To Tip or Not Tip Your Auto Transport Driver? Your Car Shipped? The 5 reasons I feel you should tip your auto transport driver!

Recently I was asked whether or not you should tip the transport driver when your car is being delivered.

Tipping or not tipping is not a common question I get asked a lot but I thought I should address it here. I think it’s probably either automatic for some of you to tip your transport driver but for others, it’s likely that you think about it to yourself but have not been given the space and time to ask it. So I’m going to karate chop the heck out of the topic, but before I do so please note:

What I am going to express is my opinion and mine alone. It does not reflect the actual thoughts of the drivers or the auto transport industry. I have based my opinion on my experience as an enclosed car transport driver who hauled exotic and high end cars for a living.

With that out the way, let me start with the definition of a tip:

Tip noun: a gift or a sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated : gratuity. {credit: Merrriam-Webster Dictionary}

When I used to transport cars, sometimes I would get tips and sometimes I wouldn’t. I usually didn’t expect to get them but after awhile I realized when I did certain things, I would earn a tip from my clients. So of course, the greedy Gwendoline in me would constantly try to do those exact things to earn a tip. Who doesn’t like extra money? I know I did.

Before I reveal some things you should automatically give a tip for, I want to address something I’ve read in so many different forums online. Many people have this perception that drivers make a lot of money. I’ve heard and read people express, “drivers are getting all this money to ship my car, why should I tip them?”

It’s kind of sickening and disturbing for more reasons than one and I will address that in another post but let me just say that when you factor in the cost of fuel, the taxes, tolls, permits, department of transportation physicals, tire blowouts, oil changes, leaking hydraulic fluid, and driver meals plus add in the time it takes to go from point a to b, drivers are not really making that much money. A company driver may make even more than an independent guy in some cases but not necessarily all the time. So please, don’t think about your $1500 you paid to the carrier as, “oh he is making so much already” because that $1500 can easily turn to -$300 if things do not go as planned, and you and I both know that things do not always go as planned no matter how hard we try to be perfect.

Okay so…

5 Things your transport driver can do to earn his/her tip

  • 1- Deliver your vehicle earlier than you expected
  • 2- Deliver your vehicle as clean as when you shipped it
  • 3- Take the extra effort to call you to ensure you will be available to receive your vehicle not once {standard 24hours prior} but twice {when he’s within a few hours from you}
  • 4- Being polite {even though you may think this is standard, a lot of drivers go through crap and it reflects some hide it and go above and beyond to make sure your happy with their service}
  • 5- Tried to get as close to your front door as possible

If your auto transport truck driver does any of those things, in my opinion they deserve a tip. In other words, if they gave you great service, did what they was supposed to do, communicated with you, showed up on time or early, or if they were friendly and extremely accommodating, I think you really should consider a tip. But remember, tipping is optional. It’s Not required, not frowned upon!

Tweet-able“Not required, not frowned upon” { click to tweet }

How much? Well that’s up to you. I used to get anywhere from $100 to $500. It all depended on the client. Even $25 can get a driver a great lunch or dinner.

I would love to hear from you; have you ever tipped a transport driver and how much? Do you think tipping is a bad thing?

Have an experience or tips to share? Please join in on our #Unadulterated Conversations below:

Know someone who just had their car shipped? Please share this article with them. Remember, sharing is caring.

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