ayanem

Not being used to uping home and moving from one country to another I need some advice. Is it usual to tip the removal people and, if so, when and how much?

It seems to me that a beer/wine or three would definitely be in order. But, it occurs to me that if I tip the removal guys before they load the container they just might get a bit more in. Any advice from those who have been packed, shifted, and regurgitated at the other end would be very welcome.

Mr Mover: Your professional opinion would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Alan

mr mover

tipping in oz is almost unheard of, some people are almost insulted by it, in the states most crews get 1>10% value of the job, [can be good on a $30,000 job] had a pommie guy tell me once that he had no insurance on his goods ,but he would rather give the money to the crew doing the work ,needless to say he got a good job , a cup of coffee just to break the ice is always good ,at the start, prehaps a carton of beer at the end , or cash value [$50},but dont be obliged, if you feel your not getting a good service dont give them any thing,besides your paying for it............. MM

ayanem

Many thanks MM. Good advice as always. At least I won't start by upsetting the locals.

TimEh?

I would be interested to know if that was a general comment or one made in regard to tipping removal people only.

The Brits have quite the reputation for tipping (not tipping, that is) and I wondered what the Ozzies were like.

mr mover

tim this is my opinion only, and my gbservations after 20+yrs in the industry in the tipping stakes, 1/ poms from the London area,2/ poms from else were3/ the irish [nth&sth] 4/scots/welsh,5/chinese, vietnamese,6/japanese, 7/europeans[germans better than most] ,8/yanks, [westcoast],9/yanks [east coast&mid west, also canandians] ,10,/ ozzies , kiwis, the last ozzie we got a tip from had just won 1.5mill in a lottery, and half the crew ended up with the furniture he did,nt want............. MM

TimEh?

Thanks Mr.,

Forgive me if I'm still not 100% clear. Are you saying that No.1 position is the worst? If so, then Ozzies and Kiwis are the best tippers right? Surprising! Or have I got it completely wrong?

When I was in Cuba last year I asked our regular waitress at the hotel about tipping habits of various nationalities. She told me that she thought Canadians were the best and the Europeans the worst. I asked her: "What about the British." She just rolled her eyes. I then said: "I'm English" (as well as a Canadian citizen) and she was all apologetic and embarrassed.

mr mover

sorry tim i forgot your a " snapfrozen yank" no1 being the best,the ozzies are the worst tippers , how waiters see them i have no idea , they deal with "hearts and stomachs" we just move "much cherished possesions".........of course the waitress will tell you that she probably new, [if she did her home work] were you were from ......... MM

yafm

The reps who quoted on my removals stipulated that their men would like some tea and biscuits but any booze was STRICTLY VERBOTHEN

mr mover

yes i would not give a crew handling my goods any booze either, we are talking when the job is finished, a carton [slab] is a nice token ,thats providing they have done a good job, most drivers here have HC licences [zero tolerance] so they cant drink..........remember the old adage "YOU CANT SPEND THANK YOU"................................ MM

TimEh?

Oh! So I suppose they're not still tipping the traditional sixpence over in the UK these days.

mr mover

sorry timmy i thought you would under stand the " snap frozen" thing i assumed that a pom in calgary would be "workin, the patch ", if you understand this you must be in the oil industry, if im wrong , my apologies ........... mm ps whats the six pence thing?

TimEh?

It'so K Mr.,

No, don't get the "snap frozen" reference. Anything like freeze dried?

Was in the oil patch at one time but now in OTC drug and vitamin testing and regulations.

The sixpence was a reference to the traditional tip you gave the waitress in the UK way back when.

Just to revisit the whole tipping thing as we were discussing it: I realise now that you were talking strickly about tipping for your removal work; I can see how North America would come towards the bottom of the tipping stakes.

There is no tradition of tipping for any paid-for service of that kind over here. I thought you might be talking about tipping in general; in which case, I think your "league table" might be reversed.

I still balk at tipping 15% in restaurants but my wife (Canadian) insists. I think 10% is generous enough.

For anyone interested, the Calgary Stampede starts today and almost the whole city dresses Western for 10 days. Kind of hokey, but a lot of fun.

mr mover

we used to have a lot of Canadians working on our rigs , the argument would always come up which was worse, working in the Artic circle at 40below ,were every thing would freeze you, or working in the middle of the Simpson desert were at 40c every thing would cook you, hence we always called canadians "snap frozen yanks" just to get up their noses........... MM