do you tip people who work on your home?

last year

i have a plumber who runs his business by himself. he has no helpers, no one he's teaching his trade to. needless to say, he is always very busy. the first time he did some plumbing for me, i gave him an extra $25 because he was here for a couple of hours, did a kind of complicated job, and only charged me $50. since that very first time, if i need his services, he's here within a couple of days.

the guys who built my deck last summer were such perfectionists that there were a couple of things that they weren't happy with and tore them apart and redid them until they had them perfect (in their eyes). these were things that i never would have noticed and even if i had, they would not have been concerning to me at all. they were here for 4 days, did a fantastic job, the finished deck looks like a work of art. i either fixed or bought them lunch every day they were here. when i wrote the check for the balance due, i gave them each an extra $100 bill. i've called them several times since and they've been here quickly. they're coming back in a few weeks to pour a concrete slab i've been wanting forever.

i had a deep clean done on my house last week. this was a woman and her daughter. my house isn't huge, just a 3 bedroom mobile home with a very large room addition. two of the bedrooms are always closed off so i didn't bother with them...

i have 2 great danes. there is never a shortage of slobber and nose prints on windows and here and there on cabinets. it had gotten away from me and took me days on end to try to get ahead of it so i decided it would be a good time to just hire a cleaning service. they spent the first 3 hours in my addition which has a LOT of huge windows. they cleaned them inside and out, scrubbed the tracks clean and everything absolutely sparkled like brand new. they did a great job, were here for a solid 6 hours and i don't think they ever took a break. they literally cleaned floor to ceiling. all of that for a charge of $250. i gave her an extra $50 but when i think about all the work they did, i'm afraid i didn't give them enough. i do plan to have them come back every couple of months just to spiff things up since my bad back and blown knees prevent me from doing a whole lot myself.

the deck guys said nobody has ever given them a tip. to me, when it's a job well done and i'm happy with it, i can't imagine not giving a little extra. so, i'm just curious, do you ever tip these sorts of folks?

Featured Answer

Jupidupi

last year

Absolutely. I can be pretty frugal with other things (clothes only on sale or from Ebay, limits on how much I'm willing to pay for certain produce, etc.) But I believe that tipping is cheap good karma. I tip on the heavy side, and find that I can always get good service, quickly, from people who've worked for me previously. I especially love when I can tell that a tip is unexpected and makes someone's day.

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Comments (20)

wildchild2x2
last year
last modified: last year
No. They charge what they feel the job is worth. If I have workers come over several days I might offer donuts or pastries. Sometimes water or soda. But no monetary tips. If I had a regular employee like a housekeeper who came regularly, I would give them a bonus for Xmas or if I knew them well enough maybe on their birthday but otherwise no, I only tip for a personal service, not a job properly done. I expect the job to be properly done by competent workers. That's what I hired them for at their rate.
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Elmer J Fudd
last year
last modified: last year
" only charged me $50 "

Skilled and licensed trade labor in my area can be anywhere from $125 to over $200 per hour. I had some miscellaneous but important work done by an electrical contractor in April. He was referred to me by a friend and described as being capable and honest.

He did a great job, everything I asked him to do and a bit more. I was very satisfied with the work. The charge was $690 for a bit over 3 hours. I thanked him and said he could use me for a reference if he wanted to. I didn't give him any extra money. I will call him again, he knew what he was doing, worked efficiently, and came on time. Actually, about 30 minutes early, which was fine, he called first.

The old saying often applies - "Good quality, timely, cheap...pick two"
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KW PNW Z8
last year
last modified: last year
I always wonder about this tipping business too. I do have a window washing company I’ve used for a couple of years. They do a great job & I’ve always added an extra few $ in cash for the crew of 3 along with my check (yes - an actual check!!!) for the job fee. We also have a roof / gutter guy we’ve used for years & he’s never raised his rates. My DH is always out ’helping’ with the ground level clean up & this guy appreciates the business he’s gotten based on our recommendations. DH sometimes adds a bit to his fee when paying him just because of his fast response after a high wind day that’s made a mess on our roof & his general good job done. So, we tip because we can afford it & because we think they might be undercharging long time customers.

ETA: window washing & roof cleaning isn’t what I’d call skilled trade so my practice as described above I wouldn’t apply to a plumber or appliance repair coming to fix a problem.
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KW PNW Z8
last year
Another thought on this. I’ve had landscape installers working on several major landscape projects. My bills for the work ranged from $30 - $50K I didn’t tip any for any of those projects but I did provide water, ice, morning & afternoon snacks. I also welcomed them to take their breaks in my patio sitting areas. I viewed this as a courtesy & respect to the workers.
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Fun2BHere
last year
I don't tip for most contracted jobs. If someone goes above and beyond what they were contracted to do for no additional charge, then I might add a cash tip. For instance, the guy who delivered a speciman tree and bags of planting mix. The contract was for him to drop it on the driveway at the curb, but he kindly brought it all the way up into my courtyard. That was definitely worth a little extra.
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Olychick
last year
I usually do tip, just to show my appreciation for a job well done. It can be difficult to find great people to hire and I want to reward those who are responsible, skilled, prompt, etc. I don't know if it helps to get quicker service for the next time or not, but maybe. Not really my main reason for tipping, but maybe it doesn't hurt? It mostly is a thank you to them.
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morz8 - Washington Coast
last year
I always tip my semi-retired plumber. I don't feel he charges me enough to make my calls worth his time but he's always right here and promptly if I need him.

I tipped my painter last month when he'd done the living room ceiling I'd been dreading doing myself.

My electrician doesn't handle money or payments. His office bills me and I don't tip - only pay it promptly.

We will be roofing later this month or in August. It's a BIG amount and I probably won't tip. To get the contract, roofer offered (no fee) to add new gutters and downspouts to match my siding paint so in a sense, he's tipped me.

I always offer coffee when workmen arrive in the morning, put out fruit, always bottled water, soft drinks in a cooler and make sure workmen know which guest bathroom is available to them. I'll make a sandwich if appropriate for those I know. Any time its been a crew of a few they have preferred to leave for their lunch.
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arcy_gw
last year
We don't have much need as DH is more than capable but seems like the same rule ought to apply about ownership. The plumber who works alone, for himself is getting all the fee. A junior helper only gets part of what one pays for a job--one may have reason to tip them.
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Lars
last year
I give the pool guy extra money at Christmas, but that's about it. If someone charged me what I would consider a low price, I would consider tipping, but that hasn't happened, except for the pool guy.
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faftris
last year
Always a little something, and I present it as "coffee money" or something like that. It is very difficult around here to even get someone to come and do anything, so I am grateful.
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Ninapearl
Original Author
last year
I usually do tip, just to show my appreciation for a job well done. It can be difficult to find great people to hire and I want to reward those who are responsible, skilled, prompt, etc. I don't know if it helps to get quicker service for the next time or not, but maybe. Not really my main reason for tipping, but maybe it doesn't hurt? It mostly is a thank you to them.

Always a little something, and I present it as "coffee money" or something like that. It is very difficult around here to even get someone to come and do anything, so I am grateful.

this is exactly my reason for giving a little extra. since i am alone and live in the middle of nowhere, i am at the mercy of people like contractors, plumbers, etc. this is especially true with contractors. i have had some nightmare scenarios where i spent a LOT of money and ended up with less-than-satisfactory work and sometimes, downright shoddy results. i thought i was hiring competent people because i did check reviews and the BBB for any complaints but a couple of times, those steps did me no good.

as for this plumber, he is a local man i've known since he and my son were in grade school together. i've known his family forever and know they are upstanding people so i definitely want to show my appreciation for his prompt replies and great work.

thanks for all of the replies here, it's interesting to get takes from others on this subject.
foodonastump
last year
Actual work on the home, typically not, exceptions would generally be for workers - not owners - who one way or another seemed to work extra hard or do an exceptional job. I’ve had rare circumstances where someone quoted a price for a job, the job got more involved than they anticipated, they didn’t adjust price, I threw them some extra.

Funny story perhaps, after I bought my last house recently I called over a company to help set up and demonstrate some home electronics. The guy was here for a while and as he was wrapping up I asked how much. He said nothing. Really?! Nope! I figured maybe since the past homeowner was a client and they hoped to retain me, this was a free consultation. He had been there close to two hours so I slipped him $100. He was very thankful, exceedingly thankful, and then thankful again in front of the alarm guy who had also spent quite some time checking things out and showing me stuff. I hadn’t planned to tip the alarm guy, but now I felt I had to.

A month later, you guessed it. I got a $330 bill in the mail from the AV company. 😡
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jrb451
last year
last modified: last year
We usually tip and/or pay in cash for the smaller stuff, or a job well done. Or, going above and beyond by doing more than I'd expected. A few years ago, we had a couple of terraced beds torn out and rebuilt along with a larger garden bed. The workers saw us struggling to move out all the plants in the bed before they started. They stopped what they were doing, came over and picked up shovels to help us out. I gave them each a cash tip afterwards.
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LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
last year
I do 90% of my home repairs now but I'm sure that may change as I grow older. I've tipped a few times over the years for a job well done above and beyond expectations or a quick response.

I usually tip myself a few cold brews after completing a project.
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Ally De
last year
Generally do what others have shared. Usually no tip, but if they have been great in some way I like rewarding that.
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Elmer J Fudd
last year
LoneJack, do you have any free time next Wednesday? I'll be sure to have cold beer ready for you.

Let me know. Thanks.
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Ninapearl
Original Author
last year
Skilled and licensed trade labor in my area can be anywhere from $125 to over $200 per hour.

my master bathroom vanity sink was so old, it cracked and was leaking down into the cabinet. my plumber was on vacation for 3 weeks and it was something i wanted to take care of ASAP. i hired a plumbing company who did the job and charged me $1700 FOR A SINK. it wasn't something that took him all day, i think maybe he was here for a couple of hours. i knew what the charge would be from the estimate i got and as much as i didn't want to pay that much, i went ahead with it out of desperation. i could have gone to home depot and got a sink for a couple hundred dollars and had my brother-in-law install it but he is very much an amateur plumber and i didn't want to take a chance.

my plumber doesn't charge by the hour, at least for the small jobs i've had him do. he just charges a flat fee and i'm pretty sure it's never been over $100 even the time i had him here to install an ro/di system when i had my reef aquarium. this is why i always give him extra.

@Jupidupi we think alike. since school was out when my deck was built, one of the guys brought his 7 year old nephew with him, more or less, to keep him out of trouble because he's somewhat of a problem child. he did do a lot of running from the tool trailer back and forth for them. when the job was finished, i gave him three $2 bills and he was so tickled and proud of himself!
nicole
last year
Everyone I've hired charged TOP dollar for their services. So...no tip...but I try to do something nice for people. We invited the roofer(company foreman), his wife & 2 kids over for the community BBQ. There was a bouncy house, face painting, balloon artist & live band. Then the landscaping company guys expressed an interest in fishing our stocked ponds. We offered to give them a "day-at-the-pond" ...just name the day.
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Toronto Veterinarian
last year
I never tip people who own their own business, because they can set their own charges - whether they're a plumber or a hairdresser. I do occasionally tip tradespeople who work for a company, but only if they go out of their way to do something above and beyond.
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do you tip people who work on your home?

Jupidupi

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