# How much do you tip an installer?



## rawbi01 (Oct 13, 2005)

I took advantage of the free DirecTivo deal that DirecTV is currently offering existing customers. The installer is going to have to run 2 new lines to complete the install. How much do you generally tip these installers?


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## lee espinoza (Aug 21, 2002)

you have to run the 2 new lines that is part of the install.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

$0.

If they guy looks like he needs it, I offer him a cold Coke.


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## Kingfish (Dec 14, 2005)

Installers hardly ever pull wires through walls and attics. They want to nail the unsightly cable under your eaves and then bore a hole through brick.

I spent a week in the attic pulling wires before the cable installer came to my house so that I would have a nice, neat, install with no visible wires showing inside or out.

If the guy goes up in your attic I might tip him.


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## Rax (Jun 11, 2002)

Arcady said:


> $0.
> 
> If they guy looks like he needs it, I offer him a cold Coke.


I usually go with that, but last time the guy got a Diet Lime Pepsi. Take that.


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## jkoeller (Jan 31, 2006)

I had 2 R15's and a D*Tivo installed and activated 2 weeks ago by an installer sent by D* (I ordered the service over the phone by calling the 800# on D's website). While he was running wires I had a chance to talk to him for a while and he told me that they make all of $11.00 for each reciever activated (DVR or regular reciever - doesn't matter) and they don't get paid anything for putting up the dish. I had predrilled the holes before he came and made the installation as easy as possible without running the wires myself and it still took him 3 hours from start to finish. 

It's hard to expect a "professional install" when the guy only makes $11.00 per activation. I consider myself a stickler when it comes to attention to detail and actually considered cable/sat installation as an alternative if my job market completely fell apart for me... but... for $11.00 an activation I would be getting the stuff done as easily and quickly as I could too... after all, I gotta get to the other 3 installations on my days schedule to make enough money to make my sat/sun days work worth while.

I predrilled the holes before my installation because past experience told me that they would be sending a careless, under-qualified person to do the install. But after talking with this guy I realize I had been wanting more from the installer than he was getting paid for. I personally don't have a problem with doing some of the work myself, but I think D* needs to take the "professional" out of "professional installation" since neither party (me or D*) is paying the installer to do a professional installation.


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## tonypitt (May 9, 2004)

My installer showed up on a Saturday morning around 9 a.m. and didn't leave until the early afternoon. Most of that time he was up in my attic walking on rafters in confined spaces fishing walls and things like that. This was in the early Fall in Florida. It wasn't an easy install job for him at all.

I paid his company $120 as I recall for the work that was done. I have no idea how much, if any, of that will make its way back to him.

He worked hard, and in my estimation went beyond what he was required to do.

I tipped him $30. Mainly because I just had a 20 and a 10 in my wallet and that seemed about right for someone literally dripping wet from head to toe that seemed totally exhausted.


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## HogarthNH (Dec 28, 2001)

Tipping is tipping.
If you feel you got great service, tip 15%. If you don't, don't.


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## john-duncan-yoyo (Oct 13, 2004)

HogarthNH said:


> Tipping is tipping.
> If you feel you got great service, tip 15%. If you don't, don't.


15% of a free install is nothing.


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## dagap (Dec 5, 2003)

Nothing to the first two bozos who wasted my time and failed to fix my storm-damaged system.

$40 to the third guy, who was on time, personable, and competent.


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I never tipped anything and dont think you should have to. Unless the installer goes above and beyond what he has to and doesnt charge anything extra for it, I would not tip anything.


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## Guindalf (Jun 13, 2001)

Rkkeller said:


> I never tipped anything and dont think you should have to. Unless *the installer goes above and beyond * what he has to and doesnt charge anything extra for it, I would not tip anything.


HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thanks for the laugh!


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## Tracy RainH2o (Nov 18, 2005)

The last installer that I had wanted to drill holes in my hardwood floor. I already had access holes drilled from the basement, and open ended boxes mounted in-wall for my wiring. All he had to do was fish the wire up from my basement, which had a drop ceiling. It really does not get much easier than that. He said they were not allowed to fish wires so I did it myself.

NO TIP FOR YOU !!!!!!!!


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## Matt9876 (Sep 1, 2001)

As an installer I can tell you most customers don't tip. but I do get a free lunch or coke sometimes.


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## jimbop99 (Sep 27, 2004)

I just had the installer come and run the second line for my free Tivo and he fished it through the cold air return to the second floor bedroom which he did for nothing. He got $20 bucks from me. Usually I just offer some sodas.


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## leftstrat (Apr 18, 2005)

If the guy does a good job, give him $20, and tell him lunch is on you. I did that with the fellow who installed my R10 for me, and hope he had a good lunch for his trouble.


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## good.deals (Jan 28, 2006)

Right on leftstrat. Pay for his lunch. But $20 is overkill depending on the way he carries himself. If he's a clean cut dude who strolls around like he's the man, give him $10. If he's homely and needs a friend, be nice and give him $20. Then, the next time you have something done, request the same installer and he'll go above and beyond what he's supposed to do; in anticipation that you'll tip big again and be friendy to him. 

To get the same installer, get the phone number of the contractor from dtv, call them up and reschedule it around that same guy.


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## rawbi01 (Oct 13, 2005)

The deal is for an upgrade to the DirecTivo from a standard receiver but after I placed the order online I called DirecTV and told them that I wanted the DirecTivo in a room that did not have a receiver and they said that it would be no problem for the installer to run the new lines. The reason I called DirecTV in the first place was to ensure that running the 2 new lines was in the work order and that there would be 0 charge as long as it was less that 125 '.


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## Greg Thompson (Nov 1, 2004)

jkoeller said:


> IWhile he was running wires I had a chance to talk to him for a while and he told me that they make all of $11.00 for each reciever activated (DVR or regular reciever - doesn't matter) and they don't get paid anything for putting up the dish.


Maybe that's why my guy didn't even install the dish. He just hooked up the old dish that the previous owners of our house had installed. That would have been okay, maybe, except that (a) he didn't tell me, (b) the new dish was a better, triple LNB dish, which (c) he took with him.

The only way I discovered this when I happened to be on my roof and saw that my "new" satellite dish was rusty.

I got it sorted out in the end, though it took a bunch of phone calls to unravel.

He's one guy I'm glad I tipped $0.


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## GaryGnu (Jan 22, 2003)

I moved back in July. It was about 134 degrees in the shade the day of my installation. My guy upgraded me to an HD ready dish, ran 2 lines to all 4 TVs (in old house I only had 2 tivos), used probably 4 times as much cable as I was supposed to get for free, did a very neat job, spent about 10 hours at my house, did not leave until after 7:00 at night, and he did not charge me anything. I tipped him $40, and plenty of waters.


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## blehrhof (Aug 12, 2004)

When I had my 2nd tivo installed they had to run a new line across the house. as well as change the multi box. I got him to drop an extra line in my basement while he was drilling and running cable ... and dropped $20 in his pocket. Now all I need is a third tivo for downstairs!


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

I have no problem tipping someone (installer, delivery person, etc.) when I receive exceptional service for certain things. I also have no problem not tipping for average or poor service.

When I fist had DirecTV installed about 18 months ago, the installer was unbelievably good. He spent hours at the house getting everything right. He even crawled into a small crawl space under our addition to finish our wiring, something I never expected him to do (our 11 y.o. son was on standby to help with that part). He took his time explaining the system to us, and was both knowledgeable and patient. I had planned on tipping him $20, but was so impressed by the quality of service he gave us, including things that most installers would have charged for, I gave him $40. He even initially refused the tip, but I insisted.

My recent install was less impressive. I was not home, and my wife called to let me know that the installer was less than friendly, and did not seem interested in doing a proper install. I work not too far from our house, so I stopped by to check in. His work ethic improved when I arrived (a major pet peeve of mine is people who give a different level of service to men and women), but I really had to watch him. He seemed like he wanted to take shortcuts anywhere he could.

Needless to say he got no tip.

Keep in mind that we try to look out for folks that come to our home. The install was right after a big snowstorm (15 inches), and I made sure to shovel out a path to the area under the dish, as well as an area large enough to accommodate the ladder and workspace on the ground.

The clincher was this morning. The weather has warmed up (60 degrees today), and snow has begun to melt. I had been at least appreciative that the installer had cleaned up his work area under the dish before he left. The melting snow has revealed leftover scraps of wire, etc. Turns out he didn't clean up - he buried them in the snow! Too funny.

*Really* glad now that I did not tip him.


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## Cap'n Jack (Jan 11, 2006)

While they don't list specifically how much to tip, the following link provides the appropriate tip for just about everything else....

http://www.findalink.net/tippingetiquette.php


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## Stanley Rohner (Jan 18, 2004)

leftstrat said:


> If the guy does a good job, give him $20, and tell him lunch is on you. I did that with the fellow who installed my R10 for me, and hope he had a good lunch for his trouble.


He already gets paid by the company that sent him over to your house for his trouble.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 8, 2006)

Stanley Rohner said:


> He already gets paid by the company that sent him over to your house for his trouble.


You are right, and perhaps I would have a different feeling about it if I was dropping $300 on the install. But since the install costs me nothing out of pocket, I feel okay about throwing a little coin to someone who goes above and beyond my expectations.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

jkoeller said:


> It's hard to expect a "professional install" when the guy only makes $11.00 per activation. .


I don't doubt he told you that. But I do doubt that he pockets only 11 bucks to install a single receiver.

I've heard about 55 from one installer, and dont know if it's true on not.


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## dtremain (Jan 5, 2004)

newsposter said:


> I don't doubt he told you that. But I do doubt that he pockets only 11 bucks to install a single receiver.
> 
> I've heard about 55 from one installer, and dont know if it's true on not.


Agreed. The 11 buck thing struck me as a self-serving lie as well. Nobody would do the job for that little money.

You have to remember that the job consists of preparing for the install, driving to the site, doing the install, and driving away.

Eleven dollars? Nope. Nobody would do it.


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## Guindalf (Jun 13, 2001)

dtremain said:
 

> Agreed. The 11 buck thing struck me as a self-serving lie as well. Nobody would do the job for that little money.
> 
> You have to remember that the job consists of preparing for the install, driving to the site, doing the install, and driving away.
> 
> Eleven dollars? Nope. Nobody would do it.


Not a chance. Especially when you consider that they have to buy their own cable and stuff!

The tech that installed my R15 on Saturday said it was around $45, but I'm sure there's reimbursement for equipment used (like cable, multiswitch, etc.). Heck, these guys even have to buy their own vans!


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