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?

Most postmen (I will not go politically correct and say "post people") have to sort their own mail: they don't have Mrs Goggins to do it for them. But it's their job, it's what they're paid to do. And like @MermaidMummy06 , I don't want to encourage tipping culture.

And as I have said on other threads, we need a requirement that politicians must have done a menial job such as being a postman, or any other minimum wage job for at least a year, before they get anywhere near Parliament, to teach them respect for such jobs, and to stop Parliament being stuffed with the wealthy elite who have never, ever set foot in the real world the rest of us live in. Bring on the revolution!

It would never occur to me to tip the postman in the town where I live it's not even always the same one. But I am friends with a postman who delivers in a very rural area and while doing his round he chats to elderly people on their own, collects odd bits from the village for people and has even changed the odd light bulb and fed a cat if someone is away so he does get presents at Christmas.

There are an awful lot of jobs worse than being a postman. Why do you, and others on here, think some people are worthy of a tip and others not?

£20 for ours. He's fab.

We tip the normal postman, the parcel postman and the Evri courier. They’ve been the same people for years, always friendly, always chatty, always helpful.

We also leave biscuits for the bin men, as never had any issues with our bin collection, but as we have several bins, I’m not sure if the crews are different for each so just leave a box with each.

I know it’s not the done thing anymore, but it’s just a small way of showing gratitude over Christmas.

I'm on a very low income but I always stick a tenner in a card for binmen, garden binmen etc. My uncle was one years ago and they always said they put it all together and had a staff do with it, and what was left over went to a local charity.

My bin men are lovely and always take an extra bag if I stick it out so well worth it.
I tend to put pounds in a jar throughout the year though and then just change it into notes come Xmas so it's not 'extra' money I have to find.

Def not middle class (council house and low income!) and I also tip hairdressers well etc.

I was actually having this discussion a while ago with a friend. I'm sure I'll get roasted for this opinion but it is based on actual experience I see time and again...
I tend to find those without a lot of spare money are often the most generous tippers as they know what it's like to be in these jobs that are generally pretty crap pay

Bin men yes
Postman, who???
We used to give the Evri driver a bottle of something good as he was amazing but he's moved on now unsurprisingly

Until this year we had put a tenner in an envelope for our lovely postwoman at Christmas. She has been moved elsewhere and we have a semi-Zombie bloke who plots about with his earbuds in. It's the same with the dustmen - three different teams of three people (black bin, green bin, recycling bins) so no way now. I gave the person who delivers our newspaper his usual though.

I used to when we had the same one for years and years, but there are so many different ones now and I don’t know them.

My postman knows where to put packages when I'm not around to collect them, thereby saving me the 10 mile round trip to pick them up at the Post Office. Worth a little thank you gift.

Bin men cheerful, efficient, leave my bin near the gate but not blocking the drive. They work in horrible conditions - extreme heat in the summer with stinky bins, cold and dark and wet in winter. Also worth it. I hope they have a lovely Christmas.

It's not thinking some are worthy and some are not. I think all are worthy but don't see all people, all year. I take my car garage in a tub of sweets as my mot is always in Jan. I tip hairdressers, restaurant staff as and when I go.
I also have a friend that works in tesco and she gets a LOT of cards from customers with a tip in or a little gift.
It's not a case of choosing some to tip and not others, it's just who you see and when. I see my bin men week in week out, my postman every week and she's lovely and always makes effort to leave my parcels somewhere I can get to them without going to sorting office etc.
I'd tip my local tyre garage but only go there twice a year so I take them in some biscuits as and when I do go.

It doesn't cost me a lot, it takes a tiny effort and yet I always get a massive smile. Worth it to me to spread a tiny bit of kindness in a way I am able to throughout the year

You don't know who else I tip. Your comment is irrelevant, the OP was asking about the postman, who for me works very hard and deserves a thank you.
We are not discussing who is and who isn't worthy of a Christmas tip.
There are some very unpleasant, mean spirited and just plan mean reactions to this post.

I also find it really strange. Why is a postman more deserving of tips than someone who works in a supermarket or a hospital?

We have a different postie every week and even first class post takes about 5 days to arrive now. Its shit.

There is no way I am tipping someone for a service thats getting worse and worse every year 😂

We buy ours a bottle of wine as he is really lovely and always cheerful.

We’ve had the same postie for years. I know about his daughter, he knows all the dogs in the street, he always has a kind word when it’s a big day like exam results etc. we give him £20 every year in a card.

In our last house we had the most wonderful postman. I always gave him a card and money. He was so friendly and helpful

We moved to our current house three years ago and don't really know our postman. We rarely get out these days! And he's quite grumpy. So I'm not giving him anything.

I've never tipped the bin men.

Lovely post, from a lovely kind person.
Some people are so unkind and so ungrateful. I am not suggesting anyone does anything they can't afford but a little thank you once a year goes a long way (in my opinion).

It's a fiver. Not worth squabbling about unless you are really struggling for money.

I know both tesco workers and hospital staff and they do get a lot of tips and cards.

We rarely get the same postman twice so no
But I will give my butcher a bottle of wine and some chocolates. But I see them all year round and they always go the extra mile

I don't tip the postman because I never see the same one more than once! As for binmen, not a bloody chance. They constantly miss collections (although to be fair that's on our council rather than on them)

Wow, the festive spirit has really passed you by, hasn't it??? That's such a mean thing to say!

I've just been out and given our bin men a case of beer and some mince pies, they're brilliant!

Thank you!
It's a very small and easy way I manage to show my thanks to the people I come across. This world is miserable enough and it takes very little effort to spread a little kindness!
Over the years though (I'm only 43!), I have noticed more and more I get comments about 'why I bother' from some people!
Each to their own but I enjoy it and l will continue!
In my best Tiny Tim voice... Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

You still haven't explained why you don't also tip shelf stackers in tesco, street cleaners, the healthcare assistant at the hospital??

All the tippers carefully ignore this question because they know deep down tipping culture is unbalanced towards a certain type of job... Tippers just enjoy feeling benevolent and imagining they're securing a better service for themselves / seeming like a 'nicer' customer