ᐅ Tips and Common Practices for Tipping on Construction Sites

Musketier schrieb:

I’m sitting in the office. No client is sending me anything.

Okay, you do have to go out and meet people. But that’s an important part of my job.

Musketier schrieb:

I’m sitting in the office. No customer is sending me anything.

Maybe the doorman is eating your cake

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AxelH. schrieb:

Okay, you do have to go to the people. But that is an important part of my job.

The mail carrier also comes by your place every day, and you hardly ever invite them to CPM (as I have learned).

Someone once wrote a post here and was shocked.
The homeowner had also provided coffee and cake for the workers, and in the end, the employer charged her for the expensive attendance time when the workers were not doing anything.

We don’t tip tradespeople. However, water and coffee are always available for anyone who wants them. They are also welcome to sit down during breaks, either in the kitchen at the dining table or out in the garden (which I thought was obvious... but the electrician apprentice worked here for a while and always ate his lunch on the construction site. It turned out he thought he wasn’t allowed to sit in the garden, and I didn’t mention it explicitly because I assumed it was understood). We’ve also brought cake once or twice, which was always well received.

Next year, we will be getting a new roof and a fresh coat of paint, so we will likely have tradespeople here for about 4–6 weeks, and I plan to keep cold drinks in the fridge for them. However, we don’t provide regular meals or offer a selection of 10 different beverages. As I said, I’ll provide water, coffee, occasionally cake, and maybe 2–3 cases of assorted soft drinks. If they want some, great; if not, we’ll just enjoy them ourselves afterward.

Tips? For what exactly? Of course, that doesn’t exist here. Hardly anyone even deserves one. There are cakes and drinks provided, although in hindsight, I regret that for some of the poor workmanship as well.

Never assume that this would improve the quality of work even slightly—it doesn’t.

11ant schrieb:

Maybe the doorman eats your cake

We have a nice and slim receptionist. If she ate my cake every day, she wouldn’t look like that anymore.

I don’t mind not getting any; I still receive my salary and can buy my own food. Drinks are provided voluntarily by the employer. The question is, why doesn’t the contractor provide drinks for his employees? Craftsmen are currently competing heavily for good staff and have adjusted their prices accordingly.

Yes, I also tip restaurant staff or my hairdresser. But I do that at the end when I’m satisfied, not during the service in the hope that they don’t make mistakes. Besides, from an economic perspective, tipping is ultimately just (tolerated by the state) undeclared money and actually encourages low-wage jobs, which eventually leads to pension poverty.