Holiday Tips ?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Dh and I are at odds on tipping the mail carrier(s) and the newspaper delivery people. He thinks we should tip them no matter what, which we have been doing every year. I think we can skip the tips this year and here's why.

 

First of all- the mail carrier changes every 2-3 weeks. So, it's not like we have a relationship with one person. Our current mail carrier left a certified mail card in the mailbox when I was home and in plain view. I saw him put it in the mailbox and not bother to ring the bell so I could sign for the mail. So, two days later, I go to the Post Office to pick up the certified mail, and they can't find it. Our carrier "lost" it.

 

Secondly- this is the second year in a row when we did not get a newspaper on Thanksgiving, which really annoyed dh, but not enough for him to think we shouldn't tip. Also, they don't really deliver the newspaper like I used to do back when I was a kid. Each customer had a card with all the specific details about when and where to leave the paper. Now, they just chuck the paper onto the driveway as they drive by. How much of a tip does that deserve?

 

So, in these cases, what would you do? I am perfectly willing to tip generously for good service. I don't particularly like condoning bad service with a tip.

[Catwoman]

I wouldn't bother to tip either one of them.

 

And I tip almost everyone.

 

Cat

[AlmiraGulch]

I definitely would not tip in either of these cases.

 

If you did, what would you be tipping for?

[Amy in NH]

Are you sure your newspaper puts out a Thanksgiving issue? Did you call and complain? I used to be a newspaper carrier - 5 hours per day with my kids in the car driving newspapers from house to house in a "wealthy" town. Those who didn't have a tube at the end of the driveway I was supposed to toss into the driveway. How long do you think it would take to drive into each person's driveway every day, and get out of the car to place it where they want it? I think I was earning $.25/paper, not including tips. And I had to hire and train my own replacements if I wanted a day off - so it was essentially a 365 day/year job: 5 days per week in the afternoon for the evening edition, then I had to be there at 1 am on Saturdays and Sundays. I used to get home between 5 & 6 AM on those weekend days, then get up with my little kids at 8. It is neither a fun nor glamorous job, but one that someone likely HAS to have to pay their bills. In fact it was downright degrading some days.

 

I say tip the newspaper carrier.

[NanceXToo]

I wouldn't personally feel the need to tip people like that.

 

However, I also wouldn't personally feel the need to refuse to 'allow' (so to speak) my husband from doing so anyway if he really wanted to do it. If I felt there was someone I should tip I wouldn't want my husband telling me I couldn't. And vice versa.

 

So, yeah, I see your point. But it's not worth arguing with your husband about. Let him do his thing.

[Hoggirl]

I always had my ds pre-address his thank you notes for Christmas gifts (we always pretty much knew from whom he would receive gifts) ahead of time as part of his handwriting. That way, when he wrote the notes AFTER Christmas he didn't also have to address them at the same time. Kind of spread out the work load.

 

We tip the newspaper carrier, but not the mailman. That way our paper is on our front porch. Otherwise, it would be at the end of our driveway. We extract no quid pro quo from the mailman, so he doesn't get anything. He pretty much has to put it in the mailbox, kwim?

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Are you sure your newspaper puts out a Thanksgiving issue? Did you call and complain? I used to be a newspaper carrier - 5 hours per day with my kids in the car driving newspapers from house to house in a "wealthy" town. Those who didn't have a tube at the end of the driveway I was supposed to toss into the driveway. How long do you think it would take to drive into each person's driveway every day, and get out of the car to place it where they want it? I think I was earning $.25/paper, not including tips. And I had to hire and train my own replacements if I wanted a day off - so it was essentially a 365 day/year job: 5 days per week in the afternoon for the evening edition, then I had to be there at 1 am on Saturdays and Sundays. I used to get home between 5 & 6 AM on those weekend days, then get up with my little kids at 8. It is neither a fun nor glamorous job, but one that someone likely HAS to have to pay their bills. In fact it was downright degrading some days.

 

I say tip the newspaper carrier.

 

Yes, our newspaper has a massive Thanksgiving issue with all the Black Friday ads in it. Dh is the only one who actually reads the paper. I wouldn't subscribe to it if it weren't for him. I had just come home from delivering Meals on Wheels on Thanksgiving morning and was preparing the food for our 9 person Thanksgiving dinner when dh mentioned the lack of paper and said "we" should call about it. I told him to go ahead and call. He gave me an incredulous look and said, "I don't know how to do that!" Really? You're a freakin' attorney and you can't look up a phone number and complain that you didn't get your newspaper?!?! :glare: Sometimes, the man just doesn't know when not to say something that dumb.

 

Anyhooo. . . I understand that newspaper routes are different these days and the routes are so huge that it would take forever to deliver to each porch, but I've been tipping this person all along, and I don't think it makes a difference. I guess the newspaper is a sore spot for me. What is the point of chucking it in the driveway in the winter? A lot of the time, I can't find it because of the snow. In the spring thaw, I usually have a dozen soggy newspapers lying around on the ground.

[Lolosoli]

I never have..and I never will...tip either of them.