Do You Tip Car Detailers?

It’s customary to tip service workers in many cultures. Almost everyone who receives service from a worker will leave a tip. However, even though the activity is normal, many still do not know whether they should tip their car detailers or not. Therefore, the question of do you tip car detailers comes around quite often.

Long story short, if you are happy with the detailing service, you should definitely leave a tip for the car detailer. This tipping becomes a must-do task when the detailer is an employee of someone else.

But do all car detailers expect tips? Also, how much should you tip after getting the car detailing service? To know all about these questions, you need to continue reading!

Do All Car Detailers Expect a Tip?

Most car detailers do not expect a tip from the person getting their car detailed. However, every single auto dealer will have a smile on their face when you tip them for the service that they are providing. You see, when you are tipping a worker, it is not just about the extra money they are getting for their service.

Tipping is also considered to be a confirmation that the worker has done a great job of providing the service. Nonetheless, if you consider whether the car detailers do expect a tip or not, you will need to put them in two different categories. What are those two categories? Let us give you a better idea:

Detailers Who Work for Themselves

The car detailers that work for themselves will not expect a tip from you. Why so? Well, they are already taking all of the profits from the service themselves. That is why they will not generally expect a tip from you. But, they will undoubtedly be happy with the tip if you offer them one.

Detailers Who Work for Someone Else

Car detailers working for someone else will also not expect a tip from you. However, you need to consider that they are not taking any shares of the profit. Therefore, you should give them a tip if they do a proper job on the detailing.

How Much Should You Tip the Car Detailers?

Now that you know that you should tip the car detailers, you might wonder what the right amount would be. Well, there is no definitive rule when it comes to tipping. However, most of the tips that people give to the workers fall into the standard 10-15 percent range.

So, if the detailing cost came to around $70, leaving a $7 to $10 tip would be a good idea. That is, of course, if you are happy with the detailing work. If the results are not near your expectations, you do not have to force yourself to tip the service provider.

That said, many likes to round their tip up. According to the 10 to 15 percent range, the tip amount comes at around $16, so you can round it up to $20. Again, you should not round up to that large amount if you are not extremely happy with the service.

On the other hand, if you are extremely happy with the service, you can go well beyond the 15 percent range. The worker will get the confirmation they need for the good job they did with the detailing. And they will try to offer an even better service in the future.

Nonetheless, you should also consider your budget when tipping the workers. If you are on an extremely tight budget, there is no need to spend extra money on tips. 

Things to Consider When You Are Tipping

As we have already mentioned, there is no general rule regarding tipping the service providers. However, some like to tip the car detailer by considering several factors. Here is a breakdown.

Personal Satisfaction

This factor is the first thing that vehicle owners will consider when tipping the service providers. If you are exceptionally happy with the overall job, you might want to tip the worker more. It will give them the confirmation that they need to offer such an excellent service.

Products That They Are Using

If you notice that the detailer utilizes high-end products and is not skimping on using the right tools, you should tip a little more. When high-quality tools and products come into the equation, it usually means they are not making much profit on the job.

Attention to Details

Some of the car detailers put an extreme level of attention to detail. They will provide a much better service than your expectation. And as we established earlier, this scenario makes them deserve a good overall tip.

Extra Service

Often, the car detailers will provide extra cleaning service without any charge. That is how they make themselves stand out from the competition. How so? Well, they want to gain the highest customer satisfaction. For example, they can take care of the stains that are on your headliner.

Consider giving the detailers a little tip on the service in such cases. That will make them happy.

Worker vs. Owner

As we have mentioned, when the detailer is the owner, they will be keeping all the profit to themselves. In such a scenario, you can consider the usual 10 percent tip. However, if the detailer is an employee, you should consider tipping a little bit more than the regular 10 to 15 percent tip.

Should You Tip If You Are Not Happy with the Service?

Whether you should tip or not when you are not happy with the service is a pretty ambiguous topic. Some will like to leave a small tip even when the end result is not up to expectations. On the other hand, many will not tip at all if the service is not according to their expectation. 

Final Words

To recap, the answer to the question of do you tip car detailers or not would be a yes! You should tip the car detailers for the service that they are providing. Now, when it comes to how much the tip should be, it will depend on a couple of things. But your satisfaction with the service will overpower all of the factors.