“I paid 1.5 million won for the move, and now I have to pay for lunch too?” ... Customer’s baffling story after hiring full-service movers [What do you think?]

[Financial News] A customer who paid 1.5 million won for a full-service move complained that they were also asked to cover lunch for four workers. Online commenters were divided over whether customers should have to pay for meals separately after already paying the moving fee.
On the 18th, a post appeared on social media asking whether it was appropriate for customers to pay for moving-company employees’ meals.
A, who wrote the post, said they had recently been asked to pay an unexpected additional charge while using a full-service moving company.
A paid the company 1.5 million won for the move and also provided coffee to the employees working at the site. But when lunchtime came, one of the moving-company workers asked A to cover the meals for four employees, A said.
A wondered whether, having paid the full moving fee stipulated in the contract, they should also have to pay separately for the employees’ lunch. A said it was hard to understand why customers should be expected to provide meals for the workers.
Some commenters who saw the post also sympathized with A, saying they had been asked to buy drinks or snacks during a move.
Some people also shared experiences of being asked for everything from drinks to additional tips. One user said, “The moving-company employees kept asking me to buy them some water or coffee,” adding, “I don’t understand why they ask me to buy this and that when they’ve already been paid in full.”
Another user said they had been asked for extra money during a move: “While I was moving, one worker once directly asked me to send them a tip by bank transfer.”
Others said that, given the hard work involved in carrying heavy belongings, customers could at least cover the workers’ meal costs.
One commenter said, “They work hard doing physical labor—are a few tens of thousands of won really that much to begrudge? The 1.5 million won probably goes to the company, and since they work hard moving my belongings, I think I could give them something if I had enough to spare.”
Some also noted that practices around paying for meals vary depending on the moving company and the customer’s experience.
One user explained, “When my mother moved, she hired an inexpensive moving company, paid for their meals, and even gave them some extra money. I think giving them a little extra separately may have been an old custom.”
Others said that customers voluntarily paying for meals should be distinguished from company employees asking for them first.
A commenter who said they had moved several times shared, “I’ve moved four times, and no one ever asked me to pay for lunch. I kept buying them snacks, and they told me that doing so would spoil the workers and asked me to stop bringing them.”
They added, “I think these problems arise as more moving-company employees come to take customers’ goodwill for granted.”


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter