How Much For Delivery Tip?

[mondragon]

No. These days most delivery people are independent owner/operators not affiliated with the store.
The $50 to $125 I paid for delivery is going right into their pocket.
It's not like a restaurant, where a worker is making minimum wage and need the tip to bring them up to a living wage.

No it doesn't. It goes to the companies that deliver. Those guys probably make barely anything over minimum wage. I know city furniture has their own delivery guys (neighbors kid does it while away at college) and he paid hourly.

 

[tvguy]

No it doesn't. It goes to the companies that deliver. Those guys probably make barely anything over minimum wage. I know city furniture has their own delivery guys (neighbors kid does it while away at college) and he paid hourly.

I remodeled my house over the past 18 months. My washer, dryer, stove, fridge, dishwasher and microwave were all delivered by the guy who owned the delivery company. Very few companies employ delivery people any more.

 

[mondragon]

I remodeled my house over the past 18 months. My washer, dryer, stove, fridge, dishwasher and microwave were all delivered by the guy who owned the delivery company. Very few companies employ delivery people any more.

well where I'm from the delivery companies do hire people to deliver. Lowes delivered a bunch of items for my remodel (a lot more that a few kitchen appliances) and there were multiple deliveries my different delivery guys. I tipped every single one of them. Yes I also paid for delivery. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way.

 

[tvguy]

well where I'm from the delivery companies do hire people to deliver. Lowes delivered a bunch of items for my remodel (a lot more that a few kitchen appliances) and there were multiple deliveries my different delivery guys. I tipped every single one of them. Yes I also paid for delivery. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way.

I think the bigger point is, when I am paying a price for an item, and an additional price for delivery, that should cover it. A little bit of gratitude does go a long way, but that delivery charge that is going in his pocket does too.

 

[mondragon]

I think the bigger point is, when I am paying a price for an item, and an additional price for delivery, that should cover it. A little bit of gratitude does go a long way, but that delivery charge that is going in his pocket does too.

you just don't get it. I guess when you go out to eat, the price of the food should cover the gratuity for the server and busboy. Whatever you pay for a haircut should cover the tip. When someone comes and delivers pizza or Chinese to your home and there is a minimum 15 charge then no tip.

No idea what is being delivered to your home except for a few appliances but when they delivered 25 impact windows (very heavy), 4 sets of French doors, 2 front doors, a ton of wood flooring and all new appliances I felt like I should give them a tip. There were 4 guys unloading all this stuff and I only paid $150 for delivery.

 

[leahgoogle]

We didn't tip when our stove was delivered (it was a new house and there was no stove to remove). If it would have been a hard job, we probably would have. To OP, I think $20/person is good.

 

[Narnia_girl]

you just don't get it. I guess when you go out to eat, the price of the food should cover the gratuity for the server and busboy. Whatever you pay for a haircut should cover the tip. When someone comes and delivers pizza or Chinese to your home and there is a minimum 15 charge then no tip.

No idea what is being delivered to your home except for a few appliances but when they delivered 25 impact windows (very heavy), 4 sets of French doors, 2 front doors, a ton of wood flooring and all new appliances I felt like I should give them a tip. There were 4 guys unloading all this stuff and I only paid $150 for delivery.

If someone wants to tip extra then that's well and good. Be generous when and where you can. But if folks pay for a product (a meal or washing machine) and pay for a service related to that product (waitress or delivery charge) it's hardly fair to shame them for not paying more.

 

[tvguy]

well where I'm from the delivery companies do hire people to deliver. Lowes delivered a bunch of items for my remodel (a lot more that a few kitchen appliances) and there were multiple deliveries my different delivery guys. I tipped every single one of them. Yes I also paid for delivery. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way.

I think the bigger point is, when I am paying a price for an item, and an additional price for delivery, that should cover it. A little bit of gratitude does go a long way, but that delivery charge that is going in his pocket does too. Interesting about your Lowes. My wife's nephew manages a Lowes, They exclusi

you just don't get it. I guess when you go out to eat, the price of the food should cover the gratuity for the server and busboy. Whatever you pay for a haircut should cover the tip. When someone comes and delivers pizza or Chinese to your home and there is a minimum 15 charge then no tip.

No idea what is being delivered to your home except for a few appliances but when they delivered 25 impact windows (very heavy), 4 sets of French doors, 2 front doors, a ton of wood flooring and all new appliances I felt like I should give them a tip. There were 4 guys unloading all this stuff and I only paid $150 for delivery.

. Your restaurant example perfectly illustrates my point. Many restaurants automatically add the gratuity to the bill if it is a larger group. So an additional tip would not be expected. Exactly the same thing I am talking about. I am already paying those people to do delivery and setup. I am not saying it would be wrong to tip an additional amount, I am just saying that I think the delivery charge generally is enough to cover it. The typical $75 or so delivery fee more than covers less than an hours work and the cost of running his truck. I sure don't get that kind of compensation for my work.

 

[smadath]

We didn't tip when our stove was delivered (it was a new house and there was no stove to remove). If it would have been a hard job, we probably would have. To OP, I think $20/person is good.

That is what I ended up going with ($20). They had to take door off to get the old one out, so it was a bit more involved. Plus, they set the new one up so all I had to do was put food back in! No fuss, no muss! For me, at least.

 

[kaytieeldr]

well where I'm from the delivery companies do hire people to deliver. Lowes delivered a bunch of items for my remodel (a lot more that a few kitchen appliances) and there were multiple deliveries my different delivery guys. I tipped every single one of them. Yes I also paid for delivery. A little bit of gratitude goes a long way.

Interesting that Lowe's is being cited as an example in this thread. This is from their delivery page:

Lowe's Truck Delivery

• FREE next-day delivery on in-stock appliances — only at Lowe's!
  • Delivery available 7 days a week (excluding major US holidays)
  • Up to 75 miles from fulfillment location
  • US only

Included with FREE delivery:

• Moving of new appliance into desired location (varies by store location)
• Moving of old appliances to another location within the same residence
• Haul-away and recycling of old appliance
• Uncrating and removal of packing materials
• Demonstration of operation of new appliance
• Door swing change, if necessary
• Hookup of new appliances:
  • FREE for refrigerators, electric ranges, electric dryers, and washing machines with existing electrical outlet connection
  • Additional charge for installation of dishwashers, drop-in ranges, gas ranges, gas dryers, air conditioners, water heaters, wall ovens, surface units or cooktops

Given this, there's no reason (justification?) to not tip?

 

[mondragon]

Interesting that Lowe's is being cited as an example in this thread. This is from their delivery page:

Lowe's Truck Delivery

• FREE next-day delivery on in-stock appliances — only at Lowe's!
  • Delivery available 7 days a week (excluding major US holidays)
  • Up to 75 miles from fulfillment location
  • US only

Included with FREE delivery:

• Moving of new appliance into desired location (varies by store location)
• Moving of old appliances to another location within the same residence
• Haul-away and recycling of old appliance
• Uncrating and removal of packing materials
• Demonstration of operation of new appliance
• Door swing change, if necessary
• Hookup of new appliances:
  • FREE for refrigerators, electric ranges, electric dryers, and washing machines with existing electrical outlet connection
  • Additional charge for installation of dishwashers, drop-in ranges, gas ranges, gas dryers, air conditioners, water heaters, wall ovens, surface units or cooktops

Given this, there's no reason (justification?) to not tip?

None of my items were in stock and the windows/doors had to be ordered custom. I still felt obligated to tip due to the amount of work it took to unload those items. They did not install anything due to no floors being in yet. They did go through everything to make sure I had all items.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think the bigger point is, when I am paying a price for an item, and an additional price for delivery, that should cover it. A little bit of gratitude does go a long way, but that delivery charge that is going in his pocket does too. Interesting about your Lowes. My wife's nephew manages a Lowes, They exclusi

Sorry, mondragon, I should have quoted ^ this instead of you. It's possible tvguy lives more than 75 miles from any Lowe's, so doesn't get the benefit of free delivery; or the location he uses doesn't include the free placement service.

 

[DisneyHeather]

I've had stuff delivered from Lowe's and it never crossed my mind to tip the driver. I always figured that it's their job to deliver and set up the appliance and that the store is paying them for that. Hopefully they never left my house upset that I didn't tip.

 

[tvguy]

Sorry, mondragon, I should have quoted ^ this instead of you. It's possible tvguy lives more than 75 miles from any Lowe's, so doesn't get the benefit of free delivery; or the location he uses doesn't include the free placement service.

You left out that the free delivery offer expires July 14.

 

[smadath]

I've gotten several large appliance deliveries over the years (including this last one). Delivery was always done by Lowe's drivers, and was always free. Although I may have just been lucky to time it during free delivery offers.

 

[Lilliputian]

I don't tip. The delivery guys are being paid at least minimum wage, and many are getting quite a bit more, closer to that $15/hour that people are protesting over. Installation is included with delivery, so even if it's something like a dishwasher that takes a little while to hook up, I figure that was all accounted for by the company in the delivery price (or in the cost of the item if they were offering "free" delivery).

I do give cold bottles of water or whatever I have on hand, especially if it's hot or if we're not the first delivery of the day. I always feel like I should offer coffee when we're first, but I don't know how to make it.

We once had two delivery guys stranded at our house for a few hours. The guy who drove the truck to our house had a heart attack in our yard and was taken away on an ambulance. Neither of the remaining guys could drive the truck. It was hot, so I opened our garage for them and gave them lawn chairs. (I didn't invite them in because two of my children were throwing up, and I didn't think they wanted to catch it.) I took them food, popsicles, and lots of water until someone finally showed up to pick them up about 4 hours after they first got there.

 

[tvguy]

Finally heard back from my wife's nephew. He says his guys get about one $10-$20 tip a week, so it isn't the norm to get a tip, and he says it is almost always when a customer wants to keep the old appliance (like a fridge) and asks the delivery guys to set up the new one, and then move and setup the old one in a new location like the garage.
His region has 16 stores, only 2 still do their own deliveries. Independent guys (owner operators) get $59 a delivery plus mileage to cover the cost of the truck and fuel. 2 man crew, so no way to know what the helper gets paid, the the owner operator is earning at least $29.50 per delivery, more if he gives the helper less than half. They do about 12 deliveries a day. so the owner operator is making at least $44.25 an hour.
That puts them, in my book above the level of pay that I would tip.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We had never tipped furniture or appliance delivery drivers in the past. But, about a month ago we bought a new washer/dryer set from HH Gregg. My DH met the delivery guys and said they were fantastic - they spent 45 minutes getting the new, HUGE appliances in the basement, hooking them up and getting the old ones out. DH felt they had gone above and beyond and gave them each $20. He said they were very appreciative.

 

[smadath]

Finally heard back from my wife's nephew. He says his guys get about one $10-$20 tip a week, so it isn't the norm to get a tip, and he says it is almost always when a customer wants to keep the old appliance (like a fridge) and asks the delivery guys to set up the new one, and then move and setup the old one in a new location like the garage.
His region has 16 stores, only 2 still do their own deliveries. Independent guys (owner operators) get $59 a delivery plus mileage to cover the cost of the truck and fuel. 2 man crew, so no way to know what the helper gets paid, the the owner operator is earning at least $29.50 per delivery, more if he gives the helper less than half. They do about 12 deliveries a day. so the owner operator is making at least $44.25 an hour.
That puts them, in my book above the level of pay that I would tip.

I definitely see your point in this case. I've only had an independent delivery driver once, and that was a 45" tv. They brought the boxed tv in the door, then left. I didn't tip then, since in my mind a delivery like that is on par with UPS or Fedex. But for the ones who show up in a company truck wearing the company uniform, I'll continue tipping. I can't imagine delivery/set-up jobs are very glamorous, and I'm ok spending a little more to make their day better!

(Maybe I feel this way because I was a housekeeper at a hotel in college. Tips weren't required or anticipated, but they sure were appreciated! )

 

[mondragon]

Finally heard back from my wife's nephew. He says his guys get about one $10-$20 tip a week, so it isn't the norm to get a tip, and he says it is almost always when a customer wants to keep the old appliance (like a fridge) and asks the delivery guys to set up the new one, and then move and setup the old one in a new location like the garage.
His region has 16 stores, only 2 still do their own deliveries. Independent guys (owner operators) get $59 a delivery plus mileage to cover the cost of the truck and fuel. 2 man crew, so no way to know what the helper gets paid, the the owner operator is earning at least $29.50 per delivery, more if he gives the helper less than half. They do about 12 deliveries a day. so the owner operator is making at least $44.25 an hour.
That puts them, in my book above the level of pay that I would tip.

Do you really think 44.25 hr is a lot of money for an owner of a delivery company. What about all the overhead they have. Also how do you know the amount of deliveries a day they are doing. Maybe it's slow and they only do 2 deliveries.

You really don't understand all the work these guys do to deliver your items to your home. You pay a lot of money for these items, what's a few bucks more to show appreciation on bringing the items to your home, hooking them up, hauling away the old stuff and cleaning up afterwards. Makes them feel better about themselves. A lot better than a ¢.25 bottle of water.