Should I tip a plumber?

If you think the work was outstanding and the bill was/is within reason, I see no reason not to tip.

If he was really good, why not put it down his butt crack?

Yes. (enough to buy new pants at least)

That fuckin’ @janbb preempted my butt-crack joke. I’m leaving Fluther.

I wouldn’t. The 35 bucks per hour he is getting is good enough.

I tip at restaurants so the next time I go there they don’t spit in my food.

What is she, cuckoo?

@pdworkin About time too. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

@janbb No problem. I’ll hold the door for him. JK, PD. I lurves you, really

I should add that my brother-in-law never expects tips. He is an electrician. He won’t even accept them.

@johnpowell I bet he’d accept homemade cookies, bread, soup, etc. Mine does ;)

I just found out that the work is going to cost me $670!

Now we’re tipping plumbers? NO! You don’t tip a plumber!

@SierraGirl Ouch!

@SierraGirl Maybe he can tip you!

@gussnarp that’s kind of what I thought!!!

Let’s all go tip a cow.

I was hoping I didn’t have to tip him. It seems like this (whether to tip or not) is one of those areas I am never sure about. Thanks!

@SierraGirl Me neither! I never got my hair cut in a salon when I was a kid, my mom’s friend is a stylist and always did it. After my first haircut in a salon my freshman year of college, I was so surprised when the friend I went with asked me how much I’d tipped when we left the salon… I felt like such an asshole for not knowing I was supposed to! :)

No way. Are you kidding? Next thing you know people will start tipping the dentist..ridiculous.

always tip people that you know you may need in a hurry in the future. when the basement is flooding, you need a plumber fast. a tip will get them to your house sooner next time.

For tradespeople, I pay my bill promptly, and if they do good work, I pass their name along. My tree guy’s gotten about $65,000 worth of work from my referrals.

Only if he does your pipes!

LOL

Here’s how I think it should work. You tip people who it has become so traditional to tip that they are expected by the government to be tipped (waiters, valet parking). You also tip people who are not employees, but are actually paying the place they work for the chance to work there (hairdressers, tattoo artists). You do not tip people who are paid very well for their work by an employer, or are independent contractors who set their own labor rates and pay themselves (plumbers, electricians, contractors, etc.). The only problem I have here is where hairdressers/barbers who own the shop fit into this structure. I tip my barber who owns his own shop, but he only charges $11 for a haircut, I figure he could use a couple extra bucks and I can afford it. If I went to a hairdresser who owned their own shop and was charging $50 for a haircut, I would tip because it’s expected, but I wouldn’t feel right about it.