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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you give the postman/bin men a Christmas present/tip?

134 replies

SofaCushion · 09/12/2019 11:35

Just wondered if you give your postman or bin men a Christmas present or tip? I mentioned popping out to buy tins of biscuits (nice chocolate ones) at lunchtime and one of my colleagues just asked me why I’d give anything to them...

We moved in end of last year, so wanted to thank the postman, as he’s always the same guy and happy and smiley when he delivers. Although the bin men always block our drive with our bins (they always put the neighbours’ bins back nicely though). I think cos the old vendor was an arsehole, so maybe they didn’t like him. Maybe a gift will get the bin shifted properly 😂

Thoughts? Maybe biscuits isn’t the right idea? Anyone else got a better suggestion?

OP posts:
AnneLovesGilbert · 09/12/2019 22:14

I tip people who go above and beyond. At the moment they’re my postie who signs for stuff for so as he knows the baby is usually napping when he comes round, the bin men who have taken my bin from the front garden (behind a hedge) if I’ve forgotten to put it out, and my hairdresser who’ll give me a walk-in fringe trim if I happen to be nearby (they don’t charge for that but I don’t get a proper cut very often so I always tip a fiver, so worth it). Yes they’re all paid to do a job but they make my life easier with kindness which goes beyond their paid for responsibility and that’s worth more something to me.

RaininSummer · 09/12/2019 22:17

No. They get paid way better than I do and in almost 40 years of work I have never received a tip for doing my job. The practice seems very old fashioned to me and reminds if a rich man in his castle and poor man at the gate receiving alms.

rhubarbcrumbles · 09/12/2019 22:19

No, we have a different postman/woman each day. No to the bin men as they aren't very helpful. Our neighbour has alzheimers and I put her bin out for her, I asked the bin men to put it back by her gate for her when they had emptied it as I was going to be out and they refused. She's unsteady on her feet and trips over easily so can't do it herself.

TriciaH87 · 09/12/2019 22:25

No chance I worked in retail for 15 years. No one ever tips the person in the shop because their doing their job so why would I tip the binmen or postie who's on a better pay rate.

TheOliphantintheRoom · 09/12/2019 22:33

yep, you’re clearly better than everyone who tips. Well done

Eh?

Toddlerteaplease · 09/12/2019 22:49

No. Didn't know it was even a thing. Besides my recycling bin is not getting emptied when it's supposed to be!

AnneTwackie · 09/12/2019 23:04

I am this year. I wonder if my postie would be pissed off if he had to lug a bottle of wine round the rest of his round though?

Alte · 09/12/2019 23:08

I wouldn't, but DH and I are hardly ever in when they come anyway, and when we are we don't see them. If you see them, talk to them etc. and it's always the same person then maybe, but at the end of the day they're just doing their job.

MitziK · 09/12/2019 23:08

Christ, no - they earn more than the pair of us put together.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/12/2019 23:12

Yes I tip the postie, they're really great at hiding parcels or leaving them with neighbours. The sorting office is miles away and it saves me going. I give them £20 in an envelope. Nothing to the bin men as they don't do anything ,they barely do the job they're employed to let alone anything extra round here.

FastAway · 09/12/2019 23:14

Case of beer for the binpeople.

Nothing for postie, it’s a different one every day.

AuntSpiker · 09/12/2019 23:16

I've noticed that all the people that don't tip have bad service and all the people that do have good service
I tip those who have given me good service, but not those who haven't. So our postman, the Hermes man (who is ace, thank you Darren) and or lovely window cleaner all get a bottle of something. The bin men, who leave the bins scattered across the parking bays and won't take anything extra and refuse to empty any bins where the lid isn't tightly shut, won't be getting anything.

Sunflower20 · 09/12/2019 23:18

No I wouldn’t, it just feels weird. They’re just doing their job and might get offended by the gesture.

colouringinpro · 09/12/2019 23:22

No, never occurred to me. If you do, does that mean you tip shop assistants, nurses, anyone else? Feels a little Downton Abbey iykwim, though I'm sure it's just done out of kindness.

lifeisgoodagain · 09/12/2019 23:23

No, there's different people every time here

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 09/12/2019 23:27

No I wouldn’t, it just feels weird. They’re just doing their job and might get offended by the gesture

I can almost guarantee there will be no postie or binman that would EVER be offended by a Christmas tip Grin

DecemberSnow · 09/12/2019 23:51

No-one would be offended by getting a tip.

We have the same postman every day...
We live in a village in the country, so those asking how they carry things in their bags, they dont, they have the van with them.

I didnt tip anyone when i lived in London as it was a different post person every day, and you would never see the same shopping delivery guy, but out here in the country , same postie, same couple of Tesco guys, so we tip them....

WotchaTalkinBoutWillis · 09/12/2019 23:55

I've voted YABU as tipping in the UK is a ridiculous and outdated tradition when everybody gets paid equally minimum wage wise.
Why are some deemed "worthy" of a few pennies for a job well done thrown their way or a box of sweeties but not others?
America if it's part of their wage fair enough but it's not here.

Blowandgo · 09/12/2019 23:55

I pay over 300 euro a year for bins so nope. Never met the postman as im out at work myself, have a no junkmail sign up and get parcels delivered to the office and online bills.

Freesunglasses · 10/12/2019 07:36

@Sunflower20 I can assure you as a cleaner who receives the odd tip, I am never offended!

MustardScreams · 10/12/2019 07:41

Because minimum wage hasn’t increased with inflation, and so you can be working poor. People can work full time and still not afford anything nice at Christmas.

An extra tenner here and there won’t leave me destitute, but may give someone enough to buy themselves something over the Xmas period. It’s not hard to understand.

sashh · 10/12/2019 07:44

I don't but I have been known to give alcohol free beer to the binmen in summer. They sat in my front garden and seemed to enjoy it.

I'm disabled so they have to collect my bins from the back and return them.

DtPeabodysLoosePants · 10/12/2019 07:57

The only tip I'd give them is to not bend my post and to put the bins back near my house. I've had three bent books that are presents and every week I have to search for my bins.

Sweetdreamer93 · 10/12/2019 08:07

We tip our postie and others £25 each.

Whether you do or don’t is fine.

ShadyFP · 10/12/2019 08:35

I can understand tipping people who go above and beyond (we had a postie once who signed for our stuff when we weren’t in, and would try and pop round at times she knew we were in) but I can’t really get behind tipping people for just doing their jobs. No one tips my DH in retail, even if he goes above and beyond talking to someone for ages to find them the best deal. I work in the NHS on a decent wage, but I work with people earning less than bin collectors who are directly involved in keeping patients alive who don’t get tips.

I’m not judging those who do tip and leave gifts, but it’s not something I feel obliged to do.

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