Was I supposed to tip? Service call...

[nereo]

In brief - five weeks ago we had a new boiler installed, and yesterday I came home to a cold house, confused babysitter and no heat or hot water.

I called the installer (6:00pm) and after 10 minutes of trying to troubleshoot on the phone he sent one of the guys who had installed it over.  Probably was diagnosed and fixed in about 5 minutes, and was completely their fault (someone forgot to tighten the screws holding the wiring harness).
No charge because it was their fault and under warranty and the service contract.  But he lingered for a bit chatting me up.

Only after he left did I stop and wonder - am I expected to offer a tip in such circumstances? Seems wrong given we were the ones left in the cold, though I get he had to interrupt his dinner to come out as well.  And tipping rarely makes logical sense...

[LaineyAZ]

Can't say what I'd do in your example (where the original installers made a mistake) but, in general, I do give anywhere from $5 to $20 to workers who are doing a one-time service call at my house.
Over the years I've tipped furniture delivery guys, door and window installers, attic insulation installers, movers, and just recently I gave the AAA guy who replaced my car battery an extra $10.  I know many of them are only getting a small part of the labor fee that I'm getting charged so this is cash direct to them.  If it's around the holidays I'll give more, like $20 to $40. 

Another example:  our senior center physical ed class is free and meets 2x/week except for summers.  At our last class this year I gave our teacher a card with a $100 bill inside and she was very happily surprised.  I was happy to give it because a) she's a great teacher and I like her class, and b) it breaks down to about $1.40 a class.  I know my other classmates signed a card and tossed in a few dollars or a Starbucks gift card, but in truth, many of them are middle or upper-middle class and talk often about their travels in and out of the country.  I think they can afford to be more generous with a teacher who works a full-time job along with teaching this class. 
I'm not rich at all but I remember the days when an extra $10 to $40 was a big deal so I pass that on when I can.

[Not There Yet]

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/88465/9-people-you-should-tip-and-how-much-you-should-give-them

[frugalnacho]

I wouldn't.  Why would you tip an employee that is being paid by his company to come do his job and fix a mistake his company made?

[oldladystache]

nope.

[SunnyDays]

Me neither.

[six-car-habit]

 Why would a person tip the pizza delivery guy who spent ten minutes driving to their house - and not the fellow who spent hours inside their house , crawling on the floor, getting dirty, setting up ductwork, figuring out the wiring, setting in place a few hundred pounds of equiptment, hopefully following applicable safety guidelines, on a system that will bring them heat and hot water for many years in the future, and costs a couple thousand dollars.

   Yeah i suppose, you know, the pizza guy had to find the house in the dark, so lets tip him $3 on a $20 pizza , but nothing to the guy who installed a $5000 system. sarcasm.

 This is just a general rant, not necessarily to nereos' situation, as the system apparently worked fine for 5 weeks before the 1st issue.

[bacchi]

I would've tipped. If I thought about it, which I probably wouldn't until after the worker left.

[six-car-habit]

 I suppose i should add this to my pizza delivery comparison...

 Fred makes your pizza, and Fred delivers it. It looks wonderfull in the dim light of your porch. You tip him $3 on a $20 pizza. Fred drives away.
 Upon getting inside, you realize that the pizza is wrong and has some meat/ jalapeno / mushroom / something you hate on pizza, included.

 You call and inform the company of their mistake, they apologize, and make you a new correct pizza.
 Julie delivers your 2nd pizza , it turns out to be delicious. Do you tip her $2 or $3 for delivering your 2nd pizza ?   Do you give her nothing ?  Do you tell her to ask her co-worker for 1/2 the tip you gave him ?

[Cranky]

How much does this furnace installer earn? How much does the pizza guy earn?

[Not There Yet]

How much does this furnace installer earn? How much does the pizza guy earn?

One earns sub-minimum wage and the other probably earns more than I do.  I was chatting with a plumber once who was installing a water heater for me about his vacation home - in Hawaii!

[dandarc]

I'm increasingly of the mindset "when in doubt, tip or tip more". I don't think I've ever regretted tipping someone too much for anything, but I even get bothered with myself if I'm at starbucks paying with a card and do not have a dollar for the jar.

Just had 3 guys at the house doing various repair work - gave them each an extra $20. Actually, I probably under-tipped now that I think about it.

[dandarc]

I suppose i should add this to my pizza delivery comparison...

 Fred makes your pizza, and Fred delivers it. It looks wonderfull in the dim light of your porch. You tip him $3 on a $20 pizza. Fred drives away.
 Upon getting inside, you realize that the pizza is wrong and has some meat/ jalapeno / mushroom / something you hate on pizza, included.

 You call and inform the company of their mistake, they apologize, and make you a new correct pizza.
 Julie delivers your 2nd pizza , it turns out to be delicious. Do you tip her $2 or $3 for delivering your 2nd pizza ?   Do you give her nothing ?  Do you tell her to ask her co-worker for 1/2 the tip you gave him ?

Julie should have also brought you a refund for the extensive delay, so I'd say tip her generously and enjoy your $6-10 pizza.

[Dicey]

I'm on the NOPE team.

[Brother Esau]

Not a situation for a tip.

[RetiredAt63]

I would not have thought to tip.  I would have assumed that since he was working off-hours his company was having to pay him overtime.  That extra cost might encourage them to tell their installation team to be more careful.

[Cpa Cat]

I have a lot of service-professional clients. Electricians, HVAC people, plumbers... None of them expect a tip. The owner of the business sets their own price, including the cost of a service call. Warranty work is warranty work - if someone screws something up, they fix it free of charge. That's the way it goes. Their employees are fairly compensated and never, ever report tips. That's not to say they might not occasionally get a couple of bucks, but they are not a standard "tipped employee."

I just had a electrician do a project. It didn't pass inspection because he forgot a minor thing. He came back and fixed it. Why in the world would he get a tip?

FYI - you don't need to tip your accountant either.

Not everyone gets a tip.

[Dancin'Dog]

You didn't tip when he installed it, so why would you consider tipping to correct the improper installation? 


You could have offered him a beer.  ;)

[ApacheStache]

I've never tipped a single repair person, contractor, installer or what have you — nor has the thought ever crossed my mind — especially considering I typically have less than $5 cash on me or in the house. Their "service fees" and warranty fees should include all the money needed for a mutually beneficial exchange.

[driftwood]

If he gets paid overtime for an after-hours call, then maybe chatting you up was a good way to round his time up to the next hour.

But I have no idea if that's what he was doing or if he was just being friendly. Maybe he wasn't in a hurry to get back to an empty home. Maybe you're just super-cool and he wanted to be friends.

No, I wouldn't tip in this situation.

[soccerluvof4]

Not in that situation because in your own words they left you in the cold. I had a situation last week where I was getting a delivery from a general cartage company and nowhere on my order did it say I needed to be there to sign. The guy called me and I was working out but he said there is no way he can deliver it without a signature. I asked him to give me 15 minutes and I'd be there so I slipped him 10$ and said thanks for waiting lunch is on me. Later I sent an email to the shipper just letting them know that they need to put that in there order notice. It was near zero and snow and I was holding the guy up so felt it was worth it to avoid the hassle to get delivered again and arguing about paying re delivery costs.