To Tip or not to Tip?

lostinrates

Postman yes....he's excellent,leaves packages and takes post too. Bin men...no. they ''forgot''my rubbish for 17 weeks in a row last year, even after siteeetings with them and the boss of the council's contractors here twice, and now havent brought my new bin and won't take the old coloured ones or bin bags....so I effectively have nowaste service.

Maybe if I left a tip they'd collect the rubbish though...........

Cat501

I don't know why but it's never even occurred to me to tip the postman, he's really good though so I think I will give him a fiver this year.

The binmen wake me up far too early with their shouting and whistling, and don't put the bins back properly sometimes (we have communal bins, so they're supposed to) so I don't think I'll tip them:D

Age range - almost at the new 30:D

Bronnie

I think tipping a few pounds in cash is much preferable to tipping with cakes or biscuits if you can afford it for binmen/posties particularly. It's not thought of in terms of "only a fiver" but as a token gift and nice gesture. Added together with similar gifts from other customers it can contribute to quite a decent Christmas Box.

Age: old enough to know better ;-)

laurenweird

Well decided spur of the moment to tip the postie today! As I thought would happen I heard the letters and rushed to the door and opened it and shouted out "WAIT!" The postwoman had a look of pure shock on her face as ran back inside to get my purse. As I came back out I told her "Oh, I just wanted to give you a tip" and a big smile spread across her face (partially from relief, she thought something was wrong!) Sadly I only had £3 (I thought I had a note I could give) but she was so pleased with it! I imagine she musn't get tips very often as she seemed genuinally shocked. Next time I'm going to be definitely more aware about it.

Oh, and I am 23 by the way.

Seakay

Age 49

My Mum used to give presents to the milkman, dustman and postman on the nearest day to Boxing Day that she saw them (Boxing Day being the traditional day to reward those who worked for you, some servants had this day off to visit families having worked Christmas Day http://homepages.tesco.net/~derek.berger/holidays/boxingday.html)
but this was when we lived in a village and the dustman came and collected the full bins from near the back door and returned them empty, and the milkman and the postman looked out for you etc. This was the late sixties and early seventies I suppose. Even then it was becoming obvious that everyone would rather have cash than a gift, and as people gradually changed to doing the minimum required Mum stopped and I never started when I had my own place.
Where I live now there seems to be a policy to move postmen around so that we hardly have the same one two weeks in a row, and the dustman turn up anytime between 6am and 7pm to do the various collections, and are generally don't botherl about clearing up whatever they spill and returning bins to the correct gate.
The thing that really puzzles me is the number of parents who seem to feel blackmailed into giving presents as well as cards to their children's teachers, both in junior and senior school. I have several friends who are teachers and while they appreciate the thoughts and the cards, they don't really have the room or the need for dozens of nik naks, sweets, cakes etc.

greenbee

warehouse wrote: »

The whole point of tipping is if you receive a service over and above what you'd expect

Exactly ... So for those who do, a tip or a gift is a great idea. I don't have the same bin men every time, so won't tip them. I have a regular postie so if he turns up when I'm in before Christmas he may get some home made fudge or biscuits - but if it's one of the others who only comes round occasionally he won't.

My parents tip their postman, because he feeds the cat when they're away as well as picking up post, saving them a three mile trip to the post office.

horsechestnut

I have a regular Postman, so I put £5 in a Christmas Card. That way it is more of a "Gift" than a tip.
Years ago I used to tip the Binmen, but nowadays they just throw the bin wherever they fancy; and hunt your bin in the rain isn't much fun!

ubamother

Our bin men are genuinely helpful and jolly, and use their brains rather than rules when it comes to wheelie bins facing the wrong way or overfull, and I have tipped them £20 to share between four for years. Used to tip our postman when we had a regular one, but don't now as we seem to have a different postie each week. Since our local tip was privatised, they changed the working hours, so the lovely helpful staff have to stay until quite late on Christmas Eve which personally I find disgraceful, so ever since my husband and I have taken down some bottles of beer to the lads on Christmas Eve afternoon. Milkman is a friend so don't tip him. I tip those who I consider are doing services over and above the call of duty, or requirements of their employer. I am forty-four. If you want to tip but feel its awkward, stick the money in a Christmas card so there is no direct handing over of cash. Even better, give the Christmas card with tip inside to a child if one is easily available and get them to hand it to recipient with a winsome Christmas smile!

ragz_2

Seakay wrote: »

Age 49


The thing that really puzzles me is the number of parents who seem to feel blackmailed into giving presents as well as cards to their children's teachers, both in junior and senior school. I have several friends who are teachers and while they appreciate the thoughts and the cards, they don't really have the room or the need for dozens of nik naks, sweets, cakes etc.

Thank you! I said the exact thing to my SIL but she said 'Oh no they they love it' and kind of made me feel like I had to buy them all gifts, so this year I made biscuits. The school does a cash collection for them in the playground but that's optional (the biscuits only cost a few quid to make but I'd have to fork out a decent amount for my several kids' worth of teachers in cash!). My youngest's class has 2 teachers PT and a TA, eldest has teacher and a TA (where do they all come from?!)
The teachers do all give the kids a little chocolate and a card though... but next year I think I'll just give a card. It was so stressful deciding what to give, how much, whether to do the cash thing...

Just waiting for DH to get home so I can see if he has a fiver, don't want to hand the postie a card full of coins!

As we're playing the age game, I'm 26...

lolly5648

I looked at a previous thread but it is out of date so I wondered how much to give:

the paper boy who comes early and is very quiet

the postman who finds a neighbour to give parcels to so I don't have to collect

my cleaner - she comes once a fortnight

I feel they all give an extra service above what they are paid to do