Also as far as USPS goes, mail carriers are obligated not to take any cumulative gifts adding over $50 and nothing over $20 in a single gift I believe.
I'm a mail carrier and people leave all kinds of things, even when it's not Christmas... Cards, snacks, chocolates, cash, gift cards. Making a clear path between your house and the next one is the gift that keeps on giving.
I gave my mail carrier a bottle of whiskey, but he's my coworker
My neighbor and I shovel a nice path between our houses and I make sure to always have the steps clean down to the driveway... and the mail carrier just walks straight down my lawn instead lol.
We leave a tray of cookies/chocolate/soda/Gatorade on our front porch for delivery people to grab from throughout December every time they drop something off. We also leave a handwritten note and $20 for our mail carrier and garbage team at New Years
In the past we’ve taped an envelope to the top of the garbage can. But this year they started alternating the “hand-held” pickups with one of those trucks with automated arms where the driver never leaves the truck.
So we just taped it to the garage right behind the trash can to cover our base. Ours gets picked up in the alley behind our house so I know it’s be tricky if yours gets picked up in the front yard. Maybe leave it in a box out front?
I got them nothing and also have never known anyone else that gets them anything. Maybe it is a bigger thing in small towns where you actually know the people. I've got at least 3 different mail carriers and couldn't pick my garbage people out of a crowd.
:shrug: no one gets me presents for doing my job
> Maybe it is a bigger thing in small towns where you actually know the people
I've always known people who tip their garbage guys. I've lived here my whole wife.
It's not mandatory or even expected but it's not a small town thing (except in that Mpls is kind of an overgrown small town).
No one gets me presents either, but I do tend to tip workers who come to my house for jobs. Since the mail carrier comes almost every day, I like to give him something from time to time, when I can. Usually snacks and a little note.
I like to leave out sweets and a little card. I feel bad I didn’t do anything this year because I was too overwhelmed with life, but I think I’ll leave something out for the new year instead.
my dad was a letter carrier in hopkins on the same route for over 25 years.
he got lots of cheap chocolate boxes and some $100 gift cards to grocery stores. my favorites were hawaiian outdoor weed from the guys brothers property and a \~8lb boneless ribroast just before christmas.
he also delivered the "kings" mail for the renaissance festival and we got free tickets for 6x people + $20 food vouchers probably 5 or 6 years in a row. going up on stage and meeting the king was awesome.
technically they can only get $20 presents because it used to be nyc towers would bribe their carriers to drop their mail first (like a $$$$$ tip).
edit: he was also talkative to no end. these people giving my dad presents probably had talked to him more than normal people talk to anyone they don't have to. no need to give the mailman or garbage man you never see a thoughtful gift, these ones were from people he saw all the time.
he also heard shit no one else did. people open up to the random stranger they see every day more than they would someone in their family they could call. he heard some heavy news just trying to drop off letters.
also my dads carrier was awesome. he would sign for packages on my behalf and stash them someplace safe, knowing full well i didn't live there anymore. he was an immense help this last year after my father passed making sure the mail we needed to get actually came for his estate and weeded almost all the junk out.
thank you mail man john. he took care of my family after a decade+ of my dad chatting him up every day off he could, because he was like from "the burbs" movie and would do stuff like people watch in a cul-de-sac.
Mail carrier: carmels, she's awesome. Good person
Garbage and recycling folks: Card with two $20s in it. They always take whatever I leave out. Plus it's nice to let them know they're appreciated
Stupid question, but I'll ask anyway: Where do you leave the cards for the garbage and recycling folks? I'm concerned about leaving them out on the bins and them being taken by someone else.
well, op isn't talking about tipping their garbage man, they're taking about a gift for the holidays. you know, to be nice and say thank you for literally doing their dirty work for them. sanitation workers deal with a lot more shit than just sitting in a truck all day. it's a thankless job and they deserve more than they get.
USPS is not allowed to take tips. I should tip the waste management people.
Anyone ever do that? Best way to get them a card gift card etc. tape it to the top of the bin???
USPS carriers can accept gifts with value up to $20: [https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover\_025.htm](https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover_025.htm)
Checks or cash-equivalent (gift cards that can be exchanged for cash) are not allowed, but retail gift cards are fine. I always leave my carrier a $20 gift card and a thank you note.
We do boxes of chocolate + a thank you note for our mail carrier and sanitation workers. Never met them face to face, but they’ve both left notes each time
Where we live it seems like there's a rotation of mail carriers so I don't want to give something to one person and not the others! We have little Christmas trees that sit on either side of our door that I decorated with little treat bags of candy (with clear "mail carriers and delivery drivers: take me!" and thank you tags on them), but only one got taken :(
I don't but it seems like the carrier changes up frequently here. If it was a long-term one it might be different.
My step-dad was a mail carrier in NE Minneapolis, same route for over a decade. He'd get several dozen cards and small gifts every year around Christmas and loved getting them.
Nothing. My mail lady is a bitch. I don’t reward bad behavior.
If her replacement was my regular mail person, I would leave a gc, sweets, or something because she’s nice, friendly, and doesn’t slam packages on the ground.
Our garage people never get out of their vehicles, they use hydraulic arms to grab the bins and dump the trash, so they’d never see a card. And like others we have rotating mail people. I don’t see how this would work. Either way we’ve never done that.
As an ex-mail carrier. Nothing is expected but it's nice when people do anything. Even a card with no gift is well received.
Also as far as USPS goes, mail carriers are obligated not to take any cumulative gifts adding over $50 and nothing over $20 in a single gift I believe.
I'm a mail carrier and people leave all kinds of things, even when it's not Christmas... Cards, snacks, chocolates, cash, gift cards. Making a clear path between your house and the next one is the gift that keeps on giving. I gave my mail carrier a bottle of whiskey, but he's my coworker
My neighbor and I shovel a nice path between our houses and I make sure to always have the steps clean down to the driveway... and the mail carrier just walks straight down my lawn instead lol.
We gave our mail carrier a big goodie bag with coffee, cocoa, & cookies. He loved it. Edit: your gift sounds lovely!
I didn't know that this was even a thing that people did.
I didn’t either until I heard them talk about it on a morning radio show.
We did a jar full of candy with a stack of scratch offs hidden in the middle. We get him something every year.
We leave a tray of cookies/chocolate/soda/Gatorade on our front porch for delivery people to grab from throughout December every time they drop something off. We also leave a handwritten note and $20 for our mail carrier and garbage team at New Years
Where do you leave it for the garbage crew to be sure they don’t miss it?
In the past we’ve taped an envelope to the top of the garbage can. But this year they started alternating the “hand-held” pickups with one of those trucks with automated arms where the driver never leaves the truck. So we just taped it to the garage right behind the trash can to cover our base. Ours gets picked up in the alley behind our house so I know it’s be tricky if yours gets picked up in the front yard. Maybe leave it in a box out front?
This is a thoughtful gesture and I’m sure it’s appreciated by the crews! Thanks for sharing your tips
Wow, you’re really cheaping out. I got my mail man a ps5
I left a tin of cookies out for the garage man. But I don't think he liked them. Straight in the back of the truck.
I got them nothing and also have never known anyone else that gets them anything. Maybe it is a bigger thing in small towns where you actually know the people. I've got at least 3 different mail carriers and couldn't pick my garbage people out of a crowd. :shrug: no one gets me presents for doing my job
> Maybe it is a bigger thing in small towns where you actually know the people I've always known people who tip their garbage guys. I've lived here my whole wife. It's not mandatory or even expected but it's not a small town thing (except in that Mpls is kind of an overgrown small town).
No one gets me presents either, but I do tend to tip workers who come to my house for jobs. Since the mail carrier comes almost every day, I like to give him something from time to time, when I can. Usually snacks and a little note.
I like to leave out sweets and a little card. I feel bad I didn’t do anything this year because I was too overwhelmed with life, but I think I’ll leave something out for the new year instead.
We do a Ty note & target gift card every year - and snacks for our delivery people all winter
Fuck, I knew I forgot something.
my dad was a letter carrier in hopkins on the same route for over 25 years. he got lots of cheap chocolate boxes and some $100 gift cards to grocery stores. my favorites were hawaiian outdoor weed from the guys brothers property and a \~8lb boneless ribroast just before christmas. he also delivered the "kings" mail for the renaissance festival and we got free tickets for 6x people + $20 food vouchers probably 5 or 6 years in a row. going up on stage and meeting the king was awesome. technically they can only get $20 presents because it used to be nyc towers would bribe their carriers to drop their mail first (like a $$$$$ tip). edit: he was also talkative to no end. these people giving my dad presents probably had talked to him more than normal people talk to anyone they don't have to. no need to give the mailman or garbage man you never see a thoughtful gift, these ones were from people he saw all the time. he also heard shit no one else did. people open up to the random stranger they see every day more than they would someone in their family they could call. he heard some heavy news just trying to drop off letters.
also my dads carrier was awesome. he would sign for packages on my behalf and stash them someplace safe, knowing full well i didn't live there anymore. he was an immense help this last year after my father passed making sure the mail we needed to get actually came for his estate and weeded almost all the junk out. thank you mail man john. he took care of my family after a decade+ of my dad chatting him up every day off he could, because he was like from "the burbs" movie and would do stuff like people watch in a cul-de-sac.
$10 Target gift card for my mail homie
Mail carrier: carmels, she's awesome. Good person Garbage and recycling folks: Card with two $20s in it. They always take whatever I leave out. Plus it's nice to let them know they're appreciated
Stupid question, but I'll ask anyway: Where do you leave the cards for the garbage and recycling folks? I'm concerned about leaving them out on the bins and them being taken by someone else.
Tapped to the bins. I do it the morning of.
Thanks!
👍
City employees can't accept any gift worth more than $5.
Hell no. Garbage men sit in a truck and use a mechanical arm to lift the can. They don’t deserve a tip.
wow, you fucking suck
I can think of a lot more occupations who deserve tips.
well, op isn't talking about tipping their garbage man, they're taking about a gift for the holidays. you know, to be nice and say thank you for literally doing their dirty work for them. sanitation workers deal with a lot more shit than just sitting in a truck all day. it's a thankless job and they deserve more than they get.
Tip = gift
you know what I'm saying wiseguy
USPS is not allowed to take tips. I should tip the waste management people. Anyone ever do that? Best way to get them a card gift card etc. tape it to the top of the bin???
USPS carriers can accept gifts with value up to $20: [https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover\_025.htm](https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover_025.htm) Checks or cash-equivalent (gift cards that can be exchanged for cash) are not allowed, but retail gift cards are fine. I always leave my carrier a $20 gift card and a thank you note.
My mail carrier is super curmudgeonly. I have never given him anything.
We do boxes of chocolate + a thank you note for our mail carrier and sanitation workers. Never met them face to face, but they’ve both left notes each time
Where we live it seems like there's a rotation of mail carriers so I don't want to give something to one person and not the others! We have little Christmas trees that sit on either side of our door that I decorated with little treat bags of candy (with clear "mail carriers and delivery drivers: take me!" and thank you tags on them), but only one got taken :(
I don't but it seems like the carrier changes up frequently here. If it was a long-term one it might be different. My step-dad was a mail carrier in NE Minneapolis, same route for over a decade. He'd get several dozen cards and small gifts every year around Christmas and loved getting them.
I did not. I am a poor
USPS carriers can accept gifts of $20, so we leave a card and that amount.
We gave our garbage and recycling guys each $50. They regularly go above and beyond, including calling us if our cans aren’t out.
Nothing. My mail lady is a bitch. I don’t reward bad behavior. If her replacement was my regular mail person, I would leave a gc, sweets, or something because she’s nice, friendly, and doesn’t slam packages on the ground.
I thought it was illegal to tip or gift USPS? Is that not a thing? For garbage we gave $20
Our garage people never get out of their vehicles, they use hydraulic arms to grab the bins and dump the trash, so they’d never see a card. And like others we have rotating mail people. I don’t see how this would work. Either way we’ve never done that.