Tip newspaper carrier?

[pumpkinfish]

Received our paper Sunday and had a card in it from our newspaper carrier. We just moved and started using her. She delivers Sunday only. Do you tip? If so, how much is appropriate?

 

[robb01]

Around here they usually sell a cheap calendar, and we give them $10 for it, but that is our everyday carrier

 

[OverplanninJess]

Wow! I was going to post the exact same question! We just moved here in Sept and only get the Sunday paper as well.

I feel like there's no good way to tip her-we don't have a mailbox (that she could access anyway, it's locked) to leave anything in, and I wouldn't want to just leave an envelope w/a check or money in it just sitting on the front porch.

 

[tinatark]

It's obvious that they expect a gift, especially since mine have always placed a card with their address label where the signature goes.

I'm not planning to "tip".

 

[JoiseyMom]

I only get the Sunday paper, and I don't tip. We also get a free weekly local paper..1/2 the time I find it sitting in a puddle. We got an envelope with that paper too.

Not for nothing, but this time of the year drives me nuts. Why am I tipping people for doing their job??

Tip jars at dunkin donuts...they make OVER minimum wage!!

I tip waitstaff in restaurants. That is a tipped position! Just my .02.

 

[lisajl]

I'm here in Central Ohio and got the same thing in my paper.
I don't plan on tipping either.
We have tipped before when we were getting the paper all through the week, but not just for the weekend.

Lisa

 

[mamalle]

we do not get the newspaper. I guess if I did on a daily basis I might. I do give the mailman a card and cash every year though for christmas

 

[sunlover13]

We get the newspaper everyday and do not tip. The reason is he is always late delivering it on Sundays which drives me crazy. So, I don't tip!

I used to tip our mailman when he was our usual. I've seen 3-4 different mail carriers come to our house in the past couple of months so I will not be tipping. If we did have a regular mail carrier, I would give him/her a tip in a holiday card.

 

[AndyLL]

We are in a simular but different situation...

We pay yearly and tip on that payment ~20%.

I just received a card in our Sunday paper with an address to send a christmas bonus.

I really don't feel after a 20% tip I should give the bonus.

This is compounded by the fact that the newspaper is going to go out of business soon and I'll be out ~1/2 year payment.

 

[mrspaha]

It's kinda funny--the last two weeks, our daily newspaper has been thrown almost to our front porch, which has been really nice in this cold and somewhat snowy weather, so I don't have to walk practically to the street to get it (where it has been thrown all year). So, it seems like our deliverer is angling for a tip -- which frankly, I haven't tipped in the past. But, I really don't know if we've had the same person all year -- I have no idea what kind of turnover there has been. So, I'm debating whether this service will continue if I do or don't give a tip. I was thinking of holding off for a month or so, and if this service continues, then sending him a check later.

 

[DMRick]

We don't tip ours with our monthly payment so we'll give a tip of $26 ( a paltry .50 a week) for 7 day a week delivery for the year and $10 as a Christmas bonus this time of year. It's a job with little pay, especially here in the winter, and because we are away so much, I ask him to put the paper in a door slot..and he has to divide it on Sundays. Weather is miserable here in the winter, and he does a great job.
My husband was a paperboy when he was a kid..he'd like to give even more LOL.

 

[lntsmom]

I was wondering the same thing. I get the paper 6 days a week...but paid for a whole year. I read you should tip whatever you pay for 1 month. Well, I got a super special...$40 for the year. I still don't know.

However, it isn't unusual for us to get 20" of snow and I'm in an upstairs condo...so it's not a drive-by drop. I was thinking maybe $15 .

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

Wow! I was going to post the exact same question! We just moved here in Sept and only get the Sunday paper as well.

I feel like there's no good way to tip her-we don't have a mailbox (that she could access anyway, it's locked) to leave anything in, and I wouldn't want to just leave an envelope w/a check or money in it just sitting on the front porch.

Hi. I work for a newspaper and just wanted to let you know that at my paper people mail checks made out to the paper and I apply the payment as a tip to the carrier's account.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I tip each newspaper carrier $100 at Christmas. They are providing a service to you, no different than a waiter in a restaurant. A waiter brings food, the wholesaler delivers your paper, in most cases while you are asleep.

Many just send the tip money into the paper office and the tip is credited to the carrier's invoice. Others arrange to give it to the carrier directly.

Based on being a carrier myself for 5 years and working in various capacities in circulation at 2 papers over 12 years, about 2/3 of the customers tip and the average is about $10/$15.

 

[Karebear6505]

I am astonished at how many people do not tip their newspaper carrier. My parents deliver newspapers and have been doing so everyday for the last ten years straight. They also work another full time job on top of it. Unlike mail men they have to use their own vehicles, pay for their own gas, pay for their own repairs, and even pay for the bags that the newspapers come in. They work 365 days a year without a single day off, no matter what the weather is like (we live in Pennsylvania). Someone mentioned how their paper is always late and it's their carriers fault, half the time the papers are late and it is NOT the carriers fault, it is the fault of the newspaper company because they don't bring them to the carriers on time, this often leaves the customers angry at the carrier when it is not their fault. My family really relies on tips at Christmas time. I encourage everyone to tip their newspaper carrier, I know my parents and I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Karebear6505]

I had to add something. Just because you only get your paper on the weekend does not mean you shouldn't tip, Sundays are the hardest days because the papers are all much bigger and there are so many more of them that have to be delivered. You should especially tip if you have a special request like putting the paper on your porch because the carrier does not receive extra pay for this and it causes more time and wear and tear on their vehicle. Also, if you have the address of your paper carrier send it directly to them, that way they aren't taxed for it. This job is physically and emotionally draining and is something that most people don't really think about, but that they should definately tip them for.

 

[DVCisME]

I don't plan on tipping. I only get it on Sunday and have only gotten it for about three weeks, but next year I will.

 

[sunlover13]

Ok, so you think I should tip when I see them at about 9:00AM on Sundays drive by and drop the newspaper near the curb on my street? It is not even close to the porch. There have been quite a few times we did not receive a paper at all and had to call or go online to notify them we didn't receive the paper. Sorry, but if I think the service is bad, I don't think I should have to tip. If my carrier did a good job, I would tip. Just my opinion.........

 

[ajk912]

I have never felt that it's necessary to tip my carrier. It's a driving route, and they just drive down the street and chuck the papers in the driveways. I't not even that they have to put them in the paper boxes or on porches or anything. I supose they may have to bag the papers..but they would have to do that anyway..the extra work he has for us is *maybe* 5 seconds every Sunday (however long it takes to slow down and chuck a paper out the window ). He's driving down my street anyway, I live in the city in the south so we aren't talking about snow and ice and winding roads. If I had a special request, sure. But I don't care, as long as I get it.

I liken it to tipping the mail carrier or UPS man. Sure, some people do it..but I don't consider it be necessary (like tipping a server at a restaurant).

 

[pumpkinfish]

Thanks a bunch for all the responses