Tipping a tradesman

[chipscheesentomatosauce]

Anyone do this? Do you give a percentage, or what? My bathroom fitter has done a pretty decent job for me. Taken a little longer than expected, for both of us, but happy with his work and although he said the bill will still be what he quoted, he picked up wee bits and bobs and done some work probably wasn't factored in.

My quote was £1600 including a decent amount of tiling, although not full room, if that's helps.

Thanks.

I would tip him - maybe give him a bottle of wine or some beers?

You could give him £20. £50 if you want.

he will probably have included in his quote a hidden allowance for eventualities. I bet he wouldn't have given you £50 back if it was easier than expected.

I meant I wouldn't tip him!

Wouldn’t cross my mind to spend thousands and tip as well...

I don't tip tradespeople. Really hoping it's not a thing, it doesn't sound like you got a particular bargain

You can sure bet if you do tip him and wanted to use him again he would do another great job and would make time for your job. I don't think it hurts to tip if you are exceptionally happy with something.

I am a landlord and would always tip for a job well done. But then I use tradesmen a lot and want to ensure that the good ones are keen to work for me again.

I am also in Central London where good tradesmen can be hard to find. Perhaps less necessary elsewhere.

I don't tip tradesmen, they are paid a reasonable wage. No-one tips me when I am at work!

Thanks. I think I'll definitely give him a little extra. I've done it before on smaller jobs, just wasn't sure how much for this larger one.

London has a bonus culture. If bankers are given huge bonus' I can't see why a tradesman should not, when he does a job well and provides good value.

Strangely though it is often the opposite. My general builder finds that those with the most negotiate hardest as if they need to "win" a negotiation. Hard negotiations are not his strength, so he tend just to work for people he knows and trusts.

Tradesman DH occasionally gets a tip, if for example he’s helped someone out at very short notice, or come out on an evening or weekend to sort an emergency.

There is one customer he does a fair bit of work for as they have several properties to maintain, and he always returns with a very nice bottle of red, which is lovely of them.

If I could find a decent tradie in London I'd probably tip but my God they are very few and far between (and I've yet to meet one).

The exact reason why we are selling and not extending as I just couldn't deal with it!

God no.

I live in Australia and the last tradesman I got was charging a higher hourly rate than most professionals I know. They make out like bandits.

I think tipping is demeaning.

DH gets the odd £20 tip, he certainly doesn't expect it and he usually redirects it to the lads on the job.

My favourite are the customers that give DH home made chutney! We've had some lovely ones over the years.

I feel for you London people, we live about 100 miles away and have several customers that are happy to pay a premium for us to go to their London homes because they can't get good tradesmen.

Rosy, its sort of the same. I am happy to pay a bonus for a job well done, so I do. Often in the form of telling the tradesman to invoice for more than the quote. One trade will know other trades, so I can usually get a recommendation for other people when I need them. I could not have manged rental properties in London for as long as I have without a good support network. I have done well. I can't see why my builder should not get some benefit.

Why would you tip them? They're already charging you the going rate for their service.

My husband is a plumber, he used to fit bathrooms but only fits boilers now. He is always getting tipped, he's had as much as £150 tip after a bathroom re-fit, his customers are always really happy with his work and realise that they've had an excellent job and they've saved a small fortune compared to the other quotes. £1600 is very reasonable for a new bathroom!

I gave him £50. I thought his price was really good, especially compared to some I’ve read on here!