Mail Carrier gift ?

QVCkitty1 · ‎05-23-2015

Am I a Scrooge ? I ask this because it has never occurred to me to give my mailman a gift. He is a pleasant gentleman, but since he is a govt. employee and not dependent on tips, he has not been on my radar for a gift. What say all of you ?

" You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts."
Daniel Patrick Moynihan

nana59 · ‎05-12-2012

we have always given our mail carrier a gift.....

proudlyfromNJ · ‎05-01-2010

My Father was a mail carrier back in the fifties and sixties. He received a card and money from just about all the people on his route. Every year.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

I wouldn't give mine 2 cents after he deliberately sped up in his jeep after he saw me with a pink slip in my hand asking for a redelivery. He had ignored it in the mailbox for 3 days.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

icezeus · ‎10-30-2010

I have so many packages being delivered that for several years I did give my mail lady a Christmas gift. To me it's the same as tipping someone in a restaurant for good service.

I changed over to a Postal Annex Box for almost 9 years so I would have all of my packages delivered there. My contract is over with them in January and I do not plan on renewing.

Things have changed, I work a hybrid schedule so I am home more to receive packages.

So back to your question. Yes, I believe if you receive good service a token Christmas gift is fine.

On It · ‎03-15-2021

Our mail carrier is very special. He did a great deal for us during the lockdown, and I will forever be grateful. Last year, we gave him a gift card to the most popular supermarket in our city as a thank you. He wrote a touching note that I still have posted on my desk.

I think the level of service and the relationship with your carrier may affect whether you do or do not tip.

LisaMofSLC · ‎11-12-2010

I read they cannot accept cash tips. I used to make baked goods for mine, then started giving a gift card to a food place. You know, lunch stop while working. I used to get a thank you Xmas card left, but that stopped.

Now where I live, we have like two or even three different people on various days. How do I know who the main one is. If I leave something in my mailbox, the person working that day gets it. Doesn't seem fair. So not sure what to do.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@LisaMofSLC wrote:
I read they cannot accept cash tips. I used to make baked goods for mine, then started giving a gift card to a food place. You know, lunch stop while working. I used to get a thank you Xmas card left, but that stopped.

Now where I live, we have like two or even three different people on various days. How do I know who the main one is. If I leave something in my mailbox, the person working that day gets it. Doesn't seem fair. So not sure what to do.

@LisaMofSLC I'd leave an envelope of $5 or a coupld of $10 gift cards in the box. One year I was thinking I needed to get a gift card for the carrier and as I turned down the street I saw his truck.

I hopped out and said I had a CVS gift card that still had funds on it but I wasn't sure how much and would he like that? He said oh he would love that!

So I said "I think it has as much as you are allowed" and it would save me having to go get a new one for him, and winked and he laughed and said whatever it was he'd be happy to take it. It had about an extra $15 I think over the usual.

I think their limit is $20 or $25.

J Town Girl · ‎06-13-2011

Until our last mail carrier had to retire due to medical issues we always gave him a card with a $20.00 bill in it. He always went out of his way to bring us a package or a large piece of mail that didn't fit very well in our mailbox.

Since he retired we've had a number of different carriers and we don't really know any of them. We no longer give them a card or money.

I remember while I was growing up we always had the same mail carrier and milkman for years. Now they seem to change more frequently. Our UPS carriers change almost weekly.

On It · ‎03-15-2021

@LisaMofSLC Making certain the correct person gets your tip is tricky. My husband sat and watched for the carrier because we did not want that gift card going to the wrong person. Surely enough our regular postal carrier was off a week. When he finally returned and my husband saw him delivering across the street, he put the gift card in the box and raised the flag.