How Much to Tip Movers for a Long-Distance Move

Why Should You Be Tipping Long Distance Movers?

Tipping professional workers for their service is probably not something you would put on your “relocating to another state checklist.” However, there are a few reasons why you should consider it. Relocation processes are extremely difficult to handle, and these workers handle all of the most difficult tasks, so you don’t have to.

From packing fragile items and wrapping up every single belonging to protect them and loading a relocation truck, they take a lot off of your plate, so you’re not stressing about relocation too much. Even if you are saving on your relocation cost, think about how much you should tip movers since they are the ones taking care of all of your belongings and making sure they move safely. There’s no doubt you will be satisfied with your long-distance movers, and this is a perfect way to show them your appreciation.

Consider Everything They Did When Deciding on Tipping Them

You shouldn’t question how hard and exhausting these people’s physical work is when moving your belongings. When deciding whether to give them a bonus or not, think about all of the tasks you would have to do instead of them. Here’s what their services include:

• Handling large and heavy furniture,
• Carrying heavy boxes up and down the stairs,
• Packing up all of your belongings,
• Organizing and securing boxes,
• Doing the job fast and efficiently,
• Loading and unloading items from the truck,
• Being polite, friendly, and professional.

Whatever your reasons for relocating are, your relocating to-do list is going to be large, and you’ll most certainly be thankful for having help from professionals. Especially if you’re last-minute relocating, and they do all the work of moving to your new home in the shortest amount of time. That’s why you’ll definitely be thinking about “how much should I tip movers?”.

How Do You Decide How Much to Tip Movers for Their Help?

Generally speaking, the bonus should reflect the degree of difficulty involved and how satisfied you are with their work on relocating your belongings to your new home. When deciding “how much do I tip movers?” consider how big your inventory list is, the number of stuff they moved, how heavy the items were, and climbing up and down the stairs involved.

How Much Do You Tip Movers per Hour?

How much should you tip movers per hour for their relocation services? The usual rule for bonuses is $4-5 per person for every hour. You can also consider how big the bonus will be for workers according to this general guideline:

• A half-day move (4 hours or less) – $20 per person,
• A full day of work (8 hours) – $40 per person,
• Overtime work (12 hours or more) – $50-60 per person.

In case it takes a working day of 8 hours for them to finish all the disassembling, assembling, loading, and unloading, you can consider tipping them more. However, if you have a limited relocation budget, around $20-40 for each worker is quite a decent amount.

How Much to Tip Movers for Long Distance Moving Services?

A long-distance relocation is always a bit more complicated with tipping. This move is more challenging, demanding, and requires a lot more people involved. Usually, this type of relocation requires two teams of professionals. One crew is acquired to organize your move, pack up your entire inventory list, and load all of your belongings safely into the vehicle, while the other crew has to unload all of those items once they safely arrive at the new location.

The standard of tipping in the service industry is around 15% of the total cost or more, depending on how satisfied you are with the service. While you might feel like the standard percentage is a bit too high, remember that cross-country movers are essential workers, and they have to do the job even under difficult conditions and risk their health.

However, because there are more people involved, paying based on percentage won’t be the best solution, as you’ll realize it is not cost-effective. Generally, you can use the same formula for rounding up a sum of $40 for the whole day of work. It is quite pricey, but if you can afford it, it is the best solution.

At What Point of the Moving Process Should You Tip the Workers?

If you’re moving for the first time, you are probably not aware of the fact that relocation day can get quite hectic, as you’ll have to pay attention to everything going on. Many people get overwhelmed and forget to do certain things during the move, especially if you have kids, pets, or you’re relocating with a newborn or elders. You should immediately add tipping to your moving out list, so you don’t forget about it during the relocation day. But when are you supposed to give them the bonus?

When Is the Right Time for Handing Out the Bonus?

Some people think that it is important to mention to each mover, at the very beginning of the process, that you’re going to give them a bonus at the end. This is supposedly going to give them more motivation – they’ll perform better and be more cautious with their belongings. However, it is just a matter of opinion and doesn’t necessarily have to be true.

If you’re not willing to overthink this problem, you can always apply the best golden rule of expressing your gratitude once the job is done. Once everything is packed, secured, safely delivered, unloaded, and assembled, you can sign the final paperwork, thank them, and give out the bonuses.

Who Should You Be Giving the Bonuses To?

One question we should also clear up is who you should hand out the bonuses to. Usually, every team has a coordinator, a foreman, who is the leader and the person in charge of the entire crew. When there is a problem, or you have certain questions, that is the person that you’re supposed to talk to. The simplest way for you would be to give out the tips to the main person and get that over with.

However, it may not be the best way to do it. Not that the leaders won’t hand out their teammates their money, but you can never be too sure about how the situation is going to end. Every single person in the team is there working for you, so it would be a nice gesture to hand out the tips to each person directly. It is a nice way of saying thank you for all the effort they’ve put into your relocation.

You Can Use Different Paying Methods

If you have a larger number of people in the working team, you’ll need to prepare a larger amount of money for the tips. In cases like these, most people don’t practice giving out cash. However, that is completely fine, because you can pay the tips for the packing service, and additional work, through different methods.

You can use a credit card which is a great option for many reasons. The main benefit is that you’ll be able to save up some money by documenting your gratuity to the IRS will be made much easier. Another option is to use a check which is aligned with most companies’ payment policies. Be sure to check if it’s possible for the checks to be distributed to the entire crew.

How To Show Gratitude for the Provided Help Without the Money?

There are plenty of ways to show gratitude besides giving out money to the workers. Sometimes when people are moving on a low budget or relocating without a job, it’s much harder for them to provide cash bonuses.

If you’re in a similar situation where you’re not able to give bonuses to the workers for relocating your furniture and finishing off all of the hard tasks, consider showing hospitality throughout the process as some of these gestures:

• Be kind and friendly to each mover, and try to achieve the best communication with them,
• Prepare hygiene items for them, such as hand towels, sanitizers, tissues, and wet wipes,
• Prepare refreshments, drinks, food, and snack, for the crew,
• Let them know it’s okay to take breaks or grab refreshments,
• Ask them if there is anything they might need from you, and make yourself available to offer help with certain problems.

These types of gestures don’t have to be just a substitute for cash bonuses. You can show hospitality even if you’re giving them extra tips at the end of the day. You don’t have to supervise them non-stop since you’ll probably be busy organizing your documents for traveling or figuring out how to change addresses when moving out. Still, checking up on your workers from time to time is the least you can do.

Not Giving Out Bonuses Is Fine When You’re Dealing With Unprofessional Workers

There can be certain situations when the long-distance moving company you hired provides you with unprofessional, unorganized, rude, or careless workers. If you are not careful with choosing a relocation company, this is a possible scenario. In these types of situations, how to reward movers is the last thing you should think about.

Tip the Movers Based on Your Satisfaction With Their Performance

If you are not satisfied with how the workers handled the relocation process and boxing up your belongings, you are not obligated to give them a bonus. You are also not obligated to treat them with the bonus if they show up late, damage anything from your inventory list or your home, label the boxes incorrectly, or spend too much time on breaks.

If they do anything incorrectly or don’t provide what the company promised you, you shouldn’t be worried about giving out bonuses. Accidents can happen, but it’s important that the workers do all they can to prevent them. This is why it’s best to have relocation insurance on your checklist.

Don’t Forget To Leave a Review

Whether you are satisfied with the overall performance of the company’s professional crew or not, providing a written review is always a good idea. This way, the person in charge of the cross country moving company will know if there’s something they should improve in their business.

If you’re satisfied with their service and write all of the nice words in the review, the workers may even get a bonus from their bosses. If you’re not satisfied with how they handled your relocation, you’ll help many other people that are searching for ”long distance movers near me” choose the right company.

Knowing How to Tip Workers Will Make the Relocation Process More Pleasant for Everyone

Hopefully, this article has shown you the importance of handing out bonuses and why you should consider it. Next time you’re relocating to a new home, you probably won’t have to ask yourself, ”how much do I tip movers?” because you’ve read everything you need to know about this topic today. There won’t be any more confusing situations, and your relocations will be more pleasant once everyone is happy.