<p>Fascinating. In the politically incorrect past, many of us would “tip” the trash collectors by leaving them a case of beer, seriously. It was pretty much a holiday tradition. They’d go up & down the street, picking up trash and cases of beer. Nowadays, haven’t seen that. Can’t remember when it stopped.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I’ve given my docs presents & sometimes I don’t (a bit irregular about that), depending on how recently I’ve seen any of them and whether I see them around the holiday season. I do tip the hairdresser, since I’ve been going to her for decades and she has her own shop (her partner recently died of cancer).</p>
<p>We have a lot of different mail carriers rather than the same one over a long period of time, so don’t feel all that much loyalty to her. We’ve had the same UPS guy for a very long time but only receive UPS deliveries very irregularly, so haven’t developed loyalty to him so that I feel any need to give him a tip.</p>
<p>Life would be much easier without tips, but I guess we learn to live with the system we have.</p>
She’s condoning an illegal action? What other rules/laws do you think she regularly skirts?</p>
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Using the mailbox for anything other than US mail is also against the rules, yes? Another rule broken!</p>
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Amen to this. Postal workers don’t need tips for doing their jobs. Were we to all have their bloated benefit plans and secure jobs! My mailman, garbage men, recyling men, mail carriers get no tips now and never will.</p>
<p>We just received a happy holidays form letter of sorts from our mailing carrier, introducing himself - apparently he’s less than a year on my route - I had no idea. Clearly, fishing for a tip - I find this unseemly, but I wonder if I don’t tip, he’ll give me less than great service for the rest of the year. Is it worth $20 to keep him happy and the mail coming?</p>
<p>If you are afraid of poor delivery if you don’t satisfy his subtle demand for money/gift, then
send the letter to the main post office anonymously. I wonder…did he use time on the job to compose and copy that letter?</p>
<p>Hmmm
I learn so much here. I always put $10 in a card in mailbox; had same man for years. He’ll write me a note, Left package by front door" etc. I guess he deserves a raise. I’ve never left beer for garbage crew, but will start a new tradition.</p>
<p>Now, if I listen to Moonchild, I’ll have to add the 'regular’s–what amount?</p>
<p>Another dilemma. I always go to cousin’s house for Hannukah, and have brought gifts for all grandkids (6) and kids. My b/f questions my generosity, as all but one earn substantially more than I do, and their kids are quite pampered.</p>
<p>The letter says in part, “My family and I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank you for your faithful patronage to the postal service as well as extend a warm wish for a safe and happy holiday season.”</p>
<p>Huh? I’ve never met the guy, and not to mention that I throw away 95% of what he delivers before I ever get back into the house. It is the post office after all. Is “patronage” to the post office really a choice?</p>
<p>I feel like this is a subtle form of extortion. I may call the main office to complain.</p>
<p>I’m sure plenty of people don’t tip the mail carrier, so I very much doubt if failing to do so will cause you to get worse service than average.</p>
<p>However, I doubt if many people complain to the main office about letters or cards from postal carriers.</p>
<p>I never considered giving our postal carrier a tip until I started a small business. Now I can simply schedule a pickup for packages I am mailing, and I can leave them on my front porch for her to pick up. That is an immense convenience to me. It saves me a considerable amount of time and expense since I do not have to drive them to the nearest post office. It is for that reason that I WANT to do something extra for my carrier. If I would shut down my business, I would not be continuing with the tip.</p>
<p>The parents in our cul-de-sac used to leave birthday party invitations and thank you notes in each other’s boxes without mailing them. Also, neighbors leave notes like, “Having a party Saturday night so expect some noise and parking issues but we’ll be considerate and end by midnight.” I don’t see how that can be illegal. After all, we paid for the box itself and it’s on our property. I suppose a mail carrier using it for something though is different.</p>
<p>I don’t tip my mail carrier. He or she (I don’t even know) drives up, puts letters in my mailbox, and drives off. Isn’t that (his or her) job? I’ve not received special service - nor is there really any special service to receive. Pick up letters, put letters in box, lather, rinse and repeat.</p>
<p>As for things like Fedex and UPS, I have to be honest - I don’t really make note of who they are enough that I’d know if we had a “regular” person assigned the same route. I sign for the package and move on with my day and I couldn’t tell you five minutes afterwards who the person was, what they looked like, if they’d been to my house before, etc. I would make a horrible crime witness, since I’m just not very observant about that type of stuff on a day to day basis.</p>
<p>It is always illegal for anyone to put ANYTHING in your mailbox other than stamped US mail by the letter carrier, so yes, putting notes in each other’s mailboxes has been illegal. I put them under the front door if I deliver things for just that reason.</p>
<p>Would NOT recommend giving beer to garbage truck, just think it’s funny that we used to do so, along with most of the neighborhood and island, as far as I know.</p>
<p>I’m going the way of NOT tipping. Would not necessarily assume that people giving a holiday card are looking for a tip though–perhaps its just being friendly and trying to introduce himself? Have not thought I’ve gotten substandard service for my many years of NOT tipping and don’t notice any difference in how people treat me in the years I give them gifts or don’t gift.</p>
<p>So happy the majority of people I know do not think like people here. You are giving Christmas gifts to people who have been important in providing necessary services. Just because they get paid to do so or receive a pension at retirement does not take away the fact that they often go above and beyond what many people would do. My mailman is so wonderful that when my kids received their snailmail acceptances he rang the bell to congratulate the family! He stops on a hot day and has an ice tea out on our porch. The men who collect our garbage have ice cold drinks waiting for them as soon as the temps are over 90 degrees. What the heck is wrong with being nice to people that are doing something for you? I don’t care if some of these people have made more than I have at times …it has nothing to do with what they earn or their benefits package. Maybe it was my upbringing but that is the way I grew up to do things around Christmas as well as throughout the year.</p>
<p>Some people stand on principal with this sort of stuff and as far as I could see most people with absolute principals usually get old and lonely.</p>
<p>But there’s nothing my mailman (woman?) has ever done that has been above and beyond. He (or she) puts the mail in my box and drives on. Which is FINE. That’s all I need or want out of him (or her). That’s all the social contract we have. I have no problems being nice to people that are doing something for me, but I don’t perceive him (or her) putting the mail in my box and driving on as “doing something nice for me.” It’s just performing the job as called for.</p>
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<p>See, that doesn’t constitute “wonderful” to me. I don’t want my mailman noticing or commenting about anything about my mail. That would feel very intrusive and I’d be put off. I’m guessing you’re an E and an F in a Myers-Briggs typology. I’m an I and a T.</p>
Isn’t there some Christmas-related story about a person like that?</p>
<p>Really, I can see both sides of this–I don’t particularly want to tip a person who performs an anonymous service–on the other hand, if somebody goes out of his way, or if he performs a service I would consider fairly odious (like delivering my newspaper at 4 in the morning), I don’t begrudge a few bucks.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t want my mail carrier to comment on things I or our family do or don’t receive. Our carriers just do their job–deliver mail addressed to us by putting it in the mailbox or at our front door if it doesn’t fit in the mailbox. That’s exactly what we want. Our UPS guy will deliver it to the family across the street (who are our friends) if we’re not home. He’s been delivering in our neighborhood for decades and knows our street well.</p>
<p>DH, lawyer, says you are technically correct but that it would only be enforced if you did something like put a snake in someone’s mailbox, or maybe a threatening letter, etc. Kids are grown now so no more birthday invites, etc. but I’d do it all over again. Sometimes you just have to live dangerously.</p>
<p>The postal service enforces the prohibition when a business tries to use mailboxes for unstamped notices of some kind. Nobody is going to enforce it for birthday invitations, notes, or anything like that.</p>
<p>This is one of the reasons that savvy campaigners and solicitors put rubber bands on their notices & attach them to doorknobs or mailboxes. I don’t believe that is technically illegal, since they don’t OPEN the mailbox.</p>
<p>Actually, it’s illegal to attache it to the mailbox, too, with some very minor exceptions. Again, it’s not something that’s likely to be enforced unless it interferes with postal delivery, or costs USPS a significant amount of money.</p>
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