Whats the rule on gifts to your post man?

[cjeanette]

I can't find anything on the USPS website? Google tells me just to write a letter to his supervisor. Can they not accept a gift card of any kind?

[raangoli]

I thought that they are not allowed to accept cash. But I think a cash equivalent is OK? Like a gift card?

[niemand88f]

They can, it has to be less than $20. I gave mine a $10 GC the other day.

[cjeanette]

Damn, I guess my $25 starbucks gift card won't work.

[Deleted]

Dec 21, 2012 13:59:01 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Damn, I guess my $25 starbucks gift card won't work.

You should just go buy yourself a $5 coffee first!

If you don't write the amount on the envelope, the letter carrier won't know and will probably just keep it.

[liveintheville]

Dec 21, 2012 13:45:20 GMT -5 niemand88f said:

They can, it has to be less than $20. I gave mine a $10 GC the other day.

Damn! I gave ours a $20 gc. It didn't even occur to me to check

[cjeanette]

Dec 21, 2012 14:00:13 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Dec 21, 2012 13:59:01 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Damn, I guess my $25 starbucks gift card won't work.

You should just go buy yourself a $5 coffee first!

If you don't write the amount on the envelope, the letter carrier won't know and will probably just keep it.

Or I could write $20 and he won't know until he uses it ;D

[mbcdefg]

Thanks for reminding me ... I have to do something for our mail carrier. Maybe $10-15 to Dunkin Donuts?

Can I piggyback on this thread and ask how much you're all giving to your garbage collectors (if anything)? Is $10 apiece too little?

[Deleted]

Dec 21, 2012 14:01:37 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Dec 21, 2012 14:00:13 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

You should just go buy yourself a $5 coffee first!

If you don't write the amount on the envelope, the letter carrier won't know and will probably just keep it.

Or I could write $20 and he won't know until he uses it ;D

Good idea! You can claim store error in customer favor!

[cvillern]

Dup

[cvillern]

Shoot I never think to tip the postal worker. I did give 20 bucks apiece to the garbage collectors though. DH thought that was too much.

[biogirl21]

My dad is a mail carrier and he tends to get a lot of cookies and candy. Also a lot of $5 and $10 dollar gift cards, usually to McDonalds that he doesn't use...

[shaynaatl]

How are you guys giving them the gift if you aren't at home when the mail is delivered?

[liveintheville]

Dec 21, 2012 15:34:53 GMT -5 shaynaatl said:

How are you guys giving them the gift if you aren't at home when the mail is delivered?

I could have just left it in the vestibule for him to pick up. But I see him several times a day around the neighborhood. So I just flagged him down when I saw him today and was like, "Hey, Paul! I have something for you!"

[cjeanette]

Dec 21, 2012 15:34:53 GMT -5 shaynaatl said:

How are you guys giving them the gift if you aren't at home when the mail is delivered?

We often are but I was going to clip it to my mailbox. Ours in attached to our house.

[aprilsunshine]

When I was younger, I really wanted to give our mailman a Christmas gift so I made cookies for him. My mom said she wasn't sure if he would take them, but we could leave them in the mailbox with a card for him and see if he would take them.

He didn't and it made me sad

[jennistarr1]

Dec 21, 2012 16:57:01 GMT -5 aprilsunshine said:

When I was younger, I really wanted to give our mailman a Christmas gift so I made cookies for him. My mom said she wasn't sure if he would take them, but we could leave them in the mailbox with a card for him and see if he would take them.

He didn't and it made me sad

Aww, he should have taken them and thrown them away

[Nonny]

I don't tip any of these people. Problem solved!

[callie]

I thought it was $20 and under. I have our guy a $20 last year. He took it and gave us a thank you card.

[megalicious]

... I don't understand why I'm expected to tip the postman.

[bazealina]

I agree with Mega...

[luvmagoldn]

I loved our "Mail Female" as H called her. Her name is actually Pam. =)

When we first moved in she stopped to say hello and introduce herself. She brought us gifts when the kids were born and always stopped to chat when she saw us outside. The nicest lady ever.

Over the years I gave her Starbucks gift cards, candles, a photo album. Small tokens that would fit in the mail box. And she wrote the nicest thank you notes.

She has since moved to a different route and the new guy is fine. But we don't "know" him. But H's uncle is a postal carrier so we know how hard they work. We will leave a little something for the new guy too. Maybe a Duncan Donuts gift card.

ETA: GC will be $15.

[chessie]

Dec 22, 2012 7:27:05 GMT -5 megalicious said:

... I don't understand why I'm expected to tip the postman.

I am not sure, but I dont. In my town we don't get mail daily and thanks to him I have had to replace my mail box 2 times due to his lovely driving skills.

[thedutchgirl]

I tip our postal carrier because he delivers a LOT of packages to our house, and he secures them on our deck rather than leaving them in plain view. UPS does the same thing, so I sent our driver a gift card as well.

[cjeanette]

Dec 22, 2012 7:27:05 GMT -5 megalicious said:

... I don't understand why I'm expected to tip the postman.

You aren't. My kids really love our postman and I want to do something for him. Not because it is expected but because I want to.

[HoneySpider]

Don't worry you definitely can leave more than $20 and they will take it - it's not like when they get back to the office they have to show the supervisor all the gifts or something.

I give my mailman $20, he is awesome. He picks up packages from me all the time, I love paying postage online and just leaving it on my doorstep. Easiest way to mail stuff ever.

[CloudBee]

We always give cash, and always receive a thank you card in the mail that is generic and printed by the USPS but signed by our carrier.

[casmgn]

Do you all know your postman/woman's name? I don't even know how I would address a gift card.

[CloudBee]

Dec 23, 2012 9:42:09 GMT -5 casmgn said:

Do you all know your postman/woman's name? I don't even know how I would address a gift card.

Nope. I just address the envelope to "our daily mail carrier". He delivers our mail 6 days a week and has for almost 7 years. Our mail boxes are at the entrance to our cul-de-sac, so we really only see him in passing. During the week we get a good amount of packages, and I know he has to walk them to our door. We've had zero problems with mail delivery since moving into our house, which is why we always give him a gift. He's soft spoken, efficient, and just awesome.

We had a terrible mail carrier at our condo who was rude and would let mail drop onto the ground. It's like night and day, which is why we really like to show our appreciation.

[CloudBee]

Dec 21, 2012 14:02:03 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Can I piggyback on this thread and ask how much you're all giving to your garbage collectors (if anything)? Is $10 apiece too little?

Our garbage collectors are public employees, so our trash gets picked up at the curb. We're never home when they pick up our trash. I wouldn't know how to leave a gift for them, as I don't think it would be safe to leave an envelope with cash or a gift card at the end of the driveway.

I feel differently about leaving an envelope with a bow (to make it obvious) in our mailbox. But what do you do with garbage collectors? Stick something to the trash bag or can? I would be concerned it could be stolen by someone walking their dog, or tossed when they collect our trash. Also - I'm not even sure how many people are on the garbage truck. Sometimes I see 2 in town on trucks, and other times it's 3.