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

AHHH! I didn't realize that.

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

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.

Welcome to the real world. Money talks.

I agree.

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

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?

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

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

I agree....

More on tipping
 

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.