I don't think so, and I would doubt that he would accept it. When I was younger I used to work at the service counter of a large computer retailer. Sometimes if people would ask nicely and had a good reason I would try and move their service ticket up. Often they would try and tip me when they picked up their PC, if I would have accepted it, and management found out, I would have been terminated... I know many service companies have similar policies.
I've decided that this is on-topic for this NG since many of us order large tools that have to be delivered freight.
When a truck driver drops a pallet in your garage, is he expecting a tip? How much? What do you think?
It's never a question with the UPS guy since he is already gone before I can even answer the door, but the freight guy is a different story.
This is why the whole concept of tipping sucks.
Not necessary as you have paid for the service. I assure you that when he delivers to a regular retail store he does not get a tip. However if you feel grateful enough, by all means tip the guy. I
I always pick mine up at the depot. Should they tip me?
I understand the difference when delivering to a business. I receive shipments via semi at work all the time (*BIG* computers) and obviously don't even consider tipping them. It just seems different when it's a home delivery since I don't have a loading dock or forklift.
It's not that I felt so grateful that I "wanted" to tip (I already paid $125 for shipping), I just don't want to be seen as a cheapskate and maybe pay for it later with late/damaged shipments if I do business with the same driver again.
If you picking the items up at the Depot, NO. They should however give you better pricing up front if you are paying for delivery to you house pricing.
Even with out lift gates or fork lifts I too have received stock on a daily basis at a business. For the most part a loading dock and fork lift at a delivery location is a luxury mor most delivery drivers.
The driver will pay if you will receive a damaged shipment. I would not worry about it unless he went out of his way to help you out. Otherwise, he is just doing his job.
My opinion...if he puts something in the garage, probably some sort of tip would be expected. I guess my rule for big-box deliveries is to tip for any service beyond what was contracted for.
In other words, if it's a long-distance motor-freight delivery to a residence, and I haven't paid for a liftgate, and yet the driver shows up with one anyway, yeah, I'd tip for that. If it's a local consumer-oriented store using his delivery truck, and he obviously knows it's to a residence, well I've already paid for that in the delivery charge, so no. If, however, either driver helps me get the box where it needs to go, I'd probably tip. Even if he rolls it up the driveway into the garage, I'd probably give him a very small tip.
Normally the contracts call for "curbside" delivery because their trucks could crack your driveway and they won't accept the liability. So if the driver takes it beyond the curbside, yeah, I'd probably give him something, even if it's just five bucks.
IMHO, it's your choice and consider tips as nothing more than wages a customer pays other peoples' help. It's your money; do as you wish. As for me, I figure they're already getting paid by somebody else to do a job. If they don't like their salary, they can bargain for a larger one or change jobs. Hard nosed? Perhaps? So be it!
No, he expects nothing and is paid a decent wage. I find that most drivers are very courteous and try to give good service. Their employers expect them to do this in order to sustain business with good relations. OTOH, if the driver does something above and beyond, sure a 5 or 10 will be appreciated. If he sets it in place in your garage, a $5 bill is probably OK, If he unpacks, sets up the tools, makes test cuts, then go for $10.
IMHO It's not a requirement to tip anyone in restaurant or other, the tip is a gratuity to show how much you appreciate what they have done. I have been on both sides here I used to deliver products to homes and businesses. I got and I have given tips, I delivered furniture for a few years and it was really appreciated. For me it depends on the amount of effort or service that the delivery person or service person puts in. I will never go back to Outback for example because they told me that I had to pay at least X amount for a tip. That's crap, if you get good service which we did not but we were going to tip some anyways then you get a good tip. It's a gratuity your saying thanks and how much you appreciate it. In effect it's all up to you. Of coarse this IMHO.
opinions are like A@#wholes everyone has one! Including me :-)
Al
the company I worked for paid us .50¢ above minimum wage that is common down there were we used to live. but the again lol it's all up to the customer :-) Yeah my old bosses were cheap! lol
Al
Wait till you get the bill from the truck line for that liftgate! Watkins Trucking delivered a crate of MDF cabinet doors I had ordered from Lakeside Moulding in Mississippi. It was freight "PREPAID." I met the driver at the rear of the truck in the street in front of my house and he lowered the crate onto my flatbed dolly using the liftgate. The bill came the next week. $57+ (fifty-something cents a pound) for the liftgate! How else would one suppose it the merchandise gets from the bed of the truck to the ground? Nest time, assuming there is a next time I just have the driver shove it out the back, then file a damage claim.
Thanks for the guffaw!
I know what you mean...I had to pay the company that delivered my saw another $70 for the liftgate, although there was no additional poundage fee. Considering the "curbside" fee I paid to the mfg was only $80, I was kind of surprised at the amount. But it was contracted up front with the freight company, so there were no "driveway surprises."
I think if he's a CDL truck driver, he's making a decent salary already, so no tip necessary. Unless, perhaps, you're wealthy. Then a tip may be in order. At least offer the guy a Coke or a bottle of water, but usually they turn refreshments down politely.
I give 20% to wait staff because I know they make a couple of bucks an hour and depend on it. Not to mention the time setting up or clean up making no tips. If outback gave me lousy food I might resort to 15%. but that is wrong because it proably was the kitchen fault and not the wait staff. The driver on the other hand is making a decent living and not dependent on tips. The house delivery is charged extra. Even UPS charges more for home delivery.Of course some one going the extra mile in service would get a tip. My only confusion is tip at a buffet. I think 10% because they can cover at least twice as many people.
Isn't that rather cynical? I mean really--expecting that the SAME driver is going to damage upcoming shipments to you purposely and vindictively, because you didn't pay him "protection"?? Good grief, man, that's not how it works! If you go to a restaurant and order a couple of $35+ meals for you and the missus and leave a $5 tip, THAT'S considered being a cheapskate, as anyone paying for that expensive of a meal can certainly afford a 50% tip.
Dave
BIG TYPO!!! make that a 20% tip...
Any freight shipping I have ever priced has several prices. The cheapest is to a business with a loading dock and a means to unload such as a towmotor. The most expensive is to a home that requires a liftgate delivery. This is what most home delivery freight delivery's consist of. You pay a premium price for this and to me requires no tip. I picked up a floor model drill press once at the freight terminal and they charged me for the phone call to come get it and for the part of a day that it sat at their dock. I loaded it myself into my truck with no help.
I don't tip truck drivers unless they have to sit around and wait for a while, if they show up at lunchtime, for instance- then the tip is usually a burger. They make more money than I do anyhow.
Far as the restaurants go, I figure the service has to be really, really poor to justify not leaving a tip. Most of those folks make well below the minimum wage because the employers expect them to be tipped. Don't know if buffets are the same, but I usually give them
20% at the Chinese ones- probably, they're just family employees, but I figure it's worth leaving the tip just in case they owe money to snakeheads. I never see any of those folks anywhere but in the buffet, and it seems a little odd.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.