Tipping

[JSR22]

How much do you tip the mail carrier and the newspaper delivery person?

[Bogie Shooter]

How much do you tip the mail carrier and the newspaper delivery person?

Whatever makes you feel good.

[Phanatic Luvr]

Usually about $15 to $20 each.

[traveler702]

I tip each of them $20.00, as well as the post man, trash collectors and the re-cycle collectors. It's Christmas after all.

[784caroline]

Tipping is very personal thing. Whether you give $1, 20 or $50 it should not matter...the "value" each service provider offers is different to each person that receives it. In fact in many cases a "Thank you" or some acknowledgement of the services provided would be more than welcomed if a gift of some sort was not affordable.

[tag460]

I have always tipped the newspaper person, but never heard of tipping the mailman or trash collectors.

[cquick]

I always add the yearly tip to my renewal of the newspaper. I sure hope my carrier realizes it's for Christmas, too.

As for the trash pick-up, I'm not going to run out there in my nightgown to give them an envelope......

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I always tipped the newspaper carrier when I lived up north. I no longer get a newspaper.
I also left a little Christmas gift for our mailman when he delivered the mail to my house. Now that I have to go to the post office to get my mail, I don't see were a gift or a tip is in order.

[bluedog103]

We're snowbirds so we tip the newspaper carrier and mail carrier $20 each on both ends. I agree that the person in the mailstation doesn't work as hard as the mail carrier in NY who is out in all kinds of weather but by tipping them they tend to remember us. Never have a problem with the mail despite several hold and forward requests each year. Mail personnel watch out for us, both north and south.

[gwscott]

I always tipped the newspaper carrier when I lived up north. I no longer get a newspaper.
I also left a little Christmas gift for our mailman when he delivered the mail to my house. Now that I have to go to the post office to get my mail, I don't see were a gift or a tip is in order.

But you should tip your neighbor

[surfergirlov]

I personally do not see the need to tip someone for doing their job, and an employee should do their best regardless if they receive a tip or not. (Except for wait staff who do not get a decent rate of pay from their employer).

[eremite06]

I personally do not see the need to tip someone for doing their job, and an employee should do their best regardless if they receive a tip or not. (Except for wait staff who do not get a decent rate of pay from their employer).

:agree:

[perrjojo]

It is my understanding that postal employees are not allowed to accept cash gifts and only any other gift of a value of $20 pr less. Do they accept these gifts? Yes, but it is not allowed. Go figure.

[mikeandnancy1112]

We give Christmas tips to our waitress, our pet sitter, and our lawn couple. Yes, they do their jobs but we just want them to know they are appreciated.

[bluedog103]

I personally do not see the need to tip someone for doing their job, and an employee should do their best regardless if they receive a tip or not. (Except for wait staff who do not get a decent rate of pay from their employer).
As a young person I had several jobs where I received tips including a gig as a mailman for about a year and a half. Whether you see a need to tip someone is your own business but I can tell you from personal experience that tippers get better service. With the post office job I was a sub. The regular carriers had notations on their mail cases where the mail was sorted so the subs knew who the tippers were. You definitely wanted to keep the tippers happy. Same with jobs I had as a kid pumping gas. You knew who
tipped and who didn't. Guess who had every speck washed off their windshield whenever they stopped in?
I had a similar experience when I lived in an apartment building. I always tipped the super and they always knew to stop by my apartment for a cold drink on a hot day or a warm drink on a cold day. I could call for a repair at 10 P.M. and the super would be there within minutes. Other neighbors complained that they couldn't get anything fixed or that it sometimes took days for anyone to show up. Wonder why that was?

[Bogie Shooter]

It is my understanding that postal employees are not allowed to accept cash gifts and only any other gift of a value of $20 pr less. Do they accept these gifts? Yes, but it is not allowed. Go figure.

The folks at the postal stations are sub-contractores not postal employees.

[perrjojo]

The folks at the postal stations are sub-contractores not postal employees.

AHHH! I didn't realize that.

[mulligan]

Ditt on the newspaper carriers...contractors, not employees.

[surfergirlov]

As a young person I had several jobs where I received tips including a gig as a mailman for about a year and a half. Whether you see a need to tip someone is your own business but I can tell you from personal experience that tippers get better service. With the post office job I was a sub. The regular carriers had notations on their mail cases where the mail was sorted so the subs knew who the tippers were. You definitely wanted to keep the tippers happy. Same with jobs I had as a kid pumping gas. You knew who
tipped and who didn't. Guess who had every speck washed off their windshield whenever they stopped in?
I had a similar experience when I lived in an apartment building. I always tipped the super and they always knew to stop by my apartment for a cold drink on a hot day or a warm drink on a cold day. I could call for a repair at 10 P.M. and the super would be there within minutes. Other neighbors complained that they couldn't get anything fixed or that it sometimes took days for anyone to show up. Wonder why that was?

I am very disappointed in the attitude of employees such as in the above quote. To think that someone does a better job for a customer in order to expect a tip is very poor. Nurses, physicians , all health care workers, police,firefighters, as well as many other occupations are not allowed to accept tips or presents. They take care of the public without expecting any other "present" except perhaps thank you for a job well done.

[bluedog103]

Welcome to the real world. Money talks.

[Bogie Shooter]

Welcome to the real world. Money talks.

I agree.

[ugotme]

As they say - Money talks, BS walks !!!!

[Villages PL]

Someone said that mail carriers give better service to those who tip. Well, last year was the first time I ever tipped my mail carrier ($15) and this month I got two pieces of mail that didn't belong to me. It makes me wonder if some of my mail might be going to someone else.

It makes me wonder if tipping really makes a difference. Should I tip again?

[Xavier]

I probably over-tip the waiters and waitresses, if they do a good job, because they are sorely underpaid and everyone deserves to make a decent wage.

After we retired we did contracting with the Federal Government off and on for about 7 years. We weren't allowed to accept gifts - a reason for dismissal. I assume that would be true for postal contractors as well. I wouldn't want to get them in trouble.

I tip the lawn service man because he really looks out for me and tells me when things don't look right around the house when we're gone. I didn't ask him to do that, he just took it upon himself. He's even sent me pictures over the phone.

Other than that I usually don't tip someone for doing their job. Where would it end? If someone helps me out of a jam, above and beyond, you can bet he or she will get compensated.

Those are my guidelines and they've served me well.

Xavier

[EdV]

I only tip folks that provide a direct personal service. So that is restaurant staff, my barber, and the housekeepers.

[tommy steam]

Welcome to the real world. Money talks.

I agree....

[Quixote]

Whether we like it or not, tipping has become part of our way of life, associated mainly with lower-wage earners or contract workers who have minimal benefits, particularly related to their and their family’s health care. As said earlier, whether we tip $5 or $25 or another figure, based on what we can afford, it is appreciated, because with it goes the recognition on the tip receiver’s part that they are not invisible and that we appreciate what they do for us.

Agreed that tipping restaurant employees who take care of us may, in our economy, be the most important tips that we give, in light of how rotten their wages are, with threats by major corporations in this industry threatening to lower them even more if they have to provide benefits to their employees. We tip 20% to our servers, sometimes more. An extra dollar means so much more to them than to us.

However, we feel that our mail carrier and our newspaper delivery person DO “deliver a personal service,” and we tip appropriately in relation to what we can afford. Again, the amount is irrelevant. The important thing is to put a tip in with a holiday greeting, with the focus on the greeting. Yes, they are there to serve us, but this small gesture once a year shows that we recognize what they do for us.