solascriptura Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I've lived in the States my entire life and I still don't fully understand the tipping culture. I'm having some expensive work done on my home in the next few months. I'm talking two different jobs that are several thousands each. Do I tip these guys? I know I'm not expected to tip the owners of the business, but what about the employees that come on site too? What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I never do. I hope I've never offended anyone but it honestly never occurred to me to tip in that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I don't think so. Once we tried to tip an installation guy, and he vehemently refused it. It seemed like he'd get fired if he took the tip. So apparently that is not expected. Construction is a field where wages are not discounted for assumed tips; if anything, they are pretty well paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solascriptura Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Ok, great! Thanks for the replies. I guess I was worried because I don't know how much the employees of certain fields are paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Nope. I would occasionally have coffee/ breakfast snacks or lemonade/afternoon snacks, but I had the same crew at my house for several months. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 32 minutes ago, solascriptura said: I've lived in the States my entire life and I still don't fully understand the tipping culture. I'm having some expensive work done on my home in the next few months. I'm talking two different jobs that are several thousands each. Do I tip these guys? I know I'm not expected to tip the owners of the business, but what about the employees that come on site too? What do you guys think? I tip for service workers in which their attitude / personal touches can make a difference in the quality of the work. For example: Servers Hotel staff Lyft drivers, taxis Baristas for special orders Some people we tip annually: Delivery people (if they bring it to the door, USPS within the legal limit) Tutors/teachers (PS teachers within the legal limit) I would much prefer a living minimum wage for everyone over 18 (I don't care if they aren't supporting a family, they have to pay for college!). But that's not the case so I'm not going to stiff them just because they are stuck in the system. For workers at the house, I will communicate clearly about expectations of cleanup if need be and offer hot coffee, hot tea, and little snack plates if they're there for a long time. Plumbers and journeymen make a lot of money for their education level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I've never tipped contractors on my home. we have provided goodies on occasion. one tree guy said he was more willing to take the contract to cut down the tree (he was at a neighbors) when dh walked over with a big plate of brownies. he was more interested in the goodies than the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 No. I’ve never tipped contractors. When our home was being built we did have a cooler with drinks, but that’s about as far as we’ve ever gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 The only time I've ever tipped for home construction was once and it was roofers. They were a roofing crew that was moonlighting for me, so I was getting a deal. Price was $1000 for labor. Then the crewmanager said that I'd have extra shingles and he could double-do the ridge, and they replaced one plywood panel (that i ran to homedepot to get). They did amazing work. I tipped the crew $100 and a case of Bud. I mentioned the Bud to the crew manager when they were halfway through. They were more excited about the beer than the $100. They weren't expecting anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I don't tip contractors either but when they were working on building our house in cold weather, I brought hot tea and cookies or muffins (can't remember which). So handing them a bottle of water etc. is pretty common I think but not tipping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Just water if it is hot and they are working outside. I've been known to make a cooler and just let them know it is there and they are welcome to it as I would prefer they not be in and out of the house. The people I really took care of were our movers. It was such an intrusion and so personal I really wanted a good relationship. Also, it was a big job and I wanted it done as quickly as possible. If providing snacks and drinks kept them working I was all for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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