Tipping Postal Workers/Holidays - Advisory

[My2BabiesLexis&Dill]

As the wife of a letter carrier, let me say "thank you" to all of you who do leave your carrier a tip. My husband works VERY hard for 10 -12 hours a day and never gets thanked for his work. He used to deliver an older neighborhood, and his customers would bake him cookies or give him a small gift, or even just a card. He was always appreciative. He now delivers to 3600 aparments (yes, you read that number correctly) and he receives nothing. That's fine, because like the above poster said, he does get paid. But, it's nice to be acknowledged.

I feel for your husband. I'm a mail carrier also, and that sounds like one hell of a route.

 

[herdtoDisney]

Yes, me too. That made me go

I give my own letter carrier a $10 Dunkin Donuts card. I do the same for our garbage collection workers. I figure, it's very cold often and they can pop into Dunkin Donuts on lunch break for a warm cup of hot chocolate or something.

 

[jaminmd]

We used to have the worlds best postman but he finally got his wish of a new route.

Now, I swear the new people are illiterate! I get everyone's mail but my own from streets far, far, away. I think they must have fired or reassigned one of them because his deliveries were so far off the mark it was ridiculous.

I, along with several neighbors, have had to call the local post office numerous times over the past 3 years because of the problems on our route. There is no way I'd ever tip these people. They can't perform their job & deliver me my own mail.

I wish I had my wonderful postman back & I know there are many, many more like him. I'm just stuck with the duds.

 

[JB2K]

So, if I leave an envelope w/a card and cash, what is really going to happen? Have any postal workers been caught? I don't tip much, but I do tip. And will tip. I've never had an envelope returned to me.

First up, I am not an employee of the USPS, so if anyone from the Postal Service is out there reading this, perhaps they can validate...

It's an ethics thing -- technically, when any U.S. government worker receives money while working in an official capacity (a good example is Jury Duty, as government workers still get paid by their agency while on Jury Duty), they are supposed to surrender that money to the agency they wok for (and, ultimately, to the U.S. Treasury).

As for has anyone ever been caught -- while I can't say, do consider this:

As the USPS does have their own internal policing agency, I wouldn't be surprised if this falls under their duties.

Also, what if a subsititue mail carrier was to pick-up that card/cash intended for your everyday carrier -- that person could very well be a "whistleblower"...

 

[JB2K]

We tip our mail carrier, UPS man, and Fed Ex man with a box of candy.

Which reminds me -- it seems both FedEx and UPS have similar rules in place.

I would suspect those companies simply don't want their drivers carrying a lot of cash around...

 

[scrapquitler]

Yes, me too. That made me go

I give my own letter carrier a $10 Dunkin Donuts card. I do the same for our garbage collection workers. I figure, it's very cold often and they can pop into Dunkin Donuts on lunch break for a warm cup of hot chocolate or something.

That's what I do, too. Some years I give him a gift card for Subway, which is right around the corner from my house, so I know that is convenient for him to go at lunctime (he's usually here near lunchtime).

 

[rubato]

I feel for your husband. I'm a mail carrier also, and that sounds like one hell of a route.

Yes, it is. The sub hates it when it's my hubbys day off!

 

[Topper]

While many Postal Service™ customers have traditionally thanked their mail carrier with gifts of cash during the holiday season, this practice puts our employees at risk of violating federal law. The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch ("Standards"), specifies that Postal Service employees may not accept gifts from outside sources (including Postal Service customers) or gifts given to them because of their official positions. Postal Service employees are also prohibited from soliciting gifts from outside sources.

There are a number of exceptions and exclusions to the general gifts rule . Postal Service employees may accept the following items:

Snacks and beverages that are not offered as part of a meal.
Items with little intrinsic value (i.e., greeting cards, plaques, pens, coffee mugs, etc.).
Perishable items (i.e., flowers, chocolates, cookies, etc.); if the items are clearly worth more than $20, employees should share them with others in the Postal Service workplace.
Items with a market (retail) value of $20 or less.
Gifts motivated solely because of a personal relationship.
Gifts for which the employee has paid market (retail) value.
Gifts paid for by the Postal Service.
Postal Service employees may not accept cash - in any amount or form (bills, checks, money orders) - from an outside source.

For further information, please contact the U.S. Postal Service® Law Department's Ethics Helpline at 202-268-6346, or send an email message to ethics.help@usps.gov .

 

[Dreamin Disney]

Sadly, I have never thought about doing this but I think that it is a great idea to show appreciation for the hard work that they do. I might leave a little surprise in my mailbox for my mail lady. Thanks for sharing the information. It is a unique way to be a blessing to someone that may never get a gift in this fashion.

 

[Robinrs]

My mom retired from the Post Office and she LOVED this time of year because of the tips! I remember her coming home so thrilled every night around Christmas.

I do a LOT of eBay and have always "tipped" or given presents to my Post Office pals. Mostly I give them cookies and they love me for it!

 

[ellone]

I leave my garbage collectors a case of beer under an empty trash can (they work hard in the cold too). If it's really cold outside, I will bring coffee to these workers (and donuts to the garbage men). If it's really hot outside I will ask if they'd like some iced tea.

I don't tip garbage men. They have the trucks with the arms that pick up the barrels so they don't leave the truck. Been that way for quite a while now.

 

[of the seas]

Now, I swear the new people are illiterate! I get everyone's mail but my own from streets far, far, away. I think they must have fired or reassigned one of them because his deliveries were so far off the mark it was ridiculous.

I, along with several neighbors, have had to call the local post office numerous times over the past 3 years because of the problems on our route. There is no way I'd ever tip these people. They can't perform their job & deliver me my own mail.

I wish I had my wonderful postman back & I know there are many, many more like him. I'm just stuck with the duds.

It amazes me how so many people say "Can't postal employees read?" or "How hard is it to deliver mail?". Well it is a lot harder than most people guess. First off, we have HUNDREDS of boxes on our routes. Most letters are computer sorted. We finger through thousands of letters a day. Sometimes wrong address slip by. It is hard to read every name on every letter. So we don't always catch them. Streets being "far far away" have nothing to do with misdelivering.

Then, subs do many routes. It's hard to know every name in every house when you don't do the same routes every day. Think about it...there are houses with kids, inlaws, even spouses with different last names. Subs also don't know all the previous house owners names either.

 

[mamalle]

we tip ours $25 cash every year and from the hoa, since hubby is on the board. He is great. My grandfather taught me that. He worked for the USPS and proud of it..

 

[Octoberbabiesrus]

I honestly do NOT tip, it might sound callous, but a)they make MORE than my family, and way better benefits. B) whenever a neighbors visitors block my mailbox perimiter by an inch, she REFUSES to deliver. If I am expecting a package, I expect to have to pick it up at the post office cause she just drops a slip in the box, even if she she sees me standing there. And to top it off, once I put 10 small tahnkyous in the box for my sons party, and she threw them at me and told me to take them to the p.o.