STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Kelly · Hermes

Christmas tipping

littlebean · Kate Spade

Yeah, I do. Usually $15 or so. Normally I would give cash, but this year I'm thinking of giving an iTunes gift card. Here's a good article on holiday tipping: http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1561805,00.html.

Suasoria · Chanel

I always intend to, but I usually forget until after Xmas and feel like a dolt. Not the newspaper deliveryperson though - he/she tends to oversleep and our paper has been arriving later and later. Mainly the mailman and the gardner.

Hermes

well, I don't tip the garbage man (how would I do that, anyway? tape money to the garbage can?) but I do tip the mail lady -- she's really sweet and everytime she has a package (even if it would fit in the mail box) she brings it to the door along with the rest of my mail. I ususally give her $20.

my husband's father was also a postal carrier - he put 8 kids through college (and some through graduate school) on his meager salary -- the Chrismas tips probably helped enable them to put gifts under the tree.

Elle · Hermes

Well, my mailpeople (we seem to have 3 different peeps each week!) still bring us mail for the people who moved out a year and a half ago, despite our names being on the box and our return of mail that's not ours to said box with 'not at this address' on it.

Our garbage people start pulling their truck away with the can still attatched almost every week. Usually it ends up out in the middle of our somewhat busy street, and I'm afraid if I don't go drag it in promptly it's going to get hit (again!) and I don't want to pay $50 to replace the damn thing.

I do realize that being a garbage person or a mailperson isn't the best job in the world, but doing it badly most certainly doesn't inspire me to tip them!

Our recycle people are pretty good, but how exactly does one tip a recycling person? They come at 6am so we couldn't hand it to them, and I suspect anything set out with the recycling would either get recylced or stolen ...

Geee, ugh, Merry Christmas Tipping everyone!

jah · Dooney & Bourke

I live in a multi-tenant building, so we have a trash chute, so no on the trash man. My papers aren't delivered to my door, so I also don't feel it necessary to tip the paper guy. Our mail is a multi-box area, so I don't even know how I would go about it (we did tip the mailperson when I was growing up). I do, however, tip my stylist, personal trainer, etc.

HeatherLynn · Gucci

I have never tipped garbage or mail people in the past, but I think I might tip the UPS guy this year. He has delivered tons of packages to me and knows me by name. He is super nice so I'll have a card and cash waiting for him the next time I see him. If I lived in a house I might would top the mail person too, but I'm in an apartment and don't get a ton of mail, plus I have never seen the individual that does it.

I do tip my hair stylist, massage person, etc extra during this time of the year. The supposed tip is the cost of one session, but I usually don't tip quite that much. Do you guys?

brazilian · Dooney & Bourke

^^ HeatherLynn, When I've tipped extra during the holidays I just gave an extra 20%. I'm not sure what your 'suppossed' to do, but I figure an extra tip is good no matter how much.

littlebean · Kate Spade

HeatherLynn, I don't give that much to my hair stylist, either, because for the past few years I haven't really had a regular person that I know very well. I usually just double the tip like brazilian.

Jah, I live in a similar building in terms of multiple mailboxes. I usually just put the envelop in my mailbox addressed to "mailman" and he puts a little Christmas card or thank you note in my box.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

I've never heard of tipping the postal carrier and waste control workers. I have heard of giving holiday gifts (not really thought of as tips) to postal carriers, but only if you have spoken with them before/become buddies. We have street mailboxes now, so I don't feel all that close with my postal carrier(s). We gave gifts to our mailman, Russ, where we lived before. I think it would be nice to tip or say thanks to waste control workers at the height of summer when that job seems like it sucks extra bad.

jah · Dooney & Bourke

pollyjean23 wrote:

I've never heard of tipping the postal carrier and waste control workers. I have heard of giving holiday gifts (not really thought of as tips) to postal carriers, but only if you have spoken with them before/become buddies. We have street mailboxes now, so I don't feel all that close with my postal carrier(s). We gave gifts to our mailman, Russ, where we lived before. I think it would be nice to tip or say thanks to waste control workers at the height of summer when that job seems like it sucks extra bad.

I was just reading that "technically" USPS workers are prohibited from receiving monetary tips. Small gifts are acceptable, but they have rules and regulations which mean they are not supposed to receive money.

littlebean · Kate Spade

jah wrote:

pollyjean23 wrote:

I was just reading that "technically" USPS workers are prohibited from receiving monetary tips. Small gifts are acceptable, but they have rules and regulations which mean they are not supposed to receive money.

I believe the rule is that USPS workers can receive monetary tips up to $20. For FedEx it's up to $75. And UPS has no rules about tips.

I'm not trying to make everyone tip their mail carriers, especially if they're not doing a good job, but just wanted to be clear that it's allowed and, I'm sure, appreciated.

member · Hermes

We live in a high-rise apartment building, so I don't even know who the mailman is, so I'm not tipping him. We don't get a paper delivered, and as far as UPS/Fed Ex deliveries - they just bring them to the door person, and she puts them out - so she's probably the only person I'll tip since she's so sweet. Same with the garbage men - I have a trash chute and don't even know who our garbagemen are, so no tip there.

ETA: I do give my hair stylist an extra tip every Christmas - like some of the other girls have said, I usually just double her regular tip.

-- Edited by shopchicago33 at 16:43, 2007-12-11

jah · Dooney & Bourke

littlebean wrote:

jah wrote:

pollyjean23 wrote:

I was just reading that "technically" USPS workers are prohibited from receiving monetary tips. Small gifts are acceptable, but they have rules and regulations which mean they are not supposed to receive money.

I believe the rule is that USPS workers can receive monetary tips up to $20. For FedEx it's up to $75. And UPS has no rules about tips.

I'm not trying to make everyone tip their mail carriers, especially if they're not doing a good job, but just wanted to be clear that it's allowed and, I'm sure, appreciated.

Actually, it isn't allowed, sorry... ashamed

According to the USPS website non-monetary gifts up to a $20 value are okay, but no cashola... it's an ethics thing according to the important lawyer title in the post off the USPS website listed below... Anyway, this is too bad as I am sure they would rather have cash than 200 plates of cookies or 200 pair of socks! I'm also sure many mail workers take the cash and if I was the supervisor, I would turn the blind eye. Please note, I am not trying to discourage tips to postal workers!!

Don't know about FedEx/UPS, but since it isn't government, they may not be as strict.

http://www.usps.com/history/plife/pl121297/dialogue.htm

kealoha · Kate Spade

we only have 45 units in our building & i haven't met the mailperson yet. however, i haven't had any problems and will likely give him/her a tip be it cash or a gift card.

BargainQueen · Marc Jacobs

I dont know who my mail person is as I live in a duplex community and I have to walk to the back of the homes where there's a mailbox crate there with tiny lock boxes for each unit. I dont know who he/she is and when I do see them walking by it's always someone different. I've never heard of tipping the trash collectors, and they pick up the community trash bin so early, I wouldn't know who they are.

I've met the UPS man a few times, it sounds like a good idea to give him a card and a GC or maybe some baked goods since he's been delivering a lot of gifts this year.

Drew · Gucci

I tip our home mail person because they are good and provide reliable service with very few errors. I no longer tip the mailman at my office because they (a bunch of them rotate this route apparently) are always giving the businesses in this area each other's mail; I actually had to end all magazine subscriptions because they weren't arriving and I have a feeling they were going to other businesses that weren't bringing them to me. Plus, sometimes they don't show up at all during the middle of a week when it's not a holiday or anything. Then, I'll get double the mail the next day. Really cruddy service so definately no tip. My DH tips the garbage people really well because they kindly dispose of all kinds of trash and sometimes we slip in some debris from work; D, he basically stalks the front of the house for a week or two on trash day until he can meet up with the guy.

I also give my eyebrow girl a tip (the amount of the waxing), my hair girl (double her usual tip), and I have tipped my home UPS guy in the past because I receive an embarressing amount of packages at home and have never had a single problem. I mean to tip him every year, but he's hard to catch because I'm usually at work when he makes a delivery, so if I miss him I don't tip.

Collette · Chanel

I hate this time of year because I never know who to tip and who not to but this is what we do
We tip or regular doormen $100 each the night doormen $50
The buildings engineer also gets $100 and $50 each to his two assistance
My trainer $200 ( he trains both DH and I)
My extensions guy I'll give twice his regular tip

The mailperson gets zip because she's mean rude constantly misdelivers our mail

That's it for us!