Packed up and ready to move? If you’re among one of the millions of people who will move this year, it’s inevitable that you’ll face a common predicament: Do you tip movers? Moreover, how much do you tip movers? After an exhausting and busy moving day, trying to figure out how much to tip isn’t something you want to stress out about, so be prepared ahead of time. As with all forms of tipping, being prepared to tip ahead of time will leave you and the worker in better standing.
“The moving crew, who is not making a lot of money to begin with, does have a general expectation that they will get tipped,” says Mike Keaton, spokesperson for the American Moving and Storage Association. And you should feel good about tipping your movers. “These are people who you are trusting with your possessions, not to mention that lifting heavy furniture and boxes is really hard work,” Keaton says. “If you think they did a good job, a tip is a lovely gesture to thank them and reward them.”
While tipping movers is almost always allowed by a company and is generally considered to be proper etiquette, be sure to check with your moving company—either when you book the move, by checking your agreement or on the company website, or by asking the foreman discreetly the day of the move—to see if they have a tipping policy or any guidelines, says Sharon Schweitzer, international etiquette expert and the founder of Protocol & Etiquette Worldwide. Chances are, the agent you book your move with will mention tipping expectations ahead of time, but if not, it’s best to ask.