Tipping the super

I would give our super about $50-$75 to install an AC (PC Richards will charge you about $100 to install and our local appliance place charges $90 per AC). FYI, he also charged us about $150 to install a new (fairly large) hanging light in our kitchen, and $1700 to paint 2 rooms (approx. 700 sq ft with high ceilings). We gave him $500 for the holidays. He generally does not charge for pretty simple things either (e.g., putting a padded lining on our front door so it did not jiggle). Good luck.

$200 is too cheap to tip supers in nyc to begin with. $2000 is barely enough to show a gesture of good will to these "building professionals" when moving in.

$2000??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you, #3. Give the super the key to your apartment & you go live in the basement. $2000 - what have you been smokin'? ! ?

is this a rental apartment or a coop? I sold my place moved into my rental and tipped the super $20 and he glared at me. fuck him. the guy's got a flat screen tv and I still have a monster toshiba. of course i'm also sitting on half a million but then again who knows, maybe he is too.

it is a co-op.

would like to hear from others who live in a coop. what is customary to tip? does everyone give $$$ when they move in? seems like a shakedown.

I just moved into a coop and was told by my broker (and others) to tip the super when I move in as a goodwill gesture.

Funny though, when I introduced myself he wouldn't accept any $ told me don't worry, this isn't christmas. So I guess it depends but I think it's still a good idea.

i wouldn't tip him anything on move in. give him $100 at christmas and $20 here and there.

A lot of this depends on what type of building you live in and what your super actually does for you. Some are super helpful and go out of their way to help out the residents and others just do what they need to to get by. We have a very nice and helpful super and try to act accordingly. Some may disagree, but we also now give more money now that we are owners bc we now we will be here for several years and want to establish a good relationship with the super.

the super works for you. not vice versa. if you love him so much, have the board raise his salary.

The super works for the building. He is absolutely not required to help you install AC's, paint, other non-bldg. specific tasks. If he does those things and goes the extra mile elsewhere, it is only fair to compensate him for it. If he does not do personal favors for you and therwise does a sub-par job, then I don't think you need to give him extra $$.

#12, I assume you would not ask your super to install an AC for you and not pay him, would you?

actually, I beleive super IS respsnible for installing air conditioner because if installation is not up to code eg blocks a firescape or lacks the correct support the building is fined

OP, I would ask the super what he would charge you for the specific service you require. Then he'll say "oh, whatever you think is right." Then you go back and forth until it's clear that he has to name the price. Then you either purchase the service from him, or look elsewhere. And you do not tip in addition to his fee. And you do not tip a helper he brings in to do the job with him, either.

You'll then establish a nice, businesslike, fee-for-services relationship with him.

And of course you'll tip him at Christmas for his good job of running the building.

#13--bprinz. #12 here. i enjoy your brother freddy very much but he lost me with the scoobie doo franchise. anyway, no I am not a communist, of course I'd pay someone for their work.

#13 I now know where you live. you may have overpaid for the square footage. ; ) I highly suggest you check the anonymous box.

Supers are not responsible for installing AC's.

#17 sounds like a stalker.

I have lived in Manhattan for the last 17 years and I never, ever heard of giving a super $500 for Christmas. I give $100 for the holidays and $10 $20 when he does odd jobs in the apartment. You are either very rich or very stupid!!

I would never have a super install an air conditioner. You want to save $25.00 on the install but give him $500 for the holidays. Now I know why real estate has gone nuts.

Nobody said you have to give your super $500, but if you can afford to do it and he is very helpful duirng the year, I do not see why it must mean you are "rich" or "stupid." When apartments are going for $1000+ per square foot, $500 is not all that much money.

I am a middle class thirty something Manhattan resident in a doorman building, and I have never heard of giving $500 or $1000 to the super at christmas just for doing their jobs. I agree that people should be compensated for good service, but some people are crazy!! I give $100 to the super, and $50 to each of the 5 doormen. Another $50 to the handyman. And I always give the handyman $20-$30 for doing small jobs ( 20 minutes or less ). The building has about 120 apartments, so if you assume the average tenant gives $100 then the Super got a $12,000 x-mas bonus. Not Bad!!! at $500 that becomes $60,000. Total nonsense! When was the last time you got a $60,000 christmas gift?

To the poster that said $500 is not that much if your apartment is $1000 a square foot.

Maybe $500 is justified for good service if you have a 2000 square foot apartment worth 2.5 million. Not for a 500sf Jr1

$500 is never justified.

This is #3. For those who can't tip the building super $2000 to begin with and $100 each time for errands, don't live in Manhattan condos and coops. I am a building super myself in Manhattan, NYC.

I have 40 people that work in my very high end building and we tip $2000 for everyone at Christmas. When we moved in, we tipped one of the Porters $50 who helped up move in. Our Super does the least. I think in Coops $500 max for a Super should be fine, but if you are not well off, $100 should be plenty. It also depends on how many inits there are in the building. Smaller buildings, you tip more.

I agree that in a smaller bldg. it makes sense to give larger individual tips. When we lived in large full service bldgs., we spent about $1200-1500 in holiday tips and the super got about $150 or $200 of that (doormen got $100, porters $75, etc.) We now live in a smaller bldg. that only has a live-in super - no other staff. Because of this, he maintains the building (paints the hallways, fixes stuff, etc.), takes out the trash, takes care of packages when he can, etc. He does more than just be a super, so we give him $500. Simply put, he does a lot more than the supers at the other bldgs. we have lived in, so he gets a better tip.

hey #3. give me your address. I'm gonna send you $100 just for the hell of it.

No big tips and mysteriously no heat on very cold winter days.

No heat and someone has to keep the lonely housewives warm in bed while their husbands are off to work.

Amen to that. My supers wife used to tip ME $100.

just apply same logic as any other tip...get a price for the work...then go 10 to 20% tip depending on quality of service...maybe 25% if you get the lonely housewife..

#3 you are out of your mind - a super does the least in the building - I tip generously but unless he does something unusual for me at move-in like help with the boxes then he gets nothing until the holdiays. Depending on the building size the tip can range anywhere from $150-350. These people are crazy - wealthy people usualy have money because they have a healthy respect for $ - they also realize it has to be earned. I am not going to move into a building and tip a super $2000 - #3 you have an inflated sense of your importance. I don't know anyone who tips $2000 to an individual building staffer. In your dreams!