Talk of The Villages Florida - Tipping for Christmas

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Tipping for Christmas (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/tipping-christmas-313707/)

Tipping for Christmas

I give $20 each to our mailman, newspaper deliverer and hairdresser.

Quote:

Originally Posted by photo1902 (Post 1869959)

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t the workers at our local postal stations contract workers, not USPS employees? If so, the rules posted earlier are moot. And to the person who posted that they are well paid...well, I think that’s debatable

Correct. The Federal gratuity rules only apply to official Government employees, not USPS contract employees. Most workers at the postal stations are contract workers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by J1ceasar (Post 1869905)

Here ya go
Mail service $10-20
Hair dressers for ladies 20-50
Barbers $10-20
Lawn guys $ 20
Ups / fedex if slot of delivery's $10
Remember if you can't afford it . At least give out boxes of cookies in or chocolate even easier are restaurants gift cards from burger king denny's or whatever. Don't forget h.o.a. or gifting servers at restaurants you go to every week ! Even dollar store items are appreciated .

This may sound hard but I do not tip mail delivery people. These people make a decent living, have excellent health care and have better pensions than I have any the same goes for Fed X and UPS drivers. I do not tip my barber at Christmas as I tip him $4-5 every time I go which is about every three weeks. I do tip the paper delivery person $20 because they do not make a lot of money. I always tip at restaurants 20% if the service is good but will consider cutting this back somewhat if an when the minimum wage goes to $15 an hour for them. This tipping thing has gotten out of hand when in many stores there is a tip jar at the counter which I do not contribute to. I do not tip my lawn service guy. I pay him $900 a year to cut a very small yard where he is in and out in 5 minutes so I think he is adequately compensated. When you break it down he comes every week for 9 months and every other week for three months in winter. This equals about 42 visits a year at 5 minutes a visit. If you do the math he spends about 3.5 hours a year at my house which equates to $257 an hour more than my lawyer charges. Why would I tip him. All as I’m saying is that you need to look at a lot of these situations and in many of them there is no need for a tip. I worked as a sales person for over 35 years doing a service for my customers. I never received a tip nor did I expect one. My employer compensated me for my performance and that was good enough.

If you followed God's instruction you'd know.

Give as decided in your heart, God loves a cheerful giver.

For with the measure you use, it will be given back to you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by berbet (Post 1869786)

How much do you tip at Christmas for services such as lawn mowing, yard maintenance, housekeeping, paper delivery?

Nothing. I’ve never seen my lawn mowers, yard maintenance people, or whoever delivers the paper. I do see the guy who cleans the pool. I pay him almost $2,000 a year! I do my own house cleaning. All these people are paid by check or online. Sending them a tip would just go to their boss.

However, when I go to a restaurant, I’ve been tipping at least $10, always, which last night came to 40% of the check. Those waitresses really need the money. Some people I know leave 10%, or even less.

We've been tipping waiters and waitresses 20% always but since pandemic an extra $10 over that. We tip lawn crew $100 to crew leader to split with group as he sees fit. Hairdresser $50. manicure $50. Mail ??? contractor or gov employee, we don't know so $0 Trash guys don't know if they're same guys every week or not ????, so $0. Newspaper delivery $100 this person always here 365 days of year and deserves it.

The newspaper guy, the one that picks it up off the drive and brings it in the house, $100.

Quote:

Originally Posted by berbet (Post 1869786)

How much do you tip at Christmas for services such as lawn mowing, yard maintenance, housekeeping, paper delivery?

In the end, asking for suggestions really defeats the purpose of a gift from the heart. Otherwise, it's more like the artificial "tipping" in those kinds of restaurants where it is actually just another part of the mandatory charge.... they add it to the bill. Do what you are feeling within your heart. Do you have a special appreciation for someone who cleans your house ? You may not even be able to afford it, but you have a deep feeling that person needs the money and would appreciate it greatly, so you gift them $200 when $50 gift is considered "standard", and so on.... you've probably seen stories on the news where some "ordinary" person left a server a $500 tip for a sandwich and coffee because their heart just led them to do this for this person. Got with your heart on each gift.... it will be so much more satisfying for you and EVERYTHING will be appreciated make no mistake about that !

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie1 (Post 1869940)

we usually give gift cards each year. Mainly because some companies (I worked for a couple) have rules regarding cash gifts and the size of gifts employees can accept. I am copying an article on the US Postal service explanation of THEIR rules for your info.

"According to the Postal Service, federal regulations allow all postal employees—including carriers—to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as a holiday or a birthday. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, may never be accepted in any amount. In addition, no USPS employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from one customer in a calendar year period.

If you decide to ignore the rule when you give, your mail carrier must reimburse you for the cost of any gifts exceeding the $20 limit, or for gifts where the value of the item cannot be easily determined. This is done in two ways: either by returning the gift itself or by sending financial reimbursement.

Here's an example of the second option: If you were to give your mail carrier a bouquet of flowers worth more than $20, they would then have to figure out the actual value and send you a reimbursement for the full value. Your intentions may have been kind, but now your mailman has to make an extra effort to research the cost of your gift and then pay you the full amount out of their own pocket. That doesn't seem like much of a gift, does it? That's why it's important to understand—and follow—the rules of gifts for postal workers.

Unacceptable Gifts for Postal Workers
Postal workers are prohibited from accepting the following items:

Cash
Checks
Stocks
Liquor
Anything that can be exchanged for cash
Anything of monetary value more than $20
Acceptable Gifts for Postal Workers
Some acceptable gifts for your mail delivery person include:

Modest refreshments such as coffee, doughnuts, cookies, or soda
Plaques, trophies, and other items intended for presentation
Perishable items such as food, candy, fruit, or flowers, so long as they are to be shared with other postal workers
Retail gifts cards with a value of less than $20 that cannot be converted to cash"

I have always been under the impression our postal station employees actually have nothing to do with the USPS, government, pensions, or anything associated. Have I misunderstood ? I "think" I remember an actual post office employee at the large P.O. in Leesburg telling me that years ago; I had some kind of mail mix up and when they found out it was The Villages they said those employees have no connection to the USPS ! ? Wonder which is the real story ? I have always given the person at ours a lot more than $20, usually a Dunkin' or Starbucks coffee card, a Publix card, and a gasoline card (because she uses her own car, no USPS vehicle to pick up mail).

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie1 (Post 1869940)

Folks that sort our mail are contract workers.....not USPS employees.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pairadocs (Post 1870049)

It is not correct that the postal station people have no connection with the USPS. They are USPS contractor employees. They are not official Government employees, but they are hired by the Federal Government. You can google USPS contractors and see approximately how much they make and their benefits. They make approximately the same hourly wage, but the main difference between Government employees and contractors is their benefits and job security. Regarding tipping, contract employees are not restricted in the amount of tips they can receive, but Government employees are restricted.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miriam2940 (Post 1869920)

Scrooge. These people get paid minimum wage and restaurant servers exist on tips. We are in the middle of a pandemic where everyone is hurting. Please tip.

Average Garbage Man Hourly Pay at Waste Management, Inc.
$18.38

Quote:

Originally Posted by photo1902 (Post 1869959)

Maybe that’s why it takes me a week and a half to two weeks to get a letter sent from New Hampshire if I get it at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by photo1902 (Post 1869959)

They make about $20 per hour.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gray lady of the sea (Post 1869958)

Don’t forget our garbage collectors that work so hard. I’m giving each of the 3 men on the truck $25
As others have said - whatever your budget allows will be appreciated

I looked up the “sanitation worker” job listing for Jacobs. They offer $20,000 to $32,000 for the job. Try raising a family on that this day and age. I plan to try to catch them and give them $20 apiece. Same for the lawn crew.