Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Amount of$$$$$
Marty
If I get curbside Delivery Service, with lift gate, and the driver does take the item(400 + lbs) to my shop, how much is a fair amount of "tip" for doing this? ($50.00/$75.00) I have always picked up the items but this is to heavy for my wife and I to manage. Beer or booze is out of the question. Thank Y'all
Re: Amount of$$$$$
Don Stephan
How would the driver move the item from curbside to its final location in the workshop? Are you providing a furniture cart with caster wheels and need the driver to push the cart and item into the workshop, and then tilt the item off the cart? Are you providing an engine hoist or similar and need the driver to push into the final location in the workshop? Some other plan? And do you have backup if the driver can't or isn't willing to move the item into your workshop?
Re: Amount of$$$$$
Mark Nowicki
Too heavy for you is too heavy for the driver.
Why should the driver risk injury, which is most probably not covered by workmen s comp and to provide a service you don't want to pay for ?
Rent a forklift .
Re: Amount of$$$$$
John K Jordan
I don't know if a driver WOULD move it to the shop, but if the driveway was smooth and flat he probably could move it with his pallet jack. When I have equipment delivered the driver moves it to the back of the truck this way.
Do you have access to a tractor with forks? I always meet the driver down the hill at an easy place for him to pull over and pick up the equipment with my tractor. These guys are usually quite happy they don't have to negotiate the hills and tight curves to my place - one gave me a tote bag with his company name on it. With the tractor I don't have to pay for a lift gate.
JKJ
Dependz
Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey
The driver will have a pallet jack which may or may not be powered.
Is your shop a long way from the street? Is the driveway flat and smooth? Do you have a dolly that the pallet may be transferred to "at the curb"?
Most drivers will give a homeowner a hand with heavy stuff, especially if it's obvious that you can't handle it by yourself; nobody likes to have something expensive merely dropped in the driveway. Whether he (or she) is willing to help will depend on your attitude more than anything else. Act like "you owe it to me to put it in the shop" and you're far more likely to have it sitting at the curb as you watch tail lights of the truck move on down the street.
The driver may offer to help you move the item. In that case, make sure that he/she is helping you rather than you standing there watching the driver do it all; this is hands-on time.
If it's an easy push for the two of you to get it from the curb to the shop, $50 will do nicely.
If it's a tough job, a nice driver may surprise you and back the truck up to your door, especially if the delivery truck is a straight job rather than an articulated rig, $50 works again.
If it's a grunt but you still get the physical help up the driveway, $75-100 is more appropriate.
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Hank Knight
My Laguna LT18 Bandsaw was delivered to my home by common carrier. The driver unloaded it and used my hand truck to get it to the outdoor stair landing to my workshop. It was so heavy that it collapsed the wheels on my hand truck. He could see that I was not able to get it down the stairs to my shop by myself, so he stayed to help. We pondered there task for a while. We uncrated the saw, removed the table and the motor to lighten the load, but it was still very heavy. I finally decided to strap a 2X6 to the spine of the saw and try to slide it down the stairs on it's back. It worked like a charm, but it took both of us to control its descent. I was tremendously grateful for his help. I opened my wallet to tip him and all I had was a $20.00 bill, which I gave him. Her thanked me and left. He didn't have to stay and help me; his job was done when he unloaded the saw from his truck. But the saw would probably still sitting on my stair landing without his help. I have regretted many times that I did not tip him more. Two or three times what I gave him might not have been enough to express my gratitude.
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Virgil Johnson
My driveway is flat/paved and 50 feet from the curb to the shop floor. I had a planer delivered and the driver already had it on a pallet jack to get it to the lift gate on his truck. He rolled it (without me asking) to the shop. 2 minutes maybe so I gave him 20 bucks. We both were happy. We talked shop longer than the time moving the machine.
Re: Amount of$$$$$
Henry Higginbotham
When my MM16 bandsaw came in, the driver backed up my driveway and unloaded it at the overhead door, onto a makeshift dolly. My neighbor and I started to push it into the shop only to find that either I'd miscalculated how high the dolly could be or the saw was a smidge higher than stated.
The driver appeared to be as interested in the problem as we were, and we finally got it in (don't remember how--been too long) after 15 minutes or so. I thanked him and pulled out my wallet, intending (IIRC) to tip him $40. He sort of held his palms up and said he wasn't allowed to accept any gratuities. He was pretty emphatic about it. Wish I could remember what truck line that was, but as I said, it's been a while.