Trade groups agree, tipping your mover is appreciated but not necessary.

Moving is hard, and sometimes we feel obligated to tip our pro movers at the conclusion of the day/move. Your chosen movers pack and move household goods and business assets all day, every day. Even on the weekends during peak moving season (i.e., Summer). From personal experience, and from both sides of the equation, we understand both the impulse/inclination to tip extraordinary service and the gratitude the gesture will be met with. But, we think simple acts of kindness/decency may go a lot farther. For example, keep soap and towels, or hand sanitizer, available in a bathroom you're comfortable with them using for the day. Offer bottles of water, especially when it's hot. Remember, movers are people too. Just as you appreciate and reward respect, we will too. For a little light reading, take one trade group's categorization of attempts to intimidate shippers into tipping as piracy; read the California Moving and Storage Association's Tips to Avoiding Moving Company Fraud, by clicking the title/link; a new window will open to their website. Alternatively, check out the American Moving and Storage Association's Moving Day Etiquette; a new window will open to their website/pamphlet.