Do You Tip Piano Movers? (If Yes, then HOW Much?) – SOLVED

Moving a piano by yourself, especially when you have no knowledge in the relevant area, can often be a disaster. You may end up messing up with the strings or destroying the beautiful wood used in your piano. 

Either way, moving a piano by yourself will be a wrong decision; therefore, you must think broadly before making this choice.

While your intention may be to save a bit of money by moving the instrument yourself, you may end up paying a lot more to the handypersons who will be coming over to repair the functioning or finishing of your piano. 

Luckily, if you decide not to move the piano by yourself, there is an easy way out. These days, there are people who are trained to help people move out of their homes.

Their job description includes explicitly packing, transporting, and unpacking delicate items in your house, such as your pottery, furniture, and of course, your musical instruments. 

Piano movers can be extremely helpful, should you choose to hire them. They will not only be responsible for taking the piano out of your house, but they will also unpack it in the new location you are moving to and install it back for you. 

Because there is a lot of expertise required in moving the piano in one piece to a new location, piano movers have to be extremely careful.

They are also very polite and accepting of the owners of the house, who are willing to get their pianos moved. Because of this reason, there has been a lot of debate over whether or not we should tip the piano movers in recent years.   

Typically, piano movers are paid right after they finish moving the piano to another place successfully. However, the question still remains as to whether you should consider tipping them after their job is done. 

Well, the honest answer to this question is that ‘No, you are not supposed to, or bound to, tip the piano movers, as the company they work for pays them sufficiently for each of their moving projects. However, it is still good etiquette and a sign of humility to give them a tip as a token of appreciation for helping you out.

If you are interested in reading about the factors you should consider before finally taking out a tip for the movers, then this guide is for you.

In this article, we are going to discuss at length the factors that you should keep in mind before tipping a piano mover. Moreover, we will also discuss how much you should tip them, should you decide to do so.

Are You Supposed to Tip Piano Movers?

The simple answer is No; you are not supposed to tip piano movers because they are already paid sufficiently by their employers.

However, it is a generous act by people who take the services of piano movers to provide something to them that exceeds the mandatory servicing cost. That’s the reason why this question has been a topic of concern for some time now.

While some people believe that we should not tip movers because it makes them demanding, others believe that tipping increases the politeness between the relationship of a service provider and a service taker.  

The giving of tips is no more than a social custom. You will not be put in jail if you do not tip a waiter in a restaurant or a piano mover, in this case.

It is only given so that the workers show a more obsequious behavior rather than neglect towards their work.

Very often, people decide whether they will tip piano movers only after seeing the quality of work that they have done for them. 

How Much Should I Tip Piano Movers?

Because the concept of professional piano moving is relatively new compared to the old profession of home movers, so there is not much information available regarding how to tip the piano movers. 

Regarding the home moving tipping style, 5 to 10% of the entire moving cost is additionally provided as a tip, which is to be divided equally among the number of people who did the moving.

Technically, it should be no different when it comes to tipping piano movers. Having said that, I must bring to light that there is no obligation whatsoever that you must tip a certain percentage to the moving folks.

It may depend upon other factors as well, such as your satisfaction with the kind of job the piano movers did and consideration of how much your own financial situation allows you to give out as a tip. 

Moreover, it also depends on the circumstances surrounding their core job, which is to help you move the piano to a different location.

For instance, if you took more help from them than what their job entails, such as moving around other items in the house, apart from moving the instrument, you should consider giving them a tip.

It is the generosity of these movers that they do not refuse to help; however, you should not take their acts for granted. 

The general rule of thumb is to give 5 to 10% of the total moving cost and divide it equally among the number of people involved in the job.

However, the exact amount or percentage of tipping should be decided considering the factors given above.

Why Should You Tip Piano Movers

Tip Piano Movers with Good Etiquette

One of the most common reasons piano movers are more likely to get tipped is because of their own professional work and good ethical behaviors towards the people they are working for.

Polite and humble piano movers are proud of what they do, which in turn makes them humble towards the owners of the instruments.

Their good nature and their incredible quality of work are what get them a good tip at the end of the task.

The outstanding quality of work, as I mentioned, is witnessed in their capability to transport the instrument in good condition without any damage. 

They are careful with the instrument and take extra care while packing and unpacking the piano. The travel distance between the two places is covered in a transportation van, which is devoid of any sharp corners.

The piano movers take care while putting the instrument in the car and taking it out of the car so that the instrument does not become damaged in any form. 

Some piano movers may even be extra helpful and give you some good insight into the process of moving a piano with mastery.

This indicates their level of generosity that not only are they doing what they are supposed to do, but they are also enlightening you about what they do. 

Piano movers also get tipped based on their level of patience regarding their work. If they slapdash the task of moving a piano, they will definitely not get paid.

However, if they perform the task with extra care and carefully strategize a position before placing the piano first, it will reflect their prolific duty and, therefore, get them tipped at the end of the task.

Are Your Piano Movers Spending a Lot of Time in Moving the Piano?

If you have had the chance of seeing piano movers at work, you are probably familiar with the speed of their work.

Because of their experience and expertise, it should not take them long to successfully transport a piano from one destination to the other.

However, in some cases, piano moving takes a lot of extra time than what is expected initially. 

One rare reason of the moving process takes an unusually long time is because the movers are in a state of torpor. They show utter laziness in their jobs, which is why the moving process takes longer than it should. 

But, in most cases, the reason is not the languid nature of the movers but the extra hurdles in the moving destinations.

For instance, if you want to move your piano to your next house, which is constructed in the wilderness, it will be very tough to safely get your piano there without getting it damaged. 

The width, overall size, and weight of the piano are also some of the factors that impose extra challenges on the movers and require their additional assistance. 

If your house has narrow doors and you are certain that the piano is not going to be able to pass through that particular passage, you will have to inform the movers beforehand.

This will affect not only the tip you should give them but also their servicing charges will be increased because they will have to bring their tools to disassemble the piano, take it out, and then assemble it back again in the final location. 

Sharps turns in the house can lead to great difficulty in getting the piano to the place where you want it to be kept.

Movers will have to be extra cautious not to hit any part of the piano with the walls and damage either the wood of the piano or its delicate strings.

In such cases, a generous tip will make the movers really happy after their triumph in transporting your piano to your desired place successfully. 

If you want to get your piano moved on a day when the weather forecast is not favoring your decision, you may have to reconsider.

In fact, we suggest that you schedule the moving of your piano very carefully because even if you do end up moving the piano on a rainy day, it is going to suffer from one damage or the other. 

The slippery roads may lead to breakage of some of the piano parts, or the wood may become infected during the time it was exposed to rain.

Due to these reasons, you should never get your expensive musical instruments moved on a rainy day. 

However, if you still are, you will have to pay a lot more than you would pay on an ordinary day.

Because they will have to take care of saving the instrument’s condition as well as themselves, they will be paid a generous tip as well as a higher service fee. 

When Not to Tip Piano Movers

I understand that tipping piano movers always is not a good idea. As we discussed above, the tipping is also dependent upon some factors, such as your satisfaction with the kind of work they have done, your perceived effort that they had to put in while performing the task, and your own financial circumstances. 

However, there are a few other situations in which you should not tip your piano movers.

The one situation that comes on the top is when the movers are late for work. In today’s world, no one likes to wait because of the busy schedule of almost everyone in the world. 

The busyness of people has escalated to the extent that now, even doctors provide a small time slot in which they will consult a particular patient so as to decrease the waiting time for all people. 

When your piano movers are late for work, you should make sure that you do not tip them so that they suffer the repercussions of their behavior.

They should know that only their diligent behavior is going to be positively reinforced and not the undesired one.   

Moreover, you should also consider not tipping the mover if they have done any damage to your instrument.

To ensure that the damage has been caused by the movers and was not there before they arrived, make sure that you witness or even record the condition of your piano with the movers. This way, both parties will be on the same page regarding who damaged the instrument. 

How Much Does It Cost to Move a Piano?

Local piano relocation within a 30-mile radius can cost, on average, between $150 and $350. For relocating pianos over larger distances, however, you may anticipate paying anything from 350 dollars and above.

It may be fruitful if you estimate an amount yourself before hiring professional piano movers. Considering the estimate, I have shared above, you can make an easy guess as to how much your piano moving is going to cost you.

Conclusion

If you are happy with the quality of work your piano movers have done, and if you can really afford it, giving a tip does no harm. It only increases the quality of the relationship between the company and the customers.

After all, showing a little appreciation for what people around you do for you only increases the positive energy and nothing else. 

Having said that, if you can not afford it but are still happy with the piano moving service, we suggest you offer them a sandwich or a drink, so as to show your gentle behavior and not take their politeness for granted.