I've always tipped movers, but a co-worker once told me he never did because the movers *always* mess something up. And ya know what? He was right. When I stuff was packed in the U.S., we tipped the workers with actual cash, something like $20 each, and bought lunch for a four-man crew two days in a row. And when we unpacked we discovered they did an awful job. The ones moving you in aren't responsible for most of the damage, as it was done by the packers, but the ones on this end didn't reassemble things the other movers had disassembled. We had them come back and put together what could be done, but the movers in the U.S. had not packed well and many parts needed for reassembly were just gone. Urgh, I'm mad thinking about it!
My new rule is this: No cash tips anymore unless you're *sure* someone did an excellent job and went above and beyond (which is hard to tell -- our U.S. movers seemed to be working hard, but they did a terrible job which we didn't realize until we unpacked).
Instead, buy a lunch for the crew and offer bottled water and sodas. And leave it at that. That's still a good tip and a thoughtful thing to do, and you won't kick yourself so hard later when you see they've scraped the floor or wall of dragging something in, etc, because at least you didn't hand them cash, too.
