Hiring movers is one of the best ways to move your things. They can help you carry heavy mattresses, desks, and other types of furniture. While moving companies will charge you for their labor, you might be asking yourself – How much should I tip movers per hour? After all, they’re doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and many movers count on the extra cash to make a good living.
That said, how much to tip movers per hour depends on their quality of service, the items they’re moving, and much more. Thankfully, we’re here to break it all down. Read on to learn more.
Do You Have to Tip Movers?
No, you don’t have to tip movers. Nobody is going to come to your door and arrest you if you don’t tip your movers. However, your movers won’t be happy, and you should probably work with a different company if you need movers again, because the employees may not be happy. Even if you don’t have a lot of money to spare, at least try to tip them something.
How Much to Tip Movers Per Hour
Typically, you should tip your movers around $20 to $50. That cost depends on factors like the time, sure, but also on the quality of service, where you’re moving, and how cumbersome everything is. For these reasons, you can expect to tip around $4 to $5 per hour per mover; this is your average tip.
However, if you want to make your movers really happy, a better tip is around $8 to $10 per hour per mover.
Factors That Influence How Much to Tip Movers Per Hour
Several factors determine how much to tip movers per hour. The most important ones include the quality of service, the amount of total time, and how difficult the move is.
We take you through more information about each factor to help you determine the right hourly tip.
Quality of Service
First things first, the quality of service is always important. If your movers do an outstanding job, are personable, and always seem happy to help, then a generous tip per hour is the right thing to do. If you want to ensure that you get the best possible service, make sure you’re working with the best moving companies; we feel confident in moveBuddha’s list of top movers.
On the other hand, if your movers don’t say a word to you the entire time or seem like they’re milking the clock and not working, you may want to drop their tip a bit. Finally, if movers give you any problems or break a lot of your things, you can decide not to tip them at all.
The Difficulty of the Move
The Difficulty of the move is another factor you have to consider. Some movers are easier than others, so you don’t have to go too crazy with a tip if they’re only moving a few heavy things into a ground-level home or apartment.
On the other hand, if movers have to move a ton of heavy objects up several flights of stairs, you’ll want to tip them a generous amount. The biggest factors that increase the difficulty of a move include stairs, tight spaces, objects with odd shapes, and the weight of your items.
Time
The amount of time movers are working with you should also influence your tip. For example, if movers are only helping you for around three hours, that doesn’t mean you should stiff them on the tip. To reach the $20 to $50 per mover tip range, you may want to increase your hourly tipping rate.
On the other hand, if it’s a several-day process, it may be better to come down on those bigger numbers because tipping them will likely be expensive anyway.
Tip Your Movers the Right Way
Whether you’re moving into a big home or a small apartment, it’s important to tip your movers, especially if you may work with them again.
Depending on the size of the move, how many movers you have, and the quality of the service, a good rule of thumb to follow is that you should tip your movers around $5 to $10 per hour. That said, you can expect to tip each mover around $50 to $100 for a hard day’s work.
