He says he's already going to be in town so the distance he travelled to get there is irrelevant.
And this removal thing is probably going to take five minutes or less after he walks in your door.
Ultimately, I think it depends on how much you usually pay him for his time prior to this point. If you've been paying him $100 per hour then I would give him $40 or so. If you've been paying him $50 per hour give him $20.
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If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
Thank you both. Ugh. I hate to sound stingy, but I'm going to be tipping the moving crew already, and some how, moving is super expensive.
Hmm. What to do here.
I should have said no before we got to the tip part! 
Maybe you can give him that beautiful bag 
I've lived in the US all my life, and I have NO idea what to tip for anything other than a meal. I just hate tipping culture, it makes me feel super-awkward all the time 
My guess is $20 is fine. He's already in the area, it's not a super-complicated job...and hopefully he's not offended by the amount!
@Josephine that's hysterical!!!!!!!! I could tell him I'm giving him a shimmery tip in exchange for his shimmery tuning???
For the record bill I’ll prep a $20 bill and tip him in cash.
I have nothing but respect for tuners (even if I’m a little snarky sometimes about this one particular gentleman) and I suspect we just have a communication problem.
How much is currently paid for a US gallon of gas, if you don't mind me asking? The UK price would currently be £5.70 ($7.30??) for a US gallon. A UK gallon holds a slightly larger volume (4.5 litres) so it is £6.75 here, per gallon ($8.65).
Yes, that’s kind of an awkward situation. Before I read any of the replies, I came up with a $20 tip also. I don’t think that’s stingy since he’s already close by and it should’t take long to do.
I think $20 is good! And maybe a sweet treat if you have one available
Wow, the US tipping culture is simply beyond me … Do people actually tip even for a regular tuning I wonder … Would it usually be « expected », even in the case this person already has had your business for a while?
Interesting - Thanks for this info twocats, but I still say wow from my perspective. (Just to be clear, I do not mean this in a derogatory way by any means, this sort of thing is unheard of over here and it just seems so strange to me, hence my surprise - sorry!)
kanadajin Yes, US tipping culture is a mess! I lived in Japan for many years, and it's so much simpler!!
So, I don't tip piano tuners (they're a business owner and set their own rates). But I tip servers at restaurants... I will tip the movers when we move etc.
For this particular visit, it's going to take him probably 5 minutes, so no charge but he asked for a tip. Which I think is a little pushy. But OTOH, you don't get what you don't ask for.
And no one should be expected to work for free. So...
Capitalism?
ShiroKuro, I see. It raises my eyebrows that he even actually asked for a tip - wow.
Interesting comparisons, as you probably know, you risk insulting a work person in Japan if you even try to tip. I am just back from France where all prices are all inclusive, even in restaurants, taxis, etc.(generally common in Europe btw) Wages are set accordingly.
Anyways, when in Rome …
ShiroKuro I don't think it's bad that he asked; if you decided to give him $5 I'd hope he'd be gracious about it. If you reached out for his advice you're asking for his time anyway, even if he didn't do the work. And in this case he'll take care of it and presumably do a good job, so you don't have to worry about it
