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Original poster

To have no clue about tipping the postman!

103 replies

Izzy82 · 19/12/2014 17:00

Is this the done thing? I heard a woman in the post office today saying she tipped her postman and her bin man! I've never in my life tipped the postman, in fact, up until a few months ago I had never even laid eyes on him. but I'm on maternity leave now and have done all my christmas and baby shopping on line so speak to him regularly. Today he delivered my post, saw I wasn't in so came back an hour later with my packages. Bless him!
So, are you tipping your postman and if so, how much?
Xxx

OP posts:
GemmaTeller · 19/12/2014 17:05

Yes, we tip the postman (£10 and a big bar of chocolate).
We speak to him nearly every day, he knows where to put my parcels if we are out, if he sees us walking the dogs and has stuff for us he always stops and checks with us plus he makes a fuss of the dogs.

I also give the ladies in the post office a big tin of posh biscuits as I run my own business and go every day with about 20 packages.

DreamingDiva13 · 19/12/2014 17:07

I give £5 in a card for postman and buy a box of biscuits for the binmen to have with their cuppa tea.

steff13 · 19/12/2014 17:08

It is here in the US, but I think we have more of a "tipping culture" than you do in the UK. I gave my mailman a Christmas card yesterday with a $15 Subway giftcard in it.

I don't tip the garbage men; I don't know them, and honestly I'm not really sure how to go about it. They pick up at about 6am on Mondays, I am usually in bed until 7, and I don't feel right sticking a card on the outside of the garbage cans.

hackmum · 19/12/2014 17:11

Yes, we tip our postie £10 every Christmas. He's really nice.

Original poster
Izzy82 · 19/12/2014 17:15

Thank you. I'll make sure I tip him next time I see him
Xxx

OP posts:
HeraldAngelSinging · 19/12/2014 17:16

I thought that tipping a postman was a thing of the past because I tried to tip ours one year and he said that he had to decline because they're not allowed to accept tips.

Sorry for the long sentence but it's all there.

landrover · 19/12/2014 17:17

We usually leave postie and window cleaner bottle of wine, paper boys get cash in envelope x

PortofinoVino · 19/12/2014 17:29

I tip the Postman at Christmas - either a box of biccies or a bottle wine. He's good, is our Postman.........and I intend to keep him that way Grin

TwoAndTwoEqualsChaos · 19/12/2014 17:29

We pop a fiver in a card and tape it to the letterbox: it's never gone AWOL yet! He does a great job and is really helpful.

Hatespiders · 19/12/2014 17:55

We put £5 in a card for the postman, window cleaner and the binmen. (We also give the binmen 4 cans of beer!) We'd like it to be more but we're on a tight budget. Some people in my Ladies Group don't believe in it. I reckon that's mean. Our binmen have very willingly taken away an old rusty ironing board and and long bit of pipe which they aren't supposed to. Our postie always tries to find a neighbour to take in our parcels and the window cleaner does our conservatory and utility room windows as well as the 'normal' windows. We really appreciate their work.

Redglitter · 19/12/2014 17:57

I seem to be in the minority I don't tip anyone Smile

Steben · 19/12/2014 17:58

I tipped mine today for first time ever - he is great and I get lots of parcels. I put a fiver in card and stalked him this morning to hand it over Grin

starfishmummy · 19/12/2014 18:00

We seem to have a different postman every few days. So no.

lilacunicorn · 19/12/2014 18:06

Always tip the postman because he signs for our parcels & leaves them for us which saves us a 10mile round trip to the barely open depot, & he's smiley & friendly.
Usually a box of biscs, chocs, or bottle of wine- change it every year because I'm not sure what he likes but I know he has a wife & kids so figure those are all pretty safe options between the 4 of them.

Cabrinha · 19/12/2014 18:12

Hatespiders, I neeeed to know what a Ladies Group is!

JennieR60 · 19/12/2014 18:14

I don't tip anyone either. Tbh I don't know our postman or binmen.

Hobby2014 · 19/12/2014 18:18

Mines different all the time, and there's no outstanding service from anyone so I don't. Confused

Isn't it weird that postman / bin-man (or women), waiters etc, get a tip from people for doing their job, no extra, but say a shop assistant who really helps, say tracks down a hard to buy item and reserves it or gets it sent to their store or the customers home or whatever they don't get anything.

Why do we tip who we tip and not tip who we don't tip, iykwim?

AlpacaLypse · 19/12/2014 18:19

We never seem to get the same postie or binmen twice. However I will be giving my lovely neighbour (who has a shop downstairs) a bottle of wine and box of chocolates as thankyou for all the parcels she's taken in.

TalkinPeace · 19/12/2014 18:21

My tip to my postman is : turn up before 4pm please and deliver my post to my house.

My tip to my bin men is : empty the effing bins when I leave them at the boundary as per the rules

Years ago we had the best ever postie who went the extra mile for everybody in the area and looked out for the vulnerable.
We always got him a box of chocs and a token for his kids - as he was not allowed to accept cash.
but he was a Union activist and shunted out to be replaced by twonks

We had one nice recent postie and I let him stash his bike on my drive while he does local deliveries

LittleDonkeyLeftie · 19/12/2014 18:22

I tip my window cleaners but don't have a regular postie any more so wouldn't tip them.

My rubbish has to be left out a long way from my house on a road where anyone could take money that was left, so unless I manage to get up at 5am they won't get anything either!!

Hairdresser gets a big tip at Christmas too.

effinandjeffin · 19/12/2014 18:24

I wouldn't tip the postman/woman because we have a different one everyday. I definitely wouldn't tip the parcelforce guy, because when we moved he'd been glad at first because he thought we'd moved out of the area and wouldn't have to deliver to us anymore. I should add, we don't have an excessive amount of stuff delivered, no angry pets and we're always polite. So he was just moaning about having to do his job. Yeah, fuck off on that one.

Don't tip the bin men coz I don't know them and don't, in any case, think they particularly go out of their way. My mum used to, in the days when the bin men used to come and collect the bin from down the side of your house and then return it. Fancy that!

Glad this thread has come up though, coz I just tipped the window cleaner and wasn't sure if it was the done thing anymore.

SaucyJack · 19/12/2014 18:33

I've never tipped nor will I.

They deliver post/collect rubbish because that's their job that they're being paid to do. It's not a personal favour to me, ergo I don't see the need to give them a personal thanks.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 19/12/2014 18:45

I tip our posties. They are both absolutely lovely and helpful. I used to tip our old ParcelForce courier too, before, as he was also lovely and always waved if he saw me out and about. Once a parcel due for us was incorrectly addressed and he recognised it was for us and delivered it, otherwise it would have been returned to sender. I phoned the depot to praise him, but he never received that feedback, which I was annoyed about. Unfortunately, he doesn't work for them any longer. I really miss him. Xmas Sad
Used to tip our bin men - the old ones would jump over our gate to get to the bin if I occasionally forgot to put it out. The new ones forget to empty it even when it is on the boundary, and refuse to come back. They do not get a tip any more! Xmas Angry
I've got a Waitrose delivery due on 21 Dec - should I tip that driver, I wonder? Depends how helpful he/she is, I suppose. I probably will, because it is Christmas, after all. Xmas Smile

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 19/12/2014 18:47

Oh, I also tip the window cleaner too, as he sometimes does the inside of the patio doors for me at no extra charge, if they look a bit grubby.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 19/12/2014 18:52

Oh, Merry Christmas, SaucyJack
Sometimes, people go over and above what their jobs require.

My own DH does it too. He is a TV and Satellite person, but has often found himself popping to the shops or doing a couple of extra bits and bobs for customers (he's cleaned gutters and moved plant pots around, for instance) for a customer who might be housebound and can't move around very easily, just because he's a lovely person. He doesn't expect a tip for it, he does it to be helpful, all year round.