How much to tip Mailman and Sanitation for Christmas?

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George C

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It's that time of year again. It's my first year owning a house and I was thinking how much to tip the mailman and sanitation guys. I was thinking $25 for the mailman and $100 for sanitation (there are 3 guys). How does that sound and how much does everyone else give? I live in NY if that matters.



George
 
DO you get tipped for doing your job????

I know I sure as heck don't, Why should I tip some one that is doing their job, High paying job, with good benefits and a HUGE retirement plan, ( at least in NY )



NOW, IF the sanitation workers take everything you throw out, no questions asked, then I agree a tip Is good...

I allways give them Water in the summer if i see them.



I gave my mail man 10 bucks and the sanitation guys 20 each and a Bottle of Pit bull hot sauce !! ( shameless plug !!! )

Todd Z
 
The mailman is a federal worker with a big fat federal pension in his future. He makes more than me!!!



The sanitation guy throws his cigarette butts in my driveway and often drops trash in my yard.



NO TIPS FOR THESE GUYS!
 
I've never met either, but I see the milkman's daughter every morning. If I ever find that guy... j/k lol



In all seriousness, I've never considered tipping either. The mailman doesn't even come to my house. He goes to a community mailbox unit a block from my house, where all 80 homeowners are required to pick up mail.



The trashman stays in his truck as he picks up the trash can with a big hydralic arm. I've never seen or spoken to him, since he comes while I am at work, as does the mailman.



I don't receive the newspaper, but if I did, I would probably tip him, since I know that job sucks (my dad used to run a route when I was a kid). My brother and I also used to deliver a weekly paper called "Grit" along with the TV Guide when we were kids.



My mom and dad used to also get milk delivered to our house. We had an insulated box on the porch and the milkman would place glass bottles of milk in it so they would stay cold. The last place I saw milk delivered was in Colorado Spings in the early 1990's.



Tipping these delivery people is a nice gesture, and I am sure it is appreciated, but unexpected. Most people now never meet the people that add convenience to their lives, because both parents normally work these days.



This thread brought back a lot of good memories of simpler times. :D
 
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Hey now!! I'm a Postie!!!!!!



I dont expect anything for a tip.. Usually what i get is cards, chocolate or alcohol. I do NOT like taking money for a tip.. i will return it as i get paid insane money to do my job as it is...



If you wanna tip.. Throw them a card and thank them for their work. Other then that i think its stupid... but to each their own.
 
I think tipping like this only happens in New York. I have a New York neighbor here in Florida and he tells me no matter who comes out to the house gets a tip. Cable tv guy, phone guy, mailman, trash guy. He asked me how much to tip these guys down here and I said no. They get regular salaries, not reduced salaries. Only service people get tipped down here and their salaries are adjusted for this, waiter, bartender, hotel etc.
 
Coming from NY (born and raised in central NY), then transplanted downstate for 10 years living in Westchester County and working in NYC I can say that tipping is a very nice thing to do and is does seem to be somewhat expected, especially the further towards the city you live.



My Mom always gave a gift to the mail man (bottle of Scotch), the trash men ($10 each) around Christmas (I am 39 yo, so add inflation). When I lived in Westchester CO 8 years ago we tipped our mail person $25 each year, the trash guys $20 each and the paper boy (a man actually) $15.



And that was it for a total of $100 each year for us....I didn't gift tip anyone else, and there were several that could be gift tipped in this way.



I always thought of it as good will as well as an investment. The mail always got delivered, we never had anything lost, the garbage was always picked up, with nothing dropped, and the cans never left in the street. Sure, some may say those things should be expected, but in this day and age, they aren't. And my time is worth more than $100 to complain to superiors, especially if you figure out the agitation factor. And, it made me feel good giving these gifts.



Oh, I live near Philly now and gift-tip NO ONE!



TJR
 
Tipping is not wrong but you guys in the big cities are getting takin for a ride by your civil servants. LOL Tell me the post office doesn't have a rule against excepting monetary tips. Any postman comment on this. I am a licensed insurance adjuster by the state of Florida. If I accepted a $1.00 tip I could have my license revoked and loose a very nice yearly salary. Some professions of course should be tipped. Not the cable guy. LOL
 
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I think you should tip people in service industries-- Hairdressers, dog groomers, carpet cleaners, landscapers, music teachers, seamstress, auto detailers, etc... all the people that do a wonderful job for you all year long and go out of their way to keep your business. They know good and well that you can choose to go elsewhere to spend your money. I think [/i]"IAIN"[/i] is right, a nice card or candy is really all the thanks the postal carrier wants/expects. My neighbor, that is a retired mail carrier, was required to return large "tips". He got in big trouble if he accepted them. If I happen to see my sanitation guys, I also offer them water or a soda, I always wave and say thank you. Most of the time they come when I am at work.



Kristi
 
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I am very much in agreement with you, Kristi.(Very well said, by the way.) I think those in the service industry who go out of their way to give that little bit extra should be thanked for their effort by giving them a little bit extra. I tip the lady who cuts my hair, skycaps and bellmen. I try to pay attention to the service I receive at restaurants. I don't hold back a tip if the food's not great, as the waiter/waitress didn't prepare it. I also don't short the wait staff If I use a coupon, but tip based on the total bill before the discount. Most of the time if the service is good, I'll just tip the amount of the coupon. I get good service at the places I frequent.
 
Tipping the mailman and garbage man? You serious? They chose their profession and get paid well for it.



The day I get tips for doing my job will be the day I'd reconsider giving them one.
 
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I like our sanitation guys where I live now. They happen to be the ones that actually do their jobs right, and I've lived in all parts of the city. They pick up the trash without leaving more on the ground. They put my lids back on the can and set it aside. Now mind you, that's RARE in the city of Philadelphia. They usually come during the day on Fridays, so during the Holidays, I would tape an envelope under our lid with $30 in it and a card; there are three of them I think, I never really see them.



As for the mailman/woman (again, never really met them), I leave an envelope taped under my mail slot with a $10 gift card to Target, at least there you can get anything.



Now even though I never met them, they are out there doing their job. If they didn't, my life would suck. No Christmas cards from my family, heaps of trash in front of my house. Tipping them is a way to show them I appreciate what they are doing for me and my family even though I never met them. I get satisfaction doing my job without the need of a tip. That's because I am in the unique position of liking what I do for a living. Imagine picking up the crap of others, wouldn't you like a thank you here and there, even if it's only once a year?



But then again... to each their own.:D
 
I vowed not to tip the trash guy this year this past summer when he was emptying the recycling into the truck and a wine bottle fell out and broke on the street. He tossed the bin back into my driveway, looked at me (who was standing in the garage), and then drove on down the street, running over the bottle in the process. Tipping is for those that go above and beyond, so when I had to find a shovel and broom to sweep up the, now very small, glass pieces, I was earning his tip.



Probably use the money to buy something else for my ST.;)
 
I don't tip either...



Why?



Our neighborhood has those big mail boxes that have 25 residents for each box. Our mail person? I can count on at least one piece of mail not being mine as well as one piece he put in someone elses box that was mine.



Trash guys - exactly as Gavin said. Cigarette butts in the driveway left over trash in the street. Half the time our trash bins are in the neighbors driveway instead of ours.



 
I agree with most of the above. Those are not "tipping" professions. If your going to tip them then why not tip your firefighters and police? LOL. 26 years in the fire service and I never got a tip. Some people do bring us cookies and other edibles at this time of the year though, which we totally enjoy. The fastest way to a fireman's heart is through his stomach.
 
When I was a kid I remember my grandparents were on a first name basis with the mailman. Every year they would give him a bottle of scotch. Nowadays I don't know if I have a mailman, mailwoman maildog etc. I live in a condo with one of those centralized mailstops so I've never even seen our mailperson. If it was like it used to be with the mailman walking from house to house, up on your front steps to put mail in your mailbox then I would definitely tip the person but not with it being the way it is now

 
I think those that disagree that mail and sanitation person are "tipping profession" are looking at this slightly skewed.



It's not a tip like you give a waitress but a holiday gift; a gift-tip if you will, but more gift then tip. And, like all gifts, they are given as a form of appreciation and with a willing heart. If you don't want to give them, then by all means don't. But it is QUITE common to give these professions gifts during the holidays.



How many of you give your children's school teachers gifts?



We do!



And our pastor, too!



TJR
 
Definitely no monetary tips for mailpersons, garbage collectors, newspaper deliverers, etc. If you think they do a good job and want to thank them, give them some homemade bake goods--it shows that you appreciate them enough to put some heart and effort into it. Cash just says you put enough effort to reach for your wallet.



I'll tip restaurant waiters/waitresses, bartenders, hair stylists, and certain hotel personnel, but that's about it.



I also think it's a little ridiculous that the amount of a tip for a waiter/waitress is based on the cost of the meal. If a waitress at a $4/plate greasy spoon does the same amount of work for you and gives the same quality of service to you as someone at a $40/plate steakhouse, why should one get ten times as much tip as the other? They both did equal amount and quality of work, they both deserve equal amounts of tip.
 

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