Do you tip your mailman/garbageman/paper deliverer?

[paras4ri]

Our paper is delivered by an adult who has given his usual holiday card and enclosed a self-addressed, but not stamped, envelope. He'll include a second one about a week before the holidays....and if he doesn't get a tip he'll begin flinging our paper all over the front yard....it's like hide-and-seek.

I don't feel the service we get warrants a tip.....and his actions when he doesn't get one are childish.

 

[LuvN~Travel]

Actually although postal management says we don't get tipped,
I believe there is a $20 limit on acceptablilty of gifts. We have the
occasional person who offers us money at the window for things we
have done, but we turn them down. Some of our regulars do give
us candy or cookies or such at Christmas or Valentine's Day, and that
is always accepted however.
Kim

 

[montessori]

We have too many different mail carriers so we don't tip them.
I also do not like the newspaper delivery people putting a self-addressed envelope in the paper, so I don't tip them.
I think my husband does tip the garbage men, if he happens to see them around this time of year.
I sure could use some extra cash this year, but we don't get tips.
I have PLENTY of teacher ornaments though.

 

[ez]

I just wanted to make one more comment-for the past few years I have delivered a route which was half businesses, the other half central deliveries, "gang boxes" like in an apartment or townhouses where patrons have to go to a designated area where all the boxes are, and open theirs with a key.
The first set was a lower income apartment complex and the second set were upscale townhomes with owners, not renters. I was always touched and amazed because some of the low/fixed income people would give me 20 bucks, which I felt bad about because I figured they needed it more than I did. The upscale people, in three years, never gave me squat, which was absolutely fine with me but I just found it so interesting!
All in all though, after over 15 years of delivering mail it is my observation, that at least in my neck of the woods, only a small percentage give the mailperson a christmas gift. I have to tip my floater (sub) at Christmas and I usually wind up giving out as much or more than I took in!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Yes, we tip all three service folks. We have had same mail and paper carrier for years and we verify the names of the refuse folks (they have been consisitent also), as we do not regularly see them, and then we make sure to be there at collection time at least once at this time of the year to pass on to both the trash and recycling. All are checks made out to the individual people for each of the services.

 

[ToriLammy]

I tip my paperboy throughout the year, we only get the Sunday paper so I give him an extra $2.50 a month ($30/year) when I pay him. I certainly hope he remembers that I have been tipping him all year

We used to give our mailman in Vegas a gift each year but we had the same mailman for 8 years (we even moved after our first year but were still on his route). He was an excellent mailman, we even got mail that was addressed to our old address years after we moved. Here in Oklahoma we don't have the same mailperson more than a month so I'm not sure what to do there.

We also give a small gift to our daughter's bus driver (she rides a handicapped bus) because he is always so nice.

 

[me4321]

Omg! My great uncle was a mailman in Hollywood hills for 20yrs and he received thousands of dollars at Christmas! He loved his customers and went above his job description and they loved him. He used to say, "one person can only eat so many cookies and candies and have too many cocoa mugs!" He was funny and I miss him! My Letter Carrier is awesome and sweet and I have tipped $50.00 for years, so tip what you want!

 

[tvguy]

I thought it was illegal for a mailman to accept a monetary gift!

Well, not sure it's illegal, but can be grounds for termination. But only if you get caught.

We have given cards and cookies in the past to the mailman.

Garbage man, ah, absolutely no way I am tipping someone making a starting wage of $50.99 an hour. But our garbage is picked up by the county, and their wages are public record. Now, a card, or cookies, that would be nice.

Same with the paper delivery person, we haven't had a "paperboy" in 25 years........no more routes of 125 papers, all the routes are in the thousands of houses. My wife's Uncle has a huge St. Louis Post Dispatch route, and even after paying to keep his van up, and hire people to cover for him when he goes on vacation, he still clears very low 6 figures.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Nope.

 

[lynxstch]

strange post for someone to bring up as their very first post...a thread that's over a year old? lol

 

[JanaDee]

strange post for someone to bring up as their very first post...a thread that's over a year old? lol

It's from 2002.

 

[lynxstch]

It's from 2002.

that will teach me to put my glasses on..even worse that it was a first post from an almost 14 year old thread, lol!

 

[mtemm]

even funnier is I was about to answer it...when I realized I was the one who started it. wow, that was 11 years and 3 houses ago!

 

[lovesmurfs]

strange post for someone to bring up as their very first post...a thread that's over a year old? lol

10 years old....

ETA: Well, I'm slow off the mark! LOL

 

[ilovemk76]

Missed the original post date.

 

[Micca]

We don't subscribe to the paper, the garbage truck driver doesn't even get out of the vehicle (it's got a robot arm on the side of the truck), and the postal carrier drops the mail in a community mailbox down the street.

At our old house the garbage guys would come into the backyard and get our trash, and the mail carrier brought everything right to the door. We tipped them then, not now.

 

[King Schultz]

I never tip the paper person, mail person, or garbage people.


I did find my paper smeared with garbage in my mail box this morning, but I'm sure it was just a coincidence.

 

[Cantw8]

I wish someone would tip me for doing what I get paid to do I love this time of year. Any other month, I have to track down my trash cans as they are dumped into the truck and then thrown to the side where they tend to roll out into the street. Not at Christmas time...they are neatly lined up right at the curb and have a nice little Christmas card from my garbage men attached to them..complete with self addressed envelope included

 

[KateKat23]

I am the wife of a wonderful paper route driver and I would like to say thank you to all who tip their paper carrier. They really do deserve it. We have received many tips this Holiday Season and each and every one I write a handwritten thank you to. I feel so bad for my husband getting up at 2:15 in the morning and his paper route is half driving and half walking. He has 250 houses he delivers to no matter what the weather is he is out there and we live in Minnesota. In the Summer during storms and heavy down pours. Tomorrow evening it is suppose to be 30 below zero and that is not even with the wind chill. We have had the paper route for 5 years and his customers absolutely love him. If they want the paper inside the door he will, if they want it kinda sticking out of the tube he will, if they want it in the mail slot he will. He does something that I could never do and believe me I have tried with him. Also not only does he have to worry about the weather he has also seen some really scary stuff on his paper route. I always thank God when he gets home safe and sound.

 

[tvguy]

strange post for someone to bring up as their very first post...a thread that's over a year old? lol

I always find it strange when the original post date is even an issue. If people are still interested in the topic, as the new replies indicate, who cares? Besides, a whole lot of new threads are topics that cycle through every 6 months or so anyway.