How much should I tip a tow truck driver?

[Rick Lee]

The alternator on my 993 left me stranded tonight on the way to dinner. I was starving, hadn't eaten since breakfast, and after a good two hr. wait, the tow truck finally arrived. The flatbed was wet from all the antifreeze the Ferrari 430 he had just towed left on it. He was very careful, used boards, checked clearances religiously and then helped me push it back into my garage. I gave him $20. Is that about right? The tow was only seven miles, so I doubt he got much out of the job and the hookup and unload took plenty longer than the drive.

[Jrboulder]

$20 seems like a good tip. When I bought my Porsche and had it towed home from 20th Street Auto I used some guy on craigslist who does $85 tows valley-wide and after he helped me push it in the garage I paid him $100, so a $15 tip.

[mattdavis11]

Two hour wait deserves nothing $ wise, unless you negotiated a quicker p/u next time. $20 for the push, and carefulness seems adequate.

[Rick Lee]

Yeah, I was chapped about the wait. But that wasn't the driver's fault. I wouldn't have wanted him to do a shoddy job with the previous car to get to me. Seems my USAA towing insurance sent it the job to whichever company would accept their low pay for the job.

[widgeon13]

Depends on how much damage he doesn't do. I'd say 10% of the bill.

[Seahawk]

Last tow was 60 miles. I tipped the driver 20 for lunch. Seemed appropriate. He said they actually like the long trips...less work, same pay.

[Targa Me]

The last tow I had was from work to home.
The entire drive the driver kept calling me fool.
"Hey fool, how's your day?"
"Fool, that's a nice car you have."
"Hey fool, last night I bought be a big screen tv."

I finally told him, "Stop calling me fool, because I'm not a fool."

His tip, zero.

[VFR750]

$20 cash seems a good number. Probably equal to 2 hours of pay after taxes and stuff.

Last guy who towed me hauled my ass off i90 in 4f weather. Nice guy. Talkative. Regardless of their "style" they are helping you out. His phone ran and it was the sound of burping and farting. My son and I rolled our eyes to that one.


Plus, his water pipes had just frozen and defrosted. So he had real issues too.

$20 is a nice tip to say thank you. Even if his phone needs to lay off the beans....

[doublestuff]

How does one determine which services get a tip, and which do not? I mean, the tow truck driver is getting paid a reasonable salary to do his job, why does he get a tip (notwithstanding some above-and-beyond level of service)? I work, I get a reasonable salary, but no one pays me extra for doing what I get paid to do already (I have ZERO exposure to our customers, I just make stuff).
While I don't approve of the system restaurant servers work in, I'll play that game, because their hourly rate generally sucks and they count on tips as the bulk of their income. And, I can base my tip on the level of service provided. But why am I expected to put a dollar in a jar at a coffee shop for someone who poured coffee into a cup? And why should I pay a tow truck driver extra for showing up and doing what he is already paid to do?

To me, a "tip" is supposed to be, "Man, that person really provided me with great service, and I'd like to thank them. Here's a buck, go buy a coke." Not me paying extra for something I've already paid for in order to supplement someone's salary.

I don't get it.

[VFR750]

It's a good question about why.

I do it because all the times I have been towed (my Porsche and truck), the guy took his time and thought about what he was doing. He also dropped off my 911 inside my garage! Backed up the driveway, extended the bed just into the garage floor, and we both carefully rolled the car into the garage. So he deserved it.

Maybe, a little bit of good Karma. It was $20. Made him happy. I felt good.

Made him think a Porsche guy is a guy who likes cars and can appreciate machines. Interesting discussions on tow rigs, what they drive, and like to do. Person to person.

[LeeH]

Honestly, I rarely think about tipping outside of waiters, my barber, and pizza delivery drivers.

[Rick Lee]

I also like to tip when someone goes above and beyond. I won't do it at Starbucks where they're just taking my order like they do for everyone else. And I generally don't like tip jars at the register. But if it's something they had to do a little extra for me, I'll let them know I appreciate it with a tip.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by doublestuff

How does one determine which services get a tip, and which do not? I mean, the tow truck driver is getting paid a reasonable salary to do his job, why does he get a tip (notwithstanding some above-and-beyond level of service)? I work, I get a reasonable salary, but no one pays me extra for doing what I get paid to do already (I have ZERO exposure to our customers, I just make stuff).
While I don't approve of the system restaurant servers work in, I'll play that game, because their hourly rate generally sucks and they count on tips as the bulk of their income. And, I can base my tip on the level of service provided. But why am I expected to put a dollar in a jar at a coffee shop for someone who poured coffee into a cup? And why should I pay a tow truck driver extra for showing up and doing what he is already paid to do?

To me, a "tip" is supposed to be, "Man, that person really provided me with great service, and I'd like to thank them. Here's a buck, go buy a coke." Not me paying extra for something I've already paid for in order to supplement someone's salary.

I don't get it.

Excellent point. Should we all get a tip for just showing up in the morning?

If the guy goes out of his way or provides some additional service unique to my car, etc, then sure, I can see a tip his way.

If I put out a tip jar associated with my job or even hinted that tips were accepted, I'd be quickly fired. Granted, it's not that kind of a job but I've had people give me an enormous "thank you" for doing what I do. I always think it sounds weird, it's just my job and I'm already paid for what I do.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I also like to tip when someone goes above and beyond. I won't do it at Starbucks where they're just taking my order like they do for everyone else. And I generally don't like tip jars at the register. But if it's something they had to do a little extra for me, I'll let them know I appreciate it with a tip.

I do leave a tip at a chinese take out that is run by two families. I've never seen anyone else do it ever, but IMHO, their $6 combo meal is worth an extra $5 bucks. They also know its me even if I call from an unknown phone number to just based off some of the "non-american" stuff they serve that I guess no American voice tends to order.

[Don Ro]

I tip quite frequently.
For example, when I don't want to change my own moto tires and have some dealer or a place like Cycle Gear do it, I'll give the mechanic a $10 bill ahead of time and say something like, "Here ya go...I've heard that you're good, and this is for not scratching my rim."
Severs and waiters, usually between 10 - 15%.

[Bill Douglas]

.


Tow truck drivers. I usually fist fight them on the street.

Oh, except a few months ago when it was me who phoned them and actually needed one this time




.

[GWN7]

Should have asked him for his card. Repeat business is the best tip for guys who haul stuff.

[look 171]

Normally I do not tip tow truck drivers, but I rarely have any of my vehicles tow. Once I ran out of fuel in my Diesel truck ( not too many stations carry diesel back then)and towed to their service garage. It was about 3pm on a Friday afternoon and the owner wanted nothing to do with trying to prime my truck and sent me on my way. Instead he booted me out and ask me to wait outside for my ride. it was one of those day that we had a little rain here in the Socal winter and I was in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, of course. I returned Monday ready to get rape with a huge bill. Instead, it was only 40 bucks (including 3 gallons of diesel) and this very nice 20 something young man worked on getting it started. He took his time and explain things to me and get me on my way. I went out of my way to find a bank and make sure he got a 50 dollar tip within the next hour and some fuel, of course. As for the owner and the rest of the mechanics, screw em all.

What made it sad was that when I handed over the tip, I couldn't give him the money myself because he busy. Instead I had to give it to one of the older mechanics. Immmediately he counted the amount and started yelling about taking part of that money because he help push the truck that morning. It didn't sound like a joke to me at all. they couldn't have waited until I was gone to do that. No tact whatsoever.

[porsche4life]

Honestly, I rarely think about tipping outside of waiters, my barber, and pizza delivery drivers.

This..
And we caught a ride on a wrecker last week. I didn't think it was necessary to tip him. Especially since I had to help the idiot figure out how to navigate the truck around the parking lot, and then he missed his estimation of what we would have to pay for the miles beyond what aaa would pay by half.

[look 171]

This is just for my info and I am cheap, maybe?

Why is there a need to tip the tow truck driver? do you tip your plumber after he repairs your broken sewer pipe? What if the bill is over 10k? ..or your gardener for that matter? How bout your mailman? He's the delivery of bad news, bills and more bills