I did when they delivered the new furniture. Only because they hauled the old stuff out and threw it in the "builder's dumpster" in the driveway. The couch was way too heavy for my dh and I to put in there, along with his old chair. These were two young guys in their 20s, and I gave them each ten bucks and told them to get some lunch. lol. They really enjoyed it.

For one appliance? Nah. Because when they take the old appliance, they fix it up and sell it.

I think it's a personal preference. I only ever had a couple things delivered and didn't tip. I'm not saying I wouldn't ever but so far I haven't for that. It's a nice gesture but IMO not necessary.

When a delivery involves something big and heavy, and they are particularly careful and thoughtful about the house, yes, always. If there are multiple things, yes. For one fairly small thing, no. National delivery companies like FedEx and UPS, no.

If it's a pizza, yes, heavily. I want him to love us and care about our pizza.

Tipping is only required for those working without payment from an employer or working for under minimum wage. Delivery persons from furniture and applicance stores get paid by their employer to do a job. Other types of deliver persons often work for tips only like pizza guys.

http://tipthepizzaguy.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: Tip The Pizza Guy

I always tip delivery people who do a good job. A minimum of 20 each for furniture and heavy appliances and upwards if it's a bigger move. They aren't the people reconditioning your old pieces and selling them, their bosses might be (less likely than you'd think). They are not highly paid, skilled workers, but when they deliver and are very considerate (don't make noise if baby is sleeping, take shoes off as they come and go from the house, etc) I always make sure to thank them and give them a tip. (Which I'm sure they often then pass on to the pizza guy) :OP

I tip Pizza delivery people and floral delivery people, also the news paper person. I can't think of any other delivery folks I would tip. Service people that deliver appliances or furniture are getting paid and I don't think they expect to be tipped. At Christmas time we give the mail carrier a little something but I don't really consider that a tip.

Went searching and found this. Thought it might be helpful. (Yes, for delivery guys)

Here is a link that might be useful: tipping etiquette

Once I had a delivery date/time changed and didn't have any cash on hand, so I was baking for a bake sale, and ended up giving them mini-loafs and cookies.

They thought it was the best thing ever..the one guy couldn't wait to take the cookies to his kids, and the other guy ate the loaf by the time he was out the door, so I gave him another.

It was a very funny and unexpected reaction.

I just have this thing about me that believes that delivery people should be tipped. Not all can receive tips and they will tell you. I think it might have to do with unions or ethics, but not sure. I tip waitresses and no, most of them are not working without pay that I ever heard of. I think that is illegal. I think they deserve, however, more than they make in most places. I think restaurants cut everything to the bare bones so they can offer the best and most competitive prices, just like sweat shops, but in sweat shops (especially those owned by Chinese and Indian companies that are hiring Americans), many do not know about them and there is no way to tip them. So I do the best I can.

Maybe I should have read this earlier! Two guys delivered a bookcase for me today, and I didn't tip them. The delivery charge was $50, and the store was only about 5 miles from my house, so I thought that the $50 was enough. Perhaps I should have tipped...

I do tip food delivery people & movers.

I never expected this lengthy thread, on everything about tipping but what I ask..of course hubby tips and generously waitress's etc. however my new washer & dryer is coming from a Lowe's store 10 Min's. from the house at a cost of $79.00 delivery, they are taking the old washer away only, as I sold the dryer, hubby does all hook up, and will have old washer outside house ready to go and he feels unlike a paper delivery girl or waitresses etc. they earn a darn good living, this is why I ask the question about tipping these guys and general opinion on this,I'm sure he won't even consider it, but I may have? also access to laundry room is right at driveway, alongside gar. door, easy...

Susieq07, I use to work for Lowe's in HR, and it is actually against company policy for the delivery drivers to accept tips. You are correct the drivers make decent money. I normally do not tip delivery drivers other than pizza delivery drivers because most companies have a policy against accepting tips. I would hate to get someone in trouble because I offered them a $10 tip.

I also will have this come up in the very near future, as I have a delivery company bringing an Ebay purchase from out of state. Mine will not be the only item on their truck because they make stops all along the way. According to the shipping company, the delivery person(s) will bring the item (a large antique armoire in 10 pcs) into the house and even assemble the piece for me free. The seller is waiving the $50 assembly fee. Shipping was $370.

My friend says I should tip anyway or she also mentioned the same thing - baking some cookies and having coffee available for them.

Normally, I do not tip extra for furniture/appliance delivery. We do tip all the obvious, including movers. I tipped the guy $5 that put a sleigh bed into my car at a furniture store.

My daughter had two things delivered to her new condo yesterday. I was there at the time of the deliveries.
She bought a used/reconditioned washer and dryer from my appliance repair guy. She paid him a delivery and connection fee. He is a great guy, but accidentally broke the sliding laundry door and left it for me to fix (which I did.) We did not feel that we needed to tip extra. This is the second w/d set we have bought from the guy in the last two years, and i frequently use him for my household appliance repairs.

The second delivery was a queen mattress set from Grand Piano. The delivery guys were unfriendly, stomped through the condo, hit the walls, slammed the mattress down at the top of the stairs, and ran down the stairs after setting the mattress down on the bed. Per my instructions, my daughter did not tip these men.

What embarrasses me is when I get an unexpected flower delivery, and I have no cash. I feel so bad.

susie.........to answer the question.......no, you don't have to tip. I never tip delivery/haul away from the big box stores or stores like Sears, etc.
Plus, your DH has already done most of the work.

I wonder if there are regional differences in the customs?
We live in the upper South, and tipping is pretty common here for more than the routine sorts of things.

About the flower delivery...we keep an envelope in the drawer in the hall table with a few appropriate bills in it, in the event...

See, Newhomebuilder, this is why we hide our identities!
Besides, if you're going to take up burglary, do it for really big jewelry, like Cary Grant in "To Catch a Thief." Why risk it for no more than you could get delivering our pizza!!

hehehe

Seriously, where I grew up in SC, we would tip anyone and everyone. In TN (where I am now) we still tip pretty much, but I think that society is playing a large part in what is expected/done and what isn't expected/done in regards to etiquette.

We have bought in the past 3 years from Lowe's and or HD, a refrigerator, a stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, a dryer and a washer and none (NONE, NOT ONE, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA) was delivered by company personnel of either store. They were brought from warehouses by contractor freight companies and two of them looked to be great grandfathers and some college students (and were in fact college students). Lowe's does not bring the stuff out of their store to my house. IT comes from a warehouse a few hundred miles from where I live. In fact, Lowe's does not lay their tile or install their hardwood floors. These are subcontractors that do it.

The thing about tipping, in the US at least, is that waitpeople in restaurants get paid less than minimum wage because the expectation, by the IRS among others, is that they will earn at least minimum wage when tips are added in. So not tipping waitpeople really hurts them. But delivery people are paid at least minimum wages. They are not dependent on tips to survive.

If it is a normal, easy delivery, I don't see any reason to tip. For example, when I bought a new washer, I paid $50 to get it delivered and for the old washer to be hauled away. The delivery truck parked right outside my house and they carried the washer to a door opening directly into my laundry room and the delivery guys had to go down one step to get the washer into the room. Not a difficult job--in fact, one of them commented on how easy it was. This was in July, and I did have bottles of water if they wanted them. But no tip.

Now, if they had to park several houses down the street, drag the washer up the front porch stairs, down the hall into the kitchen, then down the cellar stairs and then repeat the whole thing in reverse with the old washer, then I might have tipped them each $10.

But delivery people are paid at least minimum wages. They are not dependent on tips to survive.

But have you ever tried to survive on minimum wage? It ain't easy!

Tipping is entirely discretionary, but (unless a person's employer forbids it), it's never "the wrong thing to do" if you can spare a little extra.

Tipping is *supposed* to be an expression of gratitude, reflecting the quality or measure of appreciation of the service. I use that as my guide and tip based on experience (usually in conjunction with customary rates if I know them). I also may choose to tip if the job does not appear to be paying enough to make a decent living. Or if times are tough ...

But I really don't like the expectation or requirement.

Overcomplicated, hm. So, it may take a while for me to decide whether or how much! Wouldn't want to offend someone : )

I've only tipped for above-and-beyond service. Delivery charges are extortionate in NYC, because the vendors know few people have cars - Lowe's wanted $99 to deliver a ladder that cost less than that! Since the delivery charges are so high, I don't feel like I have to give the guy(s) more money.

On the other hand, we live in a rowhouse with narrow doorways and hallways, and if someone goes out of the way to be careful and considerate of the space, I'll give them $10-$20 extra.

It's a very personal thing to tip or not. It is my choice to do so.

I realize delivery people are not dependent on tips to survive, but neither am I, nor any service industry employees. They, just like I, can choose to do something else. That, however, makes their work no less difficult (and I thank God they chose to do these jobs) as many of these delivery people contract for whatever and find their tips their salvation. This is a whole new economy. (As an aside, waitpeople in several states are often union employees whose income far exceeds minimum wage but I do tip them anyway).

I tip because it is my Christian belief and the way I was raised to do unto others as I would have them do unto me. My husband had issues with that when we married, but he has come to see how blessed we are if we do for others. I figure if I can buy that $1500 dishwasher, the least I can do is give the guy who brings it to my house risking his back and hernias, a $5-10-20 (depending) and a smile. We don't do cookies.

Some of the nicest people I have met here are the ones who have the most materially, but who are willing to share with those less fortunate.

My family and I have very little monetarily, but we lack nothing as far as basic food, clothing and shelter but how could we not share since we have it all. Clothes, food, shelter and a great family.

You have a lovely attitude Patricia. I'm in the south also, and I agree with tipping. Most delivery people don't make alot of money and I'm sure they appreciate any extras. The only time I wouldn't tip (other than it not being allowed) would be for bad service.

We also always keep cash on hand at home. You never know when you might need it.

tina

Patricia, very well said!

I agree Patricia, very well said! And it makes ME happy to do it. It's not like I'm asking for good karma to come my way when I tip them, it's knowing they do back breaking work for little pay, and if I can help out then I feel good about myself.

In fact, since we did the remodel and add-on, I started to really pay attention to the laborers, whether they be delivery or bricklayers. Of course I didn't tip the brick layers but I did give them soda, and told them to help themselves if I'm not at home.

Imagine our lives without them? Never will I look down on them again, I am so appreciatie of their hard work!

I don't tip for furniture or this type work unless they do above what I was expecting and above what I've already paid for.

I tipped the cable guy once. He was here to set up cable at my new house. I incurred an additional charge because I asked him to run a cable & install an additional wall outlet. Fine.

Because it was the first day of my furniture move, and he wanted to check to make sure the cable actually worked, he said he wanted to hook up the TV to check. You know what he did, he moved my TV for me onto the entertainment center, he hooked in my vcr & dvd player & cable so it all worked together & I was up & running without having to figure it out myself.

All he HAD to do was plug the tv into any outlet, run the cable cord into the back. I tipped for that.

Well said, Patricia.

As I said, it is always a kindness to give a little extra to someone who has performed a service in a decent manner. I don't, however, agree that it's necessarily a matter of folks in these and other typically low-paying jobs being able to choose to "do something else". Situationally, that's just not always the case. Oftentimes, the "something else" is equally low-paying or worse. Under-education may have long played a role in the reasons why folks ended up in low-paying jobs, but I think that with the massive job losses we're seeing (and will continue to see), there's going to be a whole new wave of individuals who find themselves in jobs that they may have deemed at one time to be "beneath them." Many people will be forced to take whatever type of job they can get, in order to feed, house and clothe their children.

I'm seeing this take place among my own loved ones. And I know I'm not alone in that regard.

I tip the delivery guy if he is on time. i am very Swiss when it comes to time keeping, and i hate when people make me wait! so if the guy did his job and came on time, i think he deserves a tip, no matter what he delivered (also pizza or flowers).
Margi

Here is a link that might be useful: îùìåçé ôøçéí