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?

I don't think it really makes sense to tip people just based on their jobs, as many people will work hard jobs, but never interact with the public to receive anything. It does make sense to tip or give a box of chocolates to people who have gone out of their way to be helpful, so for some people that might be a tip for the postman and others might give a box of chocolates to their local pharmacy. I'm certainly not tipping the bin men anything after asking for more recycling bags two weeks in a row and not receiving any.

I appreciate the job the postman does but I don’t tip him. I also appreciate everyone else that keep life going all through the year, not just people like the hairdresser and the postman.

Who on earth has £50 to tip the Sainsbury delivery guy???

And why does the delivery driver get £50 whereas the guys in the warehouse, who might work much harder in a freezing environment to load up the vans, get nothing?

I think they'd really appreciate anything you give them. I don't see why not. It's only a fiver.

But obviously if you don't want to just let your husband do it.

We’ve always given the postie a card with a tenner in it but this year we haven’t had a regular one, and seem to get a different person delivering the post every day, so I probably won’t give anything this year. But this thread has reminded me that I should get a card and a tenner ready for the Evri driver.

Postman folds most of my mail in half after asking him not to, or leaves post hanging out of the letter box, so not a chance of tipping.

I'm quite friendly with my postie and he refused a tip, said he doesn't need it and I should keep it, so I did! He does work fantastically hard and always goes the extra mile, no pun intended! When we have replacement posties they're never as efficient. But yeah, I would give one if it would be accepted!

I've never given my postman any sort of tip/gift, and honestly, until reading this, it never occurred to me that people might!

Honestly, we've lived in this house 15 months now, and I've probably spoken to the postman 3 times, and one of those was the day we moved in, when he arrived with post as the removal men were coming in and out.

Never occurred to me to do this TBH.

My XMIL used to tell me that you had to tip the dustman or they wouldn't empty your bins full of Christmas wrapping etc.

Ours is only every 3 weeks and they always leave the bins right in front of my side gate so I can't open it.

I was wondering if there were any Brummies on this thread !

Exactly!

There are so many people acting annoyingly, I’m convinced it’s Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer metaphorically hammering away at them to make them this way.

OP:

You could give the postman a Christmas treat, help anyone in any way you can, or offer a small monetary gift to whomever you like. Donating any amount to charities is also a great option. There’s no need to look for validation on Mumsnet—if you want to feel good, try AI platforms, which tend to be more encouraging than asking here, where people might judge harshly. AI can help find better outcomes for everyone without judgment. Use your common sense and skip the Mumsnet drama.

Now I agree with this. My hairdresser owns the salon and has a nicer car and house than me so no tip. I did take her some hand cream on my last appointment before Xmas as a thank you.

I was also a bit weirded out that my new dog groomer (fully solo self employed, works from her home) had a very prominent tip jar on her counter. Why not just build the income you want in to the prices you charge rather than making people feel uncomfortable asking for tips?

Only the milkman and window cleaner here.

Very rarely see mine, and if I do it's a different person every time. Wouldn't know who to tip even if I wanted to.

So it was your OP, “Husband wants to but I say no.”? Odd.

*why

What makes this thread peculiar is that the @MurkyMo clarifies she does give the postie £5 every year.

So the point of the thread is…. ?

For months the postie only appears at most once a week, lately once a fortnight with a massive bundle of post. Always a different person, never anyone I used to see.

I'm not giving a total stranger money for providing a terrible service.

Why not? Your postie is out delivering in all weathers, and having to deliver loads more this time of year. People who think it is a cushy job where you just post letters through doors need to talk to actual posties. Or have a look at the Royal Mail sub Reddit.

When I was a teen, I had a paper round and used to do well at xmas for tips etc. About £150, and that was a lot for a teen in the mid 90s.

We pay SO much in taxes and council tax already - that should more than cover the bin collection and postal services!

Why should those delivering our mail receive extra income and those working in mail distribution centres do not?

That does not mean they are only working once a fortnight. They will be doing other routes the rest of the time.

Loads of workers are out working ‘in all weathers’ and even more working in cold warehouses… that’s their job and they get paid for it. What makes some jobs more valued than others?

Well, duh!