Tipping your tradesperson – is this a thing people are doing? What is considered a common courtesy by some could be regarded as an unnecessary waste of money by others, perhaps even insulting…

…and if you’re paying for the service anyway, should you really be expected to give more?

A recent survey from Heat Insulation Ltd asked the public their views on tipping tradespeople and as it turns out, 51 per cent of respondents admitted to regular tipping!

Those who are most likely to tip tradespeople are aged between 45 and 64, and the least likely are 18 to 29-year olds, not because of disposable income (as one might expect) but actually because “tradespeople charge more than enough”. The top three reasons for not tipping your tradesperson, according to the survey, are:

1. It costs enough
2. The price is agreed before work commences
3. Good work should be expected and not rewarded.

All pretty good reasons.

Yet even if you did decide to offer a tip, how much would you give? There are no hard and fast rules or tipping reference guide. As for suggested percentage, well, who knows?

A survey done with American homeowners revealed that when tradespeople do get a tip, cash is the most-common gratuity offered (although us Brits often like to tip in cups of tea), and most often the tip is less than 20 percent of the total job cost. Most contractors in the survey said that they charge their clients what they feel is fair price for the work being done and don’t expect a tip.

Does this help?

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