[Closed] Do you tip your builders?

What!

I wouldn't. They won't be expecting it. Plenty of cups of tea and perhaps some nice biscuits is a good way to show your appreciation imo.

I had a new driveway laid a couple of years ago. The guys working on it did a good job, and pretty much worked non-stop for the five days it took them. There were four of them working and I gave them a case of Stella each on the last day. Seemed to be unexpected and well received.

As ernie for us when we had an extension done. As much as they were ok, towards the end, we all wanted it just done and finished...not an easy build but id say that is normal rather than the exception

We did. Father & son who did a cracking job on our conservatory (which is what you would hope for) but they also fitted a upvc window & door they weren't supposed too plus repaired our side gate all while waiting for deliveries.

Maybe do a bit fishing and see what they like.
For example, there’s not much point in giving a devout mormon a crate of stella.
It’s nice to be nice, and compared to the cost of building an extension will cost virtually nowt.

My neighbours and I extended our houses as a joint project with the same builders. No monetary tip, but tons of tea and biscuits, and we asked them what they'd like for lunch towards the end - pizza, fish and chips etc - they wanted a Burger King meal, so we had that together!

They'll have priced the job at a rate which is financially viable for them, so I'm not sure cash is necessary.

If they have met their builder KPI of neighbour's driveways blocked then absolutely.

Mrsheen letting slip that he lives in an exceedingly posh area 🙂

We gave our builder a nice bottle of Glenallachie whisky and his Mrs a handcrafted gift. We still haven’t paid the final invoice though, 9 months later as there’s still a big hole outside and there are temporary pipes and cables that need removing…nothing happens in a hurry here.

I wouldn’t. They won’t be expecting it.

I would because they won't be expecting it. Good tradesmen and women are hard to find, a pleasure to have about and work on recommendations and repeat business. Tip them and you'll be moved up their list for future jobs.

Now if you had had the decorators we just used, the life story was worth the labour charge. Let's just say it was eye-opening!

neighbour’s driveways blocked

A huge renovation (think two walls left standing; 3 to 7 bed renovation) across the road has just gone pear-shaped. Builders downed tools, then they took the scaffolding away and have left. I'm guessing there won't be a tip. Saw another local builder come to give a quote today. I imagine given the less than one third completion (it's a shell with half-built walls and no roof). They could name their price. The other local builder declined to quote because so many neighbours complained at the plans, and he gets most of his business in the road 😀

A pack of beer at the end of a job is always appreciated but never expected. Makes me think that the client is happy with my work which at the end of the day all is I want.

The last builder I tipped punched me in the face.

Depends on the size of the outfit and who has done the work.

Nice to tip the (relatively) low paid guys who do the work, but I'd want to give it to them directly, rather the boss who has probably already priced a nice profit into the quote, and might have been working across an number of projects at the same time etc.

As said, provision of tea, biscuits, a willingness to chat to them and a bacon sarnie tend to go a long way. Small things like paying bills on time and not being an arsehole go a long way too.

Biggest job I've ever had done I was going to tip the guys who did the work, but their boss was a t2@t and refused to finish the job quoted so I didnt pay them all of it, so didnt tip his guys either.

I got my roofers a case (12 pack) each of decent local craft beer and the other a small bottle of rum from the Scilly Isles once they finished the job.

As others have said they weren’t expecting it so was a nice surprise, I made sure they liked beer (or rum as was his preference) and also means I’m definitely in their good books if I ever need to get them back. And they were genuinely nice blokes so felt like the right thing to do.

I've bought some beer or whisky for a few in the past. One, plasterer and a friend's father, opened the bottle there and then and my wife came home to rather tipsy two plasterers, myself andy friend. And lovely smooth walls of course.

I paid one chap more than he was expecting - father of another friend who came to stay the summer with his daughter and new grandchild and worked flat out for us as labourer. I kept having to tell him to go home to daughter, it was 6pm... Iirc he did aboit 6 weeks for us.
When time came to pay hime I just added a couple of hundred quid.

Not tipped as such, but when we had a large 3 storey extension built 8 years ago we made a point of chatting to the builders and checking they were ok every day, provided a cellar room for them to make tea and eat their lunch in, then when the (excellent) work was done bought them a few tubs of Roses. Also paid all staged bills on receipt.

Just had a new kitchen done. The plumber was a really nice guy and the quality of his work was superb (he pulled two 12 hour days as well) so when he told me the work was more onerous than he expected / quoted for (it was, some previous bodges being well hidden) and could he add £150 to the bill I agreed immediately. I also texted him after he’d finished thanking him for doing a really good job.

After keeping them in tea and biscuits for about ten weeks of daily tea and biscuits in our dining room (near enough the only room bar the kitchen and 2 bedrooms downstairs that wasn't being rebuilt in a staircase move) the whole team started to appear at our house every day for eleven o'clocks even if some were working other jobs in town.
As the boss didn't drink when they finished we bought them a whole case of biscuits (oaties and chocolate oaties were they're preferred). They appreciated the joke. Gave most of the other guys some thank you booze (except the plumber who rarely turned up and was useless. He just gets bad references. I only paid his bill to prevent further damage).
P.S. as above kept the weekly payments through the job as asked. Reliable payment and mainly good humoured relationship with the builder definitely a good thing.

I do, my heating engineer gets fed well and extra tea too he will be with me at the drop of a hat if needed. My system is a pig to work on so he kinda deserves it.
The council workers that tend the lock ups behind my house get tea if I'm home it's nice to be nice.
Do crap work like the window fitters I used then they know about it.

My father in law spent two years an an owner-builder employing two mature builders on a very challenging house build. He paid them a generous hourly rate and said their work was high quality (he's pretty demanding).
At the end of the build he gave them a pretty good bonus payment without warning. He was gutted that one of them didn't even thank him.

That said, I reckon the case of beer approach (scaled up or down to suit project) is a really nice gesture. We bought booze for our neighbours a few weeks back after they helped secure our storm ravaged house and they were glowing (before they drank it).

tbh, i think a thankyou gift, like booze and biscuits will probably go further than the extra money.

I doubt the builders are struggling in terms of cashflow (none around here are), and so any over payment will just get rolled in and forgotten as soon as hes logged out of his online account.

better to get some nice biscuits in or even offer to do a lunch run for them towards the end of the job.

Show me a builder who wouldnt jump at an unexpected burger/pizza delivery.

I have overpaid people in the past when I thought the work they did warranted extra money. The plasterer I got on recommendation only charged me £125 a day plus materials and I rounded it up to £400 at the end of 3 days as I thought he was worth more. Excellent work he did. As a result we’ve recommended him to others and he’s fitted us in round other jobs when we needed small jobs doing.

I always make sure that workmen are treated well at my house and I make the job as easy as I can for them. If they do what was expected at the standard price I won’t pay extra but if it’s gone beyond my expectations I’ll make sure I show my appreciation. It’s the right thing to do firstly and secondly as tradesmen as so hard to get it puts a down payment so they will want to work with again in the future - so many overprice jobs when they fear the customer will be a nightmare - I want the opposite effect.

Adding a bit extra on at the end or buying beers or whatever is also a pretty small outlay compared to having to train yourself to do the job…. 😂😂

the whole team started to appear at our house every day for eleven o’clocks even if some were working other jobs in town.

Isn't this an excellent reason to NOT tip them?

I always fill in purchase orders with a happy smile and a song, but those mean bastards in Accounts never send me a box of chocolate. Seriously - extra money for doing your job? How did that become a thing?

Seriously – extra money for doing your job? How did that become a thing?

Congratulations, my house hasn't fallen down, have some beer for not being utterly shite.

I wouldn't be allowed to accept a tip from a customer or supplier under out ethics rules.

tbh, i think a thankyou gift, like booze and biscuits will probably go further than the extra money.

I completely agree. Give them twenty quid each at the end of the job and it might be appreciated but it will be fairly insignificant to them.

Supply them with twenty quid's worth of biscuits and cake as they are doing the job, or give them twenty quid's worth of beer at the end of the job, and they will see you as an absolute diamond.

I wouldn't tip them money. We had a ground floor extension done about 8 years ago, took about 3 months. They worked Saturday mornings so every Saturday I made them a pile of bacon sandwiches and gallons of tea, and my then 3 and 4 years olds would appear with the biscuit tin on tea break.

The guys that did the first floor a few years later were even better but wouldn't take more than a cup of tea. I was working from home a fair bit at the time (pre-Covid) and they used to bring me a bacon roll from the cafe!

Nope.

I'm very clear about what needs doing at the start and don't quibble if something extra comes up that needs extra payment.

I pay promptly.

I've had all the good ones come back and do more work. Except one, but he moved to Hungary so it's a bit of an effort to pop back 🙂

I've been in the building game for years...tips are very rare.
My last tip was just before Xmas, but the customer paid it with my invoice straight into my bank so I had to deduct tax.
Tbh i would rather have jobs where the customers that are nice rather than a tip

I'm in the looking after them while they're working camp.

I’m in the looking after them while they’re working camp.

Bacon butties and good coffee are both very gratefully received, best ever was getting homemade lunches with game stew and carpaccio beef being a couple that stick in the memory.

 

Tea, bacon sandwiches, and more tea. Oh and the big boxes of donuts you get from the supermarket are a winner

The mash have addressed this issue on a couple of occasions

Middle-class man blessed with ability to communicate with tradesmen

Middle class man convinced builders like him

😂

Haha - that's pretty good.

I've had Queensland tradies I genuinely struggle to understand, who look at me as if i speak a foreign language. "Maaaaaaaaaaate"

Do people tip lbs employees who are nice, helpful etc?

I see more comments about a wheel true for a £1 pack of biscuits...

No tip as such, plumber fitting new boiler and rads has done a great job and has had to work noise around me being at home working, so knowing he is a mountain biker too, i got him a voucher for bike park Wales as a thank you. Just shows a bit of thought i guess.

Do people tip lbs employees who are nice, helpful etc?

Over 10 years ago now but I did twice I think. 10 months working in lbs

I'm not a builder, I do stuff with stones in people's gardens. People tip me occasionally. It feels weird.

It's usually when I've undercharged someone and they know it, or when they seem to think I've done a better job than they were expecting. As far as I'm concerned, the first one is my fault, the second one is just me doing what they've already paid me for.

I'd tip someone for the same reasons, or if they'd come out in a real hurry or gone right out of their way.

The best people to work for are just nice people. Cups of tea are ace, coming out for a chat occasionally is even better. (But not for too long, I've got a job to do!)

The best people to work for are just nice people

Definitely this imo. There is lots that someone can do to make the job more pleasant other than bunging them a few bank notes.

Things like "would you like me to move my car so that you can park your van on the drive" and "leave that, I'll sweep it up", along with a generous supply of tea and a verbal appreciation on completion of the job, eg "you have done a lovely job, I'm really pleased with that", is more likely to get a tradesman happy to return than a few extra quid.

Unhelpful miserable bastards can make the whole job unpleasant to do. Considerate and helpful people can make it a joy to do.

I kind of thought the being helpful/complimentary/regular tea+biscuits/bacon sarnie on a Friday was a given! I guess there are some miseries about.