Move - Tip Super?

How about asking him?

$40 for 3 hours seems very low to me assuming he was actually doing work. Even though you did not ask for his help, you let him help you. If he was putting in a real effort, I think at least $20/hour is called for - but that is only my opnion (my wife would say at least $100 I'm sure).

Sounds like you did the right thing. I do the same if someone from my building goes above & beyond to assist me. And moving sucks, so any help is always appreciated.

If you think the tip was too low, the Christmas tipping season is almost upon us. Just add some extra, with a nice note about how much you've appreciated his assistance since you've been a resident, and the problem should be solved without any awkwardness.

I certainly don't think it's wrong to tip a super who does extra without asking for extra.

lets not forget that he is also getting paid to be the super. If he choose to help out, $40 a decent amount of extra money for the day while the super would have otherwise been doing what ???? It is not as though you took him away from other duties that he lost the oppurtunity to make money from. I think tipping gets out of hand sometimes. My opinion, $40 was a very nice thing to do

I think if you're really leaving the building for good, and won't be there at Christmas for the normal tip time, and you feel the Super has done well by you for the majority of 2007, a C note would've been about right.

pseudonym, I think RClavi is talking about the super in the building he moved INTO, not the one he was leaving.

Ahhh - sorry - thank you for clearing that up aboutready....

In that case, I feel differently, and I know alot of you will disagree. I think when you move into a new building, it's really important to get off on a good foot with the new super (who it most cases can make your life alot easier in the case of an emergency). When I have moved into a new building of modest means, I made a point of seeking the super out, introducing myself, letting him know what unit I'll be in, and I always gave him a C note which I told him is "..just to get things started off on right foot.." When moving into a higher end, fancier doorman building, I sometimes would start things off with $200.

What a fair amount to tip super and desk people for the holidays?

It depends on the size and quality of your building.

In a very small non doorman building withlittle or no services/amenities, $50 for the super (unless he's gone above and beyond during the year for you) and $20 for the desk people is probably okay.

In a medium quality building, $100 for the super, and $20-$50 for the desk people, depending on the quality of service.

In a high end building, sky's the limit, but I would say $100-$200 for the super, $50-$100 for the 'more senior desk people/person, and $20-$50 for the more junior staff.

We live in a 32 unit no services bldg and give our super $400-500 per year because he is extremely helpful and an all around good guy. Probably high, but that's what we do.

Tenure plays a part in deciding too. A doorman in the building for 15 years may get an extra bit added in. Also, if you don't tip the super during the year for small favors (fixing the dripping faucet, changing a hard to reach lightbult in the apartment, loaning you a ladder to paint, etc), then that should be considered at x-mas. If you do tip during the year, that too makes a difference.

In the end, I try to remember the difference between generous tips and being perceived as stingy is usually a fairly small amount of money to me in the longrun. These people work hard for not so much money, plus they contribute to the value of my most significant asset. So an extra $25, $50 or $100 is good for moral, for good relations, for stability of staffing and well worth it.

Starfish, you're a bit high (for most people), but I agree, if they really help you have to remember that they are living (and sometimes also trying to raise children) in New York. If you can afford it, just think about how much you generally spend on food, drink and taxi tips, and try to somewhat reconcile that amount for someone who helps you a certain amount, often very much (and think about those things you don't try to think about, like leaving your large furniture downstairs for them to dispose of) all year long.