How Much to Tip Movers

Per mover, not per cent

A flat amount per mover, not a percentage

Moving costs enough already. A percentage of the bill, the way you'd tip at a restaurant, would mean hundreds of dollars a person on a bigger move, and that's not how movers think about it. Tip each mover a flat amount for the size of the job.

• A small job

  $15–$20

  per mover

  A few hours: a studio, a few rooms, a furniture delivery, loading or unloading a truck.

• A full day

  $30–$60

  per mover

  A whole house, a long local move, or a long distance delivery that takes the day.

• Above and beyond

  $100–$150

  per mover, very generous

  The movers did a great job, you made friends that day, and you simply want to tip over the top.

Where those numbers come from: a mover in the DC area averages about 2.4 jobs a day, and about $20 in tips a job. So $15 to $20 a mover on a small job is right in line, and $30 to $60 for a full day is about what that mover would have made in tips from the two or three jobs your one long day replaces.

Expected or not

Do you have to tip movers?

No. Tipping movers is never expected, and a good crew knows it. They go over the top to earn a tip, but if you don't leave one, they thank you and go on to the next job. Across a day of jobs, a tip comes for sure.

That's why tips are all over the place. Some jobs, nothing. Some jobs, $100 a person, especially when we deliver in New York, where walk-ups, tight streets and building rules make every move a long day. A good tip is $100 to $150 a mover, and that's already extremely generous.

Pickup and delivery

How much to tip long distance movers

The same way: a flat amount per mover, never a share of the bill, and only at delivery. A long distance move costs thousands, so a percentage makes no sense, and the crew that loads you at pickup isn't expecting anything. About $30 to $60 for each mover on the delivery day, more if it was a hard one.

• Why the pickup crew doesn't expect a tip

  Moving companies pay the pickup crew bonuses for packing well, loading tight and finishing on time, because that's where a long distance move goes right or wrong. The delivery crew doesn't get those bonuses. Tips at delivery are their side of it.

• It evens out over the month

  A long distance crew does about ten pickups and ten deliveries a month. On the pickups they earn the company's bonuses, on the deliveries they earn tips, and every mover gets the same shot at both. If it isn't your tip, it's someone else's.

• Usually it's the same crew

  About eight moves in ten, the crew that loads your home is the crew that unloads it at the other end. So the people you tip on delivery day are mostly the ones who packed you, and they get the whole job's thank-you at once.

• When to hand it over

  At the end, once the last piece is in place and you've checked your inventory. Cash, each mover their own. The unload is the day you're tipping, however long the drive was.

Our own long distance moves run with one crew from pickup to delivery, so there's no second crew to think about: the tip, if there is one, goes to the people who did the whole move, on the day it ends.

The tip we still talk about

The biggest tip we ever got

It was a move from Manhattan to Miami: two 26-foot trucks and a crew of four. We drove straight to Florida, and delivery was the next day.

Once everything was unloaded, our truck was free for the next day, because our next move was from Florida back up to DC. So the customer asked if we could come back tomorrow and help him unpack and take out the trash.

It was a very emotional move for him. A lot of what we carried had belonged to his wife, who had passed away, and he wanted every piece handled carefully so nothing would break. When we finished, he gave $800 to me and $800 to my helper.

I tell this story because I've never heard of anyone getting more than that. When a tip is good, it's $100 to $150, and that's already over the top. A tip of $800 is one you remember for the rest of your life.

Igor S., Red Cat co-founder, moving people since 2012

Handing it over

How to tip your movers

• Each mover, their own

  Hand each mover their tip yourself at the end of the job, so everyone knows exactly what they got. Giving one amount to the crew lead works too: just say it's for the whole crew.

• Cash is simplest

  It goes straight to the person who carried your things, the same day. Have small bills ready before the truck is loaded.

• Long distance: the delivery crew

  On a long distance move, the tip goes to the crew that delivers, at the end, once everything is in your new home. The crew that loads at pickup doesn't expect a tip.

• Not happy? Don't tip

  A tip is a thank-you, not part of the price. If something went wrong, skip it and tell the company, so they can make it right.

When it didn't go well

If something went wrong, don't tip

A tip is a thank-you for a job done well. If the crew was late, careless or rude, or something is broken, skip it. Nobody will argue, and a good company would rather hear about it than have you pay for it twice.

• Say it on the spot

  Tell the crew lead before the truck leaves. A scratched floor or a missing box is easiest to sort out while everyone is still there.

• Write it on the paperwork

  Note any damage on the inventory or the delivery receipt before you sign. A clean signature makes a claim harder later.

• Call the office

  The crew doesn't set the price or decide a claim; the company does. Call, say what happened, and ask what they'll do about it.

• File the claim in writing

  Every licensed mover has a claims process. With us it's the claims page, with photos: in writing within 30 days of delivery on an in-state move, resolved within 120 days of a complete claim.

The crew's work and the company's follow-through are two different things. A crew that worked hard on a day when the elevator reservation fell through still earned its tip, and the company still owes you a fix. Ours starts at file a claim.