To not give the postman a Christmas bung

Your postie is not responsible for the service deteriorating.

I used to, as we had the same postie for years, but we don't seem to have the same one 2 days in a row now. So no Christmas tip.

No why would I ? My DH doesn't get tipped for serving customers and why would he so why should I equally tip a postman or bin man

Some go beyond that - ours will put parcels in safe places for us to save us going to town to collect, he will wrap up stuff if raining and he generally keeps an eye on things. He is a well loved and appreciated man in our village. We give him a tip every year.

Absolutely this!

I always tipped our postman very well as he was great and really helpful. But he has moved on and we don’t seem to have a regular person now. Not that I would recognise them, we only seem to get a delivery now about once a week of all our mail. It’s terrible.

i always tip the binmen. It’s a tough job and I wouldn’t want to do it. And it’s always good to keep them on side. It makes life easier.

No one tips me or my husband and he worked throughout lock down! Think it's werid to tip the postman and hairdresser but no one else! I understand years ago when hairdressers didn't make much money, but they do now! Also back then we got the same regular post man twice a day (for 1st and 2nd class) 6 days a week! But we don't even get the same post man anymore! I actually only get mail once a week from a variety of post people. The 1st and 2nd class gets mixed together. The only people I want to tip are the bin men.They work hard outdoors, whatever the weather. Perhaps I'll place a tub of quality street on my bin for them to share?

Your poor postie is obviously working in a base that is severely understaffed and is conversely working twice as hard as the others in well staffed areas.
It's sad that people don't realise this.
NHS is the same. Staff who stay flogging themselves to death on understaffed wards get more complaints than those who move out to "easier" roles.

I read your title as Christmas bong. Was wondering wtf you were doing 😂

Because they're not just delivering post.

They're social workers, first aiders, the only people some folk see for a chat each day.

My DS is 21 and has been a postie for 4 years. He has saved 2 lives, helped an old man get a washing machine in his house, rescued fallen disabled people, put peoples bins out for them when they cant walk and liaised with police for welfare checks and countless daily stories.

All this whilst carrying a heavy bag in storms, ice, gales, floods. Plus the pay is shocking for what they do.

I always leave beer and chocolates for the bin men. If I forget to put the bins out, they put them out for me! I also give our postman a bottle of wine. We live in a rural area so it is probably more personal than living in a town.

Always give the postman £20. We live in the arse end of nowhere, house is a pain in the arse to access - he makes our life much easier and saves me having to go to the depot.

The 🎄tips to postmen, milkmen, etc. used to be called ‘Christmas boxes’ and were certainly a ‘thing’ in the 50s and 60s - as I am old enough to remember. And not just for ‘rich’ people - my folks certainly weren’t rich.

Should I expect netball teams I umpire for to give me Christmas tips? Like postmen, they pay me to be there, in my shorts, in all weathers.
(Yes, I know, they're out in the same weather!)

And aren't some people offended by receiving tips? I was reminded of this dialogue in the film of the Railway Children, when he delivers a hamper:

Peter: I'm sorry I don't have tuppence to give you, like Father does.
Perks: Just stop that, will you? I wasn't thinking about no tuppences.

I have a friend who has become a postman. He walks 15 miles a day! I had no ideas it was that much. He brings up the Evri parcels thrown at bottom of steps for older customer. I think a post person coming to your door is part of our community fabric that we are undermining even though I use inpost etc. lockers myself. I don't know my post person as never in when it arrives but having a friend in the role has made me think about it more and I would tip if I knew them.

If the binmen left our bin anywhere near our house after they emptied it they might have gotten a tip!

Our bins our collected from a communal area. I'll leave their tip in an envelope on my bin. I am pretty sure they will not remember year on year if I do or don't leave a tip.
With our old postman he may have remembered that I always gave him a fiver in a card each year, but I'm sure didn't think anything of it if I didn't do so.

I never give anything to any delivery person, or the bin men. Once you start you can't stop, and it will be expected, then you'll be ill-thought of if you try and stop it.

Also, whilst risking sounding like a dickhead, I would rather give nothing than give five pounds. I can't think of anything you could buy with it. Couldn't even get a pint of beer or a glass of wine in the pubs around here for a fiver! 😬

My postwoman will get £20 , I see it as a Christmas gift rather than a 'tip'.
She really is so pleasant and helpful . The bin men change every week so nothing for them .

Agree. The whole tipping culture is dumb.

taxi drivers expect tips despite often earning more than a bus driver who doesn’t get tips.

waiters expect tips, but a cashier at Tesco doesn’t.

they’re all pretty comparable jobs, why should some get extra money that’s essentially “begged” from customers?

I’ve always found it bizarre.

The milkman, I'd forgotten that! Yes, he always got a tip too.

In the old days certain professions were tipped because their wage was very low, this was before the minimum wage which gives an equal wage to all low paid professions so why would you tip some and not others.

It really has. A quick Google will take you to Hansard from over 40 years ago and a debate on how posties' tips/gifts (or Christmas boxes as they used to be called) should be treated by the Inland Revenue.

I can remember my mum tipping her hairdresser in the late 60s. And my postie friend (who I've known since we were teenagers in the 70s), has always received tips and gifts. It's not American and it's not from the last 20 years.