I didn't. There were seven guys here installing my counters. I offered them cans of cold soda or bottles of ice water and thanked them for their fine job.

I did. I had two guys and they really did an exemplary job. The first piece needed to be ground slightly on site to fit, and the carried it in and out about 4 times to make sure it would fit. They carried in the peninsula piece and about busted a gut doing so. They brought in the two sink wall pieces, realized one was cut slightly wrong, determined how to fix it, marked it, and loaded it back on the truck.

They came back the next day to install that piece, and another piece that had broken in the initial fabrication, and had to be redone from another slab.

They made tight, even seams and even returned the next morning to drill a hole for the phone wire.

So yeah they got a tip, they deserved it.

I tipped them, but I tend to tip anyone who comes and does work in my home unless it is the owner of the company

$40 for each installer plus free lunch and drinks. Only because they did a superb job. no mess, no fuss, no mistakes, no scratches, and let me supervise :)

Yep, $25 each (there were 5 of them) plus the 2 leaders got an extra $20 each plus hot lunch and drinks. They did a fantastic job and it was worth every penny!!!

Gosh,

I feel kinda backwards- but I have never tipped anyone for service in my home. I'm not sure if it is more of an American thing- (I am Canadian). Well, that's not quite true, I have tipped the pizza delivery guy!

However, I did have lots of goodies, brownies, and cookies and great coffee for my granite guys- and from their reaction, I think it was very unusual for them to receive even that! I do wish I had prepared lunch- they were here that long, and didn't take a break (Of course I couldn't really do it while they were here). But, as an aside, this was the second try for them, and they are now going to be taking it ALL out and trying again for a third time. Don't think I will tip them, but I will have lunch as well as goodies prepared ahead of time. Seeing as they have been here so many times (long story), tipping would have cost me a small fortune, and really, would you tip for something that you are so unsatisfied with, that it is being replaced?

However, I also went to the kitchen place with gift plants after too-(went to pick out my new granite, and as they were supplying it free, figured a few plants was the least I could do!) so now that I'm thinking of this, I will have gift plants ready to disperse when they come (and please I hope/pray) that the installation will actually be tip-worthy!

Don't. These are professionals and I negotiated a price. I always provide lunch/snacks and drinks to anyone working in my home. (Most only take drinks unless they are there all day.)

I don't tip service people that work on appliances in my home either.

I tip hair colorists/stylists, porters, concierge services, restaurant help, and so forth that provide personal services for me. I draw the line when I paid $100/hour for templating my granite or $125 to diagnose and cover the first 45 minutes of service techs on appliances (which is just getting started!).

Ha! I am having so many problems with the installers there is no way they're getting a tip!

I do offer drinks, but no one has ever taken me up on it! They always tell me they bring their own (I still leave them out, but no one has ever taken any!)

Considering these guys hauled the slab up the front stairs in the middle of a blizzard, I did give them $20 each. They seemed a bit surprised, but took it just the same.

i work in the restaurant industry and so i'm well-versed in tipped employees.

people that work in home remodeling are not tipped employees. they are paid by the hour or salaried employees. therefore, i do not tip them.

i tip people who depend on tips to make their living--servers in restaurants, delivery drivers, bartenders...that's about it. these people are generally paid a special wage that's set well below the minimum wage since it's expected that their income will be primarily derived from tips.

i do not put money in tip jars at places like starbucks. those people get a decent hourly wage plus benefits. plus, i read that starbucks is being sued because their salaried managers were taking a cut of the tip jar. nope!

(1 exception--i go to an einstein's bagels with my three year old son every sunday morning and they're so nice and friendly to us and we sit for quite a while, taking up a table space, and plus he once threw up all over the floor and they were so gracious about the whole thing. so i toss my change into their tip thing)

like others, i try to be generous and hospitable with food and drink, and i *thank* people profusely for a good job, but unless they're tipped employees (or they go above and beyond the call of duty) i don't tip them.

like someone else said, i find it ridiculous how nearly everyone seems to expect a tip these days. if they don't think they're getting paid enough to do their job, they should take that up with their employer, not look to me to supplement them.

My DH and I gave one of our installers beer and the other a bottle of Crown Royal because we thought they did a really good job. Of course, the next day we discovered that we had a $50 bill missing from one of the kitchen drawers. My DH saw it in there before they came that day to install and he should have removed it but didn't . After that disheartening experience, I don't know if I will ever tip again!

This sounds like an episode of Seinfeld. Where do people tip everyone-even regular workers? Those guys make good money working for wages, usually earn time and a half for overtime, they can do side jobs for extra money. Expecting a tip is unethical in a contracting business.

Go ahead and tip whoever you feel like, but next thing you know, the guys paving the street want $100 and free beer to fill in the pothole in front of your driveway!

ahhhh, no. I would never tip anyone doing service on my house. I negotiate a price, thats the price. It is just not common practice to tip construction workers. providing access to drinks is fine, but cash for doing your job - ahhh, no

I tipped the main fabricator who did the templating and the finish work on the slabs $50 because he went above and beyond to make sure my install went perfectly and didn't charge me extra when we had a couple casement window cranks that had to be cut in because they sat too low. I didn't tip the rest of the crew - it took 6 guys to bring in and place the island slab - but we did buy them pizza for lunch.

I choose to tip when someone has specifically done something extra to protect my home or enhance an installation. I tipped the crew who brought in my 42" refrigerator because it was awfully tight to get it in place and they ended up having to take pieces off of it to get it to stand up. They didnt' have to do that, and could have left it in the middle of the kitchen. However, they didn't want us to possibly damage our floors by moving it ourselves. I gave them $25 and told them I would like to buy them lunch.

Do what you like and makes you feel good!

Well, I did ($20 each to the three guys) and I regretted it shortly after they left. My new silestone countertop looked pretty, but on closer inspection I saw that they did not secure the undermount sink to the countertop with the clips I gave them, they just used silicone, (and, they took the clips with them), they also appear to have affixed the d/w to the countertop with some sort of silicone or glue (and just on one side) when from all I'm reading the d/w should be bolted to the underside of the countertop. I have a call into the service that sent them, but they're in no hurry to call me back. Guess I'll have to pay a personal visit. Another factor is that I was told by the installers to wait 24 hours before installing the faucet and sink strainer (later, I learned that that is necessary when you don't use clips) and the guy who is installing the rest of my kitchen, including the plumbing, is leaving for vacation tonight, and I will have to wait over a week until he returns to have a working sink back. So, learn from me and don't "assume" that the installers did everything right before letting them leave (or tipping them).

Why was my countertop $5000 anyway? Is granite that expensive?? Perhaps I should run over to the shop and tip the fabricator, too? Where does it end? If I'm that impressed by a worker I will either call their employer, write a letter, or both. I would hope it would be appreciated a whole lot more especially when most people just call to complain.

I am pretty irritated - the two installers who just left my house practically asked for a tip. I wasn't planning to tip them but after some awkward hanging out in the kitchen waiting for a tip and then asking if I had change for a $20 because they needed to split up a tip from yesterday ("some people must not realize that there are two of us!") I began to panic because I never carry cash and thought I didn't have any. I remembered that I did have some money and gave them each a $20.

I could see how they operated - one left while the other did his song and dance. When I gave the second one his $20 he later put it on the counter for the other to see so he did not have to do his routine (too late).

$3,700 for a countertop and now an extra $40 for doing the job for which they receive a paycheck anyway.

Am I old fashioned that thinking tipping is for waitstaff, pizza delivery guys, and others who make less than minimum wage? Sure I would tip for going above and beyond, but this was a pretty standard job. They did a nice job, but my perception is ruined based on their attitude.

All the way to work I was thinking about putting a tip cup on my desk. That and kicking myself for not having cash when the refrigerator man (who really went above and beyond) navigated my big fridge through every room in my house.

UGHH! Okay, done venting.

I'm not going to tip them. I tip at restaurants and those who provide personal services(hair, nails etc), or extraordinary services, but not regular people doing regular jobs. The template guys who came out put up with me asking about a million questions and micromanaging every little detail with good humor. So I called the designer to let them know how nice they were. That was their tip LOL! Now I just hope they will DO everything I pointed out. And seriously, do I need to call and make sure they use the clips to secure my undermount sink?! These little details are killing me. I'm obsessed with the counter/sinks/cutouts!!

I'm curious as to how so many of you gave them food and drink; I won't have a kitchen when they come to my house. The appliances aren't scheduled to go in until after the countertops are installed. Is that normal or is my contractor dreaming?

I'm the type that wants to tip everyone because I'm not sure anymore who is to be tipped. I think this comes from the old me that was in hospitality and depended on the tips. What I will say is that I used to get tips because that was how I made my money. The server minimum wage was just $2.13/hour, this has not changed since I began waiting tables in the mid 90s. The intention of the $2.13 was to offset any taxes that you would have to pay. These installers get paid a full salary, not a partial one with the expectation of living off of tips. Heck, I paid $2,000 for fabrication and install for less than a day's work. Based on this reasoning I would say that our guilt has got us tipping more than we need to be. I agree if someone does an exceptional job or they go above then tip, write a letter or thank them, but this is solely up to you. Just realize that they are doing their job.

Installation is a service. If the people installing are not the owner they are most likely making a very low wage. Its more than likely they are only making $10-$20/ hour and. The installation takes 1-2 hours. A tip of $10-20 per guy is completely reasonable. When you pay $3500 for a counter top the breakdown is something like this;

Slab: $2000

Offsite Fabrication including labor: $1200

Additional material: $150

Installation including labor and cuts: $150

The owner is making the money. The guys installing are making peanuts and if you’re complaining about $20-50 total in a the form of a tip for a service that cost thousands you may want to rethink your morals and own working rates.

*Sincerely,

A Service Management Executive

Tips are nice, but nothing even close to the sweetness of bragging to your boss that you got one. He can say what he wants on your annual review, but he can't argue with the marketplace.

I put drinks and some sort of snack out for contractors and their subs; most bring their own drinks and occasionally will take a donut or brownie. I did give each of the guys who worked on my kitchen and bath a very nominal Home Depot gift card, because we had a running joke about Home Depot while they were working. It was either $10 or $15, I forget which. They acted floored that I was giving them anything, but they were good workers, cleaned up after themselves every day, and generally did a good job. I didn't tip my floor guy, who has his own business.

I tip miniumum/low wage service providers like restaurant workers & coffee baristas because their pay is structured so they depend on tips for most of their income (some states even allow them to be paid less than the regular minimum wage because they are ”tipped employees”) & it is a longstanding social custom to tip them. The same with delivery workers, porters, hairstylists (even though they tend to be better paid), etc.

But, tradesman are professionals & they are paid well. Also, it is not customary to tip construction workers (give them food & drink, yes, but there is no tradition of tipping)..

If a construction worker did some extra work outside of regular expectations, then I would tip. But, usually the extra work would be a contract change order they would charge an additional fee for anyway.

Of course, you are free to tip whomever you wish, but just as you probably wouldn't tip your doctor or accountant, or even the low paid cashier at the supermarket (unless they helped carry your bags to the car, etc), you would generally not tip a construction worker just doing the job they are paid a fair wage to perform in an industry where there is no social custom of tipping.