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Had driveway repaved in asphalt and added a border and lower apron of belgian blocks. The contractor also replaced a section of concrete sidewalk and repointed some bluestone in another sidewalk. It was a fairly expensive job, I didn't haggle much on price, it was well done.
Contractor has hinted he's looking for a tip and has mentioned how weather and a broken asphalt maker made the job last a few days longer than expected. The delays didn't bother me, circumstances were not his fault, but they weren't mine either. At his request I paid him incrementally instead of all at the end as we had initially agreed. I'm happy to recommend him for other work in the neighborhood and will give him a letter of reference.
So what's the right way to think about tipping him?
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Weather, equipment... all part of doing business. If he chose to do the extra work at no charge, that's his choice.
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Tell him he can put one of those tiny advertising signs on your front lawn for 6 weeks.
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Al the work he did was part of the original deal. I asked for a little more block after we negotiated, he raised the price accordingly.
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I wouldn't tip. He knew what he was getting into and you agreed on a price. If he went well above and beyond what was generally agreed upon, then maybe a small tip would be appropriate, but don't get bullied into giving him one just because he thinks he deserves one.
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Won't it take at least 30 years to prove he did a good job ?
:-)
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You've got to be joking. If a job is bid at a certain price, that's what the price is. Tipping is for waiters, hairstylists and taxidrivers.
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He bid it, and he's been paid. If you absolutely feel you have to do something for him, get him a small gift, but telling him you'll be recommending him to anyone you know who needs similar work done should be adequate.
I did a quick Google search, and here's a snippet of what I found about tipping:
Q: Who should I tip? And how much?
A: As a basic rule of thumb, you should tip anyone who provides you a service, unless the person is the owner of the business.
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If he had a shop, I'd think a case of beer and a couple pizza's...
The offer of the advertising sign is a good one too.
Don't think I would "tip" though. They bid, you accepted the bid. As mentioned, the rest is the cost of doing business.
If he under-bid, he'll learn that lesson.
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If you're that ecstatic with the job, I would see no harm in gift certs to a restaurant. I did that for my deck guy. Whats an extra $100 on top $9-10k. He also went way above and beyond what his base estimate was for free. Its up to you and what your gut says.
Stavs
