Do You Tip Junk Removal Guys? An Honest Answer

The short answer to "do you tip junk removal guys" is no, you don't have to, but you can if the crew went above and beyond. Tipping is not required on a junk removal job, because the price you pay already covers the labor.

Still, it's a fair question. Tipping a junk removal crew sits in a strange spot, and nobody really answers it out loud. It's not a restaurant, it's not your barber, and you just paid a bill that probably felt like real money.

So here's the straight answer from somebody who runs a junk removal crew here in the Treasure Valley.

Do you tip junk removal guys?

What your junk bill already covers

The price you paid already covers labor, the truck, fuel, disposal fees at the landfill, and the guys doing the lifting. Junk removal isn't a tipped-wage job the way serving tables is.

Pay for the service, say thanks, shut the garage door. That's the whole junk removal deal.

Some customers tip. Plenty don't. Nobody on the crew is keeping score.

If you feel like apologizing for not tipping after paying for a full truckload, don't. You bought the service. You're square.

Most junk removal companies work the same way. The quote covers the whole service, and a tip is a thank-you on top, not part of the bill. Some companies ask their crews not to take tips at all, so if a crew politely says no, that's why. Other companies are fine with it.

It's also the same answer whether you hire a full-service junk hauler or a small local company with one truck. A tip shouldn't change the service you get.

What moves the cost of a junk job

If you want to know what you're paying for, it helps to know what moves the cost up or down. The average cost of a junk removal job depends on a few things:

• How much junk there is, and how much room it takes up
• How heavy it is, since concrete, dirt and roofing weigh more than furniture
• Access, like stairs, basements, long carries and tight driveways
• What kind of disposal the junk needs, since some goes to recycling and some goes to the landfill
• How much labor it takes, whether that's a quick pickup or a half day of work

A hot tub removal or a full house cleanout takes more hands than a single couch, so it costs more. The cost goes down when everything is easy to reach and up when it's heavy or hard to get to.

That's why the average cost you see online won't tell you much. Every junk pile is different, and a free estimate on your actual junk is the honest way to know. Junk removal companies weigh these factors in their own way, so it's fine to get more than one quote.

What the guys hauling your junk actually make

Pay for junk haulers around Boise varies between companies and with experience. Junk removal is hard on your back, your knees, and your hands.

A typical day can be several stops. An old console TV. A sectional that never should have made it into a basement. A garage cleanout on a hot July afternoon in Nampa.

By the last stop the truck smells like a truck and everybody's dragging.

Tipping isn't an obligation. It's you noticing that somebody carried a treadmill up a flight of stairs so you didn't have to.

How much do you tip junk haulers, and when?

On amounts: there's no set number. People usually go by how big the job was, how hard it was, and how many people were on the crew. Some hand one tip to the whole crew to split. Others give each crew member something on their own.

Tips tend to show up on the jobs that were rough:

• Anything the crew had to move up or down stairs, basements especially
• Hot summer afternoons or icy January mornings
• When you added a pile of junk after the quote and the crew just rolled with it
• Long carries, like a backyard shed with no side gate
• A packed garage cleanout, a hoarding cleanout, or a yard full of junk
• Jobs where the crew swept up and left the spot cleaner than they found it

On something brutal, like a piano they have to move out of a split-level, people tend to give more. Anything on top of the bill is generous, and the crew will remember your name.

A tip isn't tied to the cost, either. A small junk removal job up three flights of stairs can be harder work than a big cleanout in a ground-floor garage.

Here's a simple way to think about it:

Heads up: If you do tip on a junk removal job, cash straight to the crew is the cleanest way. At a lot of companies, tips added onto a card payment run through the office, get split, and land on a later paycheck after taxes. It gets there, just slower and smaller. Cash in hand is the full amount.

Stuff junk crews appreciate as much as cash

Here's the part I'd rather tell you about, because some of it makes the whole job move faster:

• Cold water or Gatorade in the summer. Crews rarely turn it down.
• All the junk piled in one spot before the crew pulls up, instead of spread across three rooms. Less to move from room to room.
• A clear place to park close to the load. On a tight cul-de-sac that saves a lot of walking.
• Cars, bikes and toys out of the path. If you move them before the crew starts, nobody has to stop and ask.
• Drawers emptied first. If a dresser or other piece of junk needs to move, it's lighter and the truck loads faster.
• Telling us up front what shouldn't move. "Not the blue dresser," said once, beats a rescue mission later.
• A Google review that names the guys who did the work.

When a review calls out a crew member by name, the crew gets to see it. It sticks around a lot longer than a cash tip does. Small things like these make the service go smoother for everyone.

What if you'd rather your junk got donated?

Sometimes people reach for a tip when what they really want is for their old couch not to get buried in a hole.

Good junk removal companies sort on the truck already. Furniture and household goods with life left in them go to local donation centers. Metal goes to a scrap recycler. What's left is what has nowhere else to go.

If there's junk you'd rather see donated, point it out before the junk removal starts. Pointing it out costs you nothing, and it changes where the load ends up.

Good to know: A full-service junk company does the lifting, loading, sorting and hauling for you. That's different from renting a dumpster, where you move every piece of junk yourself and the cost of the dump run is on you.

Frequently asked questions about tipping junk crews

Do removal men expect a tip?

No. Most junk removal companies pay their crews a wage, and the service price covers the work. A tip is a kind extra, not an expectation, no matter how much junk there is.

How do junk haulers work?

You book a time, the crew looks at the junk that's going, and most crews give you a price before anything gets loaded. Then they move it all out to the truck, and it heads to donation, recycling or the landfill. Junk removal is a hands-off service for you.

Is tipping different on a garage cleanout or a move-out?

Not really. A big cleanout before a move is more work, so people tip more often, but it's still your call. Some junk removal companies handle the whole cleanout start to finish, and tipping is still a thank-you, not a rule.

Do I need to tip if I'm not home?

No. Plenty of people aren't home for their junk removal service, and skipping a tip because you weren't standing in the driveway isn't a slight. Leave a note or a review if you want to say thanks.

The bottom line

Tip if you want to and it feels right. Don't if it doesn't.

No decent crew in Boise, Meridian, or Nampa is going to treat you differently either way. If one does, that's a company problem, not a you problem. Whichever of the local companies you pick, the service should be the same with or without a tip.

What matters more is that the job got done right and you can park in your garage again.

Related reading: Junk Removal Boise Prices: What Your Quote Actually Includes and Junk Removal in Boise: Old Lawn Mowers, Grills and Yard Tools.

Got a load of junk you want gone and wondering what it'd run? Call us at (208) 593-2877, or ask about how our Junk Removal service works. We'll give you a straight number and you can think it over from there.