To not give the postman a Christmas bung

[MurkyMo]

...to not give the postman a Christmas card with a fiver in it. Husband wants to but I say no. As for the bin men, not a chance !

What do you do?

Our old one was lovely. He would bring parcels around the back knowing I was in the garden office. He'd give a wave if he saw you out and about. He does triathlons and I dabble a bit in that world. We are FB friends. I think he did a good job. I was happy to give him a small Christmas token and he always thanked me.

In fact, I've literally just checked my FB notifications and he's thanked me for the Birthday wishes I sent him this morning.

I used to tip a few people, but I’ve stopped. We’re both pensioners. We’re not struggling, but not well off either.

I had no idea this was a thing. I've ever even met our postman as I'm out at work all day

This. Different posties all the time. Will be leaving something for the communal area cleaner, though.

No because it is a different person every time. Same with the bin crew.

There is something rather outdated about the notion of tipping people at Christmas like this. I can't quite describe it, but it's a sense of Lord and Lady Bountiful bestowing their patronage on the underlings.

Yes I don't think you're unreasonable
Numerous folks just can't afford to give money to their postmen 💚

Our postman is a rare sighting. I like the guy if I see him but we get post about three times a week. At one point weeks went by no post - and this is SW London! Not the posties fault I know.
Im not tipping the bin men they come at 6am. I might give the milkman £10 - £5 seems a bit mean.

We give our postie £20. He has to put up with our dogs barking at him all year. We have had same postie for about 5 years.

I remember my mother giving the bin men a ‘Christmas Box’ as it was known then ie a cash tip and it had the aura then of being a low level protection racket ie if you failed to do so, your bin didn’t get properly emptied or they were extra noisy.

Money to burn? £50 isn't exactly show off fodder ffs

So you do give him a fiver, original post says you say No?! Which is it??
and £5 is hardly a bung 🙄

That’s crazy over-the-top. The average postman delivers to around 500 houses, so if this was standard, he’d be getting £25,000 in Christmas tips every year!

Leaving something for the communal cleaner?!

No, no, you can’t do that! It’s not tradition like giving to the postman.

Postman, milkman, bin man - yes! Because it’s Christmas!

Anyone else? No! Everyone else is scum.

I did think about tipping the bin men, we have a great service, but i never see them and I can't leave something on the bin as it'll walk!
I did tip our Ringtons lad because hes lovely, polite and helpfully leaves us stuff even if I'm not in, which I much appreciate! Also tipped the window cleaners because I really do appreciate them doing that job and charging so little.
If I were at the hairdressers I would tip at Chtistmas, but I dont the rest of the year. Postman, I used to yrs ago but our 'regular' was replaced with a range of people and I'm rarely in when they post things in now.

I dont begrudge tipping because some people are not on decent wages and I appreciate the jobs they do for me, like tipping servers at a restaurant.

Are you American? It’s very common to tip people in the US as wages are extremely low or non existent.

In Europe and the UK most employers pay at least the minimum wage so, like the rest of us, get a fair salary for their work.

Where do you draw the line at ‘tipping’? There are so many people who work behind the scenes, do you tip them? Do you tip the supermarket check out employees? The GP, nurse?

Our postman is amazing. He takes time and trouble with deliveries and always says hello if he sees you. We tip him. Our bin team are also amazing and we leave them a tip (to share out) because they are reliable and efficient. Some posters say they are just doing their job, but I find more and more now that many people just don’t do their jobs so I want to show appreciation when it makes life easier.

To quote a MN staple “read the room”.
I’m well off my most measures and no way would I ever tip anyone £50.
£50 for most people is a lot of money.

We tip our XYZ because he’s brilliant (at his job, which he is paid to do).

I am reading the room. Bitter and jealous because someone gives a person in a low pay job £50. Accusing them of showing off. Its £50, a nice little bonus to make their day, not a pair of diamond shoes intended to show the neighbours how rich they are. Just bitchy and unnecessary.

£50 is not a ‘nice little bonus’?! It’s a large amount of money that most people can’t afford to pay, let alone give as a tip!

In Europe and the UK most employers pay at least the minimum wage so, like the rest of us, get a fair salary for their work.

Minimum wage is generally considered not enough to cover living costs. I don't regard that as a fair salary.

They may not choose to, but its hardly the case that most people in the UK cant afford to give away £50. Thats ridiculous. You might be in that situation and resent it but that doesnt mean most people are that unlucky.

But it's not standard.The OP has said that her postie went above and beyond for her and this is how she wants to thank him. How lovely for him, if he's anything like my postie friend, he'll be surprised and thrilled.

I think it’s different these days. I used to do this, but now it’s a different person each time.