetary.
    I wouldn't give alcohol because you never know if people are addicted (and if they couldn't have it they'd lose out). Same with food - one of my relatives has Type I diabetes and a couple more have Type 2 so they would lose out there.

    Money is by far the best option, if people can afford it.
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • Ganga
    Ganga Posts: 4,102
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    I've had three builders here for six days preparing my flat roof for the roofer,  and wondered about this.  I texted my surveyor - he said £50 for a curry and a beer is 'the norm' around here.  I had bought bacon Ganga but they politely refused, have their snacks and flasks with them. 

    As you've got so many,  £20 each ?  
    The guys doing our block paving also had their own food but when my wife offered them bacon sarnies AND asked if they wanted a fried egg in the sarnie they never said no ,did a cracking job on the drive and paths .
    ITS NOT EASY TO GET EVERYTHING WRONG ,I HAVE TO WORK HARD TO DO IT!
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