There’s an awkward moment whenever a delivery driver brings you something. We have a pretty good idea what to give the pizza guy, but what about someone who brings you furniture? You’re not going to tip 20 percent on a $1,000 chair.
The question is also a bit more complicated because furniture delivery drivers don’t live on tips. So, it really is a gratuity instead of an important part of their wages.
We’re here to help. We did some research on how and what to tip the person who brings by your furniture and put together this handy guide. We hope you find it useful.
In This Article We'll Discuss
Do you tip for furniture delivery?
Unlike when you eat out in a restaurant or go to a bar, it’s not absolutely necessary to tip someone who delivers your furniture. These people all make wages that are high enough to live from without tips and the small average gratuity is just a way to say thanks.
Tipping someone who delivers your furniture is often a true gratuity, a way to say things for doing a job you don’t want to.
If your furniture retailer uses a third-party delivery service, the driver is likely to receive only a portion of the fee. A nice tip could help ensure they are properly compensated.
There’s a base tip, plus common add-ons depending on the difficulty of the job.
Beyond that, you should add a few bucks if the item delivered is big and heavy, if the delivery takes them upstairs or if the delivery people have to build or install something.
There are a couple of reasons you can skip tipping, too.
The biggest reason, of course, is if the delivery drivers screwed something up, broke something, or arrived rather late. Don’t worry about hurting their feelings. They’ll probably know they didn’t put in the work for the extra cash.
How much do you tip for furniture delivery?
Tipping a furniture delivery driver starts knowing that they have a job that will provide them with the money they need to pay their bills and that tipping is usually a pure sign of gratuity rather than a vital part of their wages.
The difference is if your furniture retailer uses a third-person delivery service, in which case the delivery people won’t get the full fee. So, tipping them is a little more important.
In most cases, however, a good starting rate is $5 to $10 for a basic delivery. This is maybe a chair or an end table that is already constructed and just needs to be walked into the house. You can adjust based on the level of service they provide.
If the delivery in question involves other challenges, you should increase the amount you tip. These challenges are anything that requires going above and beyond like driving a long distance to where the delivery gets made, a large or heavy piece of furniture, hauling it up steps.
Weather also plays a role. Hauling big heavy furniture up several flights of stairs is easier at 65 degrees than it is at 85 degrees. If it’s hot, consider adding a little more money.
There are cases where you won’t want to tip, of course. Since delivery drivers have regular wages, if they provide bad service like showing up late, breaking stuff, or behaving surly you don’t need to tip.
You should also look into local customs on tipping. In some countries, it’s an unknown practice.
How much do furniture delivery guys make?
On average, delivery drivers in the United States earn approximately $42,000 a year. So, if you decide not to tip, you probably aren’t going to prevent that person from paying their bills on time.
One thing to keep in mind is that some furniture retailers will outsource their deliveries to third-party delivery services. In those cases, the drivers will probably get paid less than if they worked directly for the retailer.
If that is the case, you might want to consider tipping a little higher to make up for the disparity in wages.
Should you tip extra if they assembled furniture?
An important part of tipping a furniture delivery driver is that you should peg it not to the total bill, but a flat rate plus extra based on the complexity of the job. If a delivery driver assembles furniture for you, you should tip extra.
Remember, the standard tip for furniture delivery is $5 to $10. Anything that makes the job more complex means you should add more gratuity. If your furniture is simple, you don’t need to add as much. If your furniture is more complex, you should tip higher.
Conclusion
It’s not always easy to know when to tip someone and how much, and that is especially true for the person who delivers your furniture. They earn enough wages to live on, so if and when you tip it is a reflection of how good they provided their service.
There are times when you should probably tip a little extra, but also know that if you don’t tip because of a screw-up that your delivery person will still probably be able to keep their bills paid. So you can reward great service.
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