tipping removal men

chappers

Jennifer_Jane wrote: »

Agree with this. I was quoted £600 for a two-mile move (single person living in a 3-bedroomed, uncluttered house) by two movers last year. I think that people will be laid off in the current climate, which is very sad. Again, I think that people should be paid the proper wage for their job and not have to depend on tips (which presumably don't get taxed?). Being fairly paid is the right thing. So, for the poster who sarcastically said 'Nice Attitude' have another think about my post. People should not have to be rewarded for great service, they should have pride in doing the job properly in the first place.

Jen
x

Each to their own , but the basic fact is that in the grand scheme of things removals men are not the best paid people in the world.
They get paid the same whether they have to shift all your furniture and boxes 10 yards or carry them 200 yards and then up three flights of stairs, however the company will charge you extra.

I have had another think about your post and whilst I agree that people should have pride in doing their chosen jobs, I see no reason why they shouldn't be rewarded with a little extra for doing a good job.
Maybe try spending a day doing removals and then decide if you think an extra tenner a day is out of order.
Do you tip waiters/waitresses, etc After paying £600 to move what difference does an odd 30 or 40 quid make.

Personally I never tip bad service but am quite happy to tip good service and IMHO removals are no different.

tipping encourages good future service.

wymondham

chappers wrote: »

Each to their own , but the basic fact is that in the grand scheme of things removals men are not the best paid people in the world.
They get paid the same whether they have to shift all your furniture and boxes 10 yards or carry them 200 yards and then up three flights of stairs, however the company will charge you extra.

I have had another think about your post and whilst I agree that people should have pride in doing their chosen jobs, I see no reason why they shouldn't be rewarded with a little extra for doing a good job.
Maybe try spending a day doing removals and then decide if you think an extra tenner a day is out of order.
Do you tip waiters/waitresses, etc or are you the sort of tight wad that thinks minimum wage is all anyone deserves.
After paying £600 to move what difference does an odd 30 or 40 quid make.

Personally i never tip bad service but am quite happy to tip good service and IMHO removals are no different.

tipping encourages good future service.

The 'tight wad' comment is not really helpful - if you want to pay more for your goods/services then that's fine, it's your decision, as is not to pay mine. If you think tipping will help with low wages, then I personally think you're mistaken. As far as I'm aware, nobody is forced to be a removal man?

I suspect people who tip will continue to tip, and those that don't will continue not to - seems to be a divide between them.... good thread by the way!

chappers

wymondham wrote: »

The 'tight wad' comment is not really helpful - if you want to pay more for your goods/services then that's fine, it's your decision, as is not to pay mine. If you think tipping will help with low wages, then I personally think you're mistaken. As far as I'm aware, nobody is forced to be a removal man?

I suspect people who tip will continue to tip, and those that don't will continue not to - seems to be a divide between them.... good thread by the way!

You are correct and I have removed that comment from my post it was a bit rude.
However many people particularly in the catering industry rely on tips to earn a decent wage. not everyone is in the fortunate position to be able to secure a well paid job, be it due to the employment market or their own personal circumstance.
It is up to the individual of course but tipping does promote good service whether it be to you or someone else.
I will give you a prime example, every year for the past five years I have always given our binmen crew £50 (works out at £1.92 per bin collection or 38p each)at christmas and in return (not arranged they just started doing it)they always take my bin from the garden and return it back to my garden rather than not collecting it if it isn't put out or just dumping it back in the street, you can tell the other people in the street who tip them too.
Also the other day I had some stuff in the garden that I was going to take to the dump.One of them knocked on the door and asked me if it was rubbish and if it was would I like him to dump it in the truck, I was going to give him a fiver but he refused, so next time I left them a case of beer with the bin.Worth every penny in my opinion.

wymondham

chappers wrote: »

You are correct and I have removed that comment from my post it was a bit rude.
However many people particularly in the catering industry rely on tips to earn a decent wage. not everyone is in the fortunate position to be able to secure a well paid job, be it due to the employment market or their own personal circumstance.
It is up to the individual of course but tipping does promote good service whether it be to you or someone else.
I will give you a prime example, every year for the past five years I have always given our binmen crew £50 (works out at £1.92 per bin collection or 38p each)at christmas and in return (not arranged they just started doing it)they always take my bin from the garden and return it back to my garden rather than not collecting it if it isn't put out or just dumping it back in the street, you can tell the other people in the street who tip them too.
Also the other day I had some stuff in the garden that I was going to take to the dump.One of them knocked on the door and asked me if it was rubbish and if it was would I like him to dump it in the truck, I was going to give him a fiver but he refused, so next time I left them a case of beer with the bin.Worth every penny in my opinion.

That's great this works for you in this example, but looking at a different angle, what do you think would happen if you stopped paying this £50, and what do you think the binmen's attitude is to people who don't give them £50? (I would suspect those that can't afford to pay or choose not to have worse service than they might otherwise get?). It's almost like an unofficial second level of service in this case..

I think that the tip argument does not hold up with low wages, as if people come to rely on tips then what is the incentive to do anything to right their original low pay? - it is letting the employer off the responsibility of providing decent wages as they will be happy with this tipping arrangement!

chappers

maybe you are right about employers paying decent wages, but many low wage payers attitude is well just go get another job if you don't like it.Generally it is only specialist workers who are harder to replace who can take action to try and increase their wages, can you imagine a bunch of waitreses going on strike and getting anywhere.

In a tipping society such as the states waitresses fight for jobs, I have two friends who both went to work in NY officially the job paid minimum wage, unofficially the job didn't pay, but they could pull over $500 dollars a night in tips. I know this is twisting the argument a bit but hows that for incentive to provide good service.

Basically after two years they came back and bought a house, cash.

With regards to the bin men without tipping you just have to do what the council require you to do anyway and put your bin out on the required day no one gets a worse service because I get a better one.

top_drawer_2

hi all,

Excellent thread.

I agree I think tips are an excellent way to thank someone for good or excellent service. I have worked in many minimum wage jobs and generally they're so uninspiring it makes it a little interesting if there a chance of a tip at the end and I feel truely appreciated.

I was having a discussion about this awhile ago with one of my flatmates who was saying her friend has a huge house in the US and she has to spend several hours cleaning a week. I said if she can afford such a huge house she should get a cleaner. My friend said yeh but that would cost a futune at similar rate as this country and they wouldnt hurry so as to stretch the hours to get more money ....

I just thought it was sad that a well paid (uni lecturer) would think like this and resent paying a decent wage for a decent job... I think its the people who have never had to live properly off the wages made in one of these jobs who don't realise just how comparitively badly off some people are.

Jen

Giblets

Did a summer job at uni as a removals guy, it was nice to get a tip, but not deriguer, depends ont he job, if it is quite simple, don't bother.

yorksbabe

hi my husband has been a removal man for 24 years and he loves his job. it isnt brilliant wages but he enjoys the fact he has something different every day and gets to see a whole range of interesting people. one day he might get someone who is worth millions and the next someone on benefits. he is happy with any tip he gets £5 - £150! what he doesnt like is when he goes intosome peoples houses and they are disgusting (sanitary towels, dog poo etc)! he is really proud of what he does and does a good job. He often gets people ringing and asking for him specifically because of previous moves with the people. he doesnt mind what tip he gets as long as he gets a thankyou at the end of the job,although some people dont and they dont offer drinks etc even though he could be doing the job for them for 12 hours! you should tip what you want i think it depends on the service. hope your move goes well