You’ve paid hundreds of dollars for your new piece of furniture and possibly paid a delivery fee as well, so do you also need to tip furniture delivery drivers?
About 50% of customers tip for furniture delivery, and when they do, the average tip is $10 per person or $20 for great service or a tricky delivery. You should not feel obligated to tip your furniture delivery team, especially for small items, but a $10 to $20 tip is a great way to show appreciation.
So, Do You Tip Furniture Delivery Teams?
Tipping might seem like an unnecessary added expense when you’ve just spent so much on the furniture itself, but it is worth remembering that your furniture delivery drivers are doing a difficult, labor-intensive job, are paid a very low hourly wage, and are unlikely to ever see a dime of the delivery fee you paid.
In fact, it is becoming increasingly common for a delivery driver to be paid per gig, rather than per hour, which means if they take the time to give you a great service, they’re actually reducing their ability to earn! In this scenario, tips are a very welcome bonus that supplements their earnings and encourages great performance.
That said, furniture delivery men (or women) do not expect tips and you should not feel pressured into giving your delivery person one when having your furniture delivered.
P.s. not ordered that furniture yet? You should check out our sustainable furniture guide, packed full of sustainable brands that create great furniture.
How Much Should You Tip Your Furniture Delivery Drivers?
Our research found that most people tipped about $10 per person or $20 for a really good service. A few outliers tipped more, and about 50% of people didn’t tip at all. Because of the cost of furniture, it would be considered excessive to give a percentage-based tip as you might for a meal, although we did find a couple of people who reported doing this!
6 Factors You Should Consider When Deciding Whether to Tip For Furniture Delivery
If you do decide to tip furniture delivery drivers, we suggest you consider the following factors when considering how much to tip:
1. The Difficulty of the Furniture Delivery
Delivering furniture is back-breaking work, but even so, some deliveries are much more difficult than others. If your delivery is particularly heavy furniture or requires a flight or more of stairs, you might want to consider tipping.
Other factors include the steepness of your drive, the tightness of your hallways, and even the weather – would you want to be a delivery driver carrying a solid oak wardrobe in the middle of a snow or rain storm then cart it up five flights of stairs?
2. The Cost of the Furniture
Two guys (or women) just safely delivered your brand new $6,000 couch up your steps and through a narrow and twisting hall without damage to either the sofa or your home. Personally, we’d say that was worth $10 in tips each in appreciation!
3. Timeliness / Punctuality
You’ve booked the morning off work to receive your delivery… and it doesn’t come. An abrupt phone call five minutes after your delivery slot ends informs you they’ll be along in a few hours and you’ll need to wait… yeah, we wouldn’t tip either.
Being on time isn’t necessarily a reason to tip, but being late and not giving any notice is definitely a reason not to!
4. Assembly
Does anyone really love furniture assembly? If your furniture delivery team assembled your furniture for you, worked quickly, and cleaned up after themselves, you might want to consider that when choosing a tip.
5. Quality of Service
Only you can judge how high the quality of service you received was and if it was worth a tip. However, if your furniture delivery people dumped the furniture through your front door and refused to move it any further, we’d suggest they’re probably not tip-worthy.
On the other hand, if they helped you move your other furniture so you could get your new piece in exactly the right place – and did so without complaint – that might be a different matter. By all means, reward a fantastic delivery service, but don’t feel obliged to tip furniture deliveries and delivery crew who offer poor service.
6. Friendliness & Attitude
A good attitude can go a long way. We tip furniture delivery people who we like.
How Much Should You Tip Coach Delivery?
You should tip for couch or sofa delivery like for any other furniture delivery. We recommend tipping unless you have received poor service, couches are one of the more difficult items to deliver, especially when stairs are involved!
How Much Should You Tip Appliance Delivery?
The average tip for alliance delivery is $10 to $20, but as with furniture a tip is not always expected. However, we recommend always tipping for great service, especially if the delivery is difficult.
A Tip Isn’t The Only Way To Show Your Appreciation
Regardless of whether you tip or not, it’s not the only way to show your appreciation for a job well done. Why not offer them a glass of water, a cup of coffee, or a biscuit? While you’re at it, let them use your bathroom! Little gestures like these are much appreciated by busy delivery teams – possibly more so than a tip.
New furniture arriving soon? You might want to check out our articles about how to get rid of that new furniture smell or our guide to couch cleaning to help keep your new couch looking perfect.
James is a copywriter based in the UK. He writes on sustainability, finance, tech, and anything else that interests him. He likes tea.
