Although tipping in general isn’t such a common practice in Australia, in my humble opinion, there are several occupations that in a certain way tend to leave us with the impression that the person doing his job deserves a little bit more than what he has settled for within the company.
Apart form the catering industry, people who work for moving companies also fall within the tipping category because of the following reasons:
They Lift Your Heavy Objects
Although they are paid for this, the mere fact that these people are in a a fragile position while lifting our heavy loads, should inspire us to express gratitude in the form of giving them a few more dollars. This is especially true if we can label the particular mover as highly efficient, careful and reliable. There are also moving projects that really add to the danger because of the location of the object or the house itself and this in turn creates the need to tip the person doing the hard job, especially if there was no delay whatsoever.
They Take Care of Your Precious Items
Apart from having to watch out for possible danger regarding themselves, the movers are also responsible for the state of all of your items awaiting to be moved from one place to another. There is a great difference between a mover that is interested in simply getting the job done and a mover that has a more dedicated mindset and treats your items with respect. If by any chance you notice that the latter is true for the mover you have hired, it would really make the person glad if you show gratitude and let them know that you pay attention to the extra effort.
Tips as Means of Stimulation
Every time a worker of any kind receives tips as an award for his hard work, he will want to repeat the experience. Therefore, by establishing a culture within which tipping is something acceptable and practiced, we will be able to alter the behavior we don’t like, simply by awarding the one we do. It is always best to put oneself in the shoes of the other and see the jib from their perspective. If I were a mover myself, I think that I would gladly accept an extra dollar or two for my effort and that would certainly motivate me to be more cautious and dedicated in future.
Finally, never opt for giving the moving staff alcoholic beverages instead of money since you might compromise their position and provoke liability issues. Also, make sure that you give the same amount of money to each person instead of trusting one guy from the moving staff to do it for you – there are some pretty unscrupulous people out there who simply do not want to share.