Tipping an interior painter

[Robert Fenster]

We are having $2300 worth of interior painting done (including stripping wallpaper).

All the work is to be done by one person (its his company).

Is tipping appropriate? If so, how much?

Thanks

[Joe Bobst]

Have you signed a contract for this amount?

It is very rare in most trades. When the work is finished, however, consider the quality. Consider extra labor that might have been due to your requests or unexpected problems. Consider on time and keeping commitments. If the job turned out better than average, sure, add something to the final bill. A C-note at minimum would be nice for him to take home. Your choice if you'd like to add more. HTH

Joe

[Dr. Hardcrab]

"Robert Fenster" wrote

Are you crazy??!!!

What if he has a bucket of paint in his hand? Then you'll have a real mess!

Stick with tipping cows.....

[m Ransley]

Not for normal work, unless you make him rush and stay late, the answer is NO .

[Jeff Cochran]

If I'm satisfied with a job, I tip. Usually a gift certificate for a decent restaurant, but I at least buy lunch.

Jeff

[newfy.1]

We didn't tip. We did leave cases of soda and water and occasionally provided pizza. The guy is someone we've become friendly with so dh plans to take him out for a round of golf and dinner. He did outstanding work for us.

JennP.

[Steve B.]

Since he owns the company I would not tip unless he does something exceptionally above what is expected.

Steve B.

[Dan Hartung]

Rule of thumb for services is that owners don't get tipped, but employees do. Since you know he's the owner (and therefore entitled to all the profits, the precise amount of which you don't usually know), you shouldn't tip. (Perhaps you could invite him to a cook-out or something informal.) You can always compensate him through referrals.

[dbird]

only tip if he does not charge yo the $2300 for his work......... whey would you tip him??? do you tip the doctor, the dentist, the mortagage company when you pay a house note????

[dbird]

[George E. Cawthon]

Building/construction trades are not services. You hire a person as a temporary employee at a specific wage or you hire them under contract for a specific amount of money. The painter is under contract to you to do some work. If you have a painting business, do you tip your workers or just pay them wages. (Of course you just pay wages). You are simply acting as the general contractor, instead of hiring a separate person as the general contractor. When a house is originally constructed, do any of the various trade workers get tipped? (The answer is no.) Does the general contractor pay a tip to each trade? (Answer is no). So why would one tip a trade person doing a redo or upgrade?

Tipping workers seems to be getting out of control and not for the better. You can tip people who do personal services (generally low wages and dependent on tips), but you don't tip others. Tipping other get's into a gray area that can be viewed as bribery and graft. My God, just thing of tipping a real estate agent. First they take 7 percent of your sale price (in many case with less than one day's attention) and then you give them an additional 15 percent? Give me a break!

[Jonny R]

My "tip" to them for a good job is that I'll hire them again in the future for more work, and that I'll refer them to my friends.

[Greg]

If you make a deal and the trade does exactly what you you contracted, he gets what you agreed on. If you are asking for more as the job progresses or he finds things you forgot and takes care of them you owe him more money.

Your "tip" for just doing a good job is making his job as easy as possible by giving him clear access, not bothering him and perhaps some cold drinks.

[Jim Johnson]

We gave a healthy "bonus" to our drywall finisher. We couldn't get anyone to even come out to look at the job until he came along since we only needed five ceilings done. It was too small for everyone else. Scott even came in on Saturday morning before his boy's football game and finished the ceilings just so we could keep up with our very tight schedule. I never saw a guy who could do a flawless job on a ceiling and never get a speck of mud on his street clothes, or at least I never did until that morning.

You get what you pay for. I wanted to be sure he knew how much we really appreciated him in case we needed him in the future.

Jim

[xrongor]

if you do that, and if you write him a check seems only fair you tip the bank for cashing it for him too...

stop the tipping madness! randy

[newfy.1]

LOL. I think you must have seen that "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode, lol.

JennP.

[Trent©]

Sure. I usually go with...

Don't smoke. I causes cancer.

There are other tips which are just as enlightening! lol

Have a nice week...

Trent©

What do you call a smart blonde? A golden retriever.