"Your Generosity Appreciated" from the mailman

[Amethyst]

Amongst our mail was a post card printed with "Thank You! From Your Letter Carrier" on the front. On the back, it says "Happy Holidays, from my family to yours your generosity is much appreciated!" A handwritten addition says "Mario & Family."

Am I over-sensitive, or does this appear to be a government employee soliciting tips? I'm used to seeing such cards from newspaper carriers, but never from the mail carrier.

Incidentally, while it wouldn't be the case in my immediate neighborhood, a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine. They aren't some "poor soul barely making ends meet."

 

[frayne]

I've had the same mail carrier for over five years, the guy always does a good job and I gift him every Christmas.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

From https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22349/html/cover_025.htm

Employee Tipping and Gift-Receiving Policy

All postal employees, including carriers, must comply with the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. Under these federal regulations, carriers are permitted to accept a gift worth $20 or less from a customer per occasion, such as Christmas. However, cash and cash equivalents, such as checks or gift cards that can be exchanged for cash, must never be accepted in any amount. Furthermore, no employee may accept more than $50 worth of gifts from any one customer in any one calendar year period.

 

[FDC319]

Am I over-sensitive, or does this appear to be a government employee soliciting tips? I'm used to seeing such cards from newspaper carriers, but never from the mail carrier.
"

Government employee or not, if ANYONE asks me for a gift or similiar, I am not going along with it.

I do intend to give a small non monetary gift to some of the employees at my post office though because they are really good folks.

Incidentally, while it wouldn't be the case in my immediate neighborhood, a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine. They aren't some "poor soul barely making ends meet."

Regarding your rant here. No offense, but it reeks of jealousy that I did not expect to see on this board. Most people who choose government jobs do so knowing they will have a smaller paycheck than a peer doing non governmental work. The benefits of government employment has almost always been the steady/stable paycheck and the other benefits(health, TSP, pension, etc) that come with government service. I would expect most people here to understand this.

and no, letter carriers do not make a ton of money

 

[Badger]

I wouldn't mind giving a small gift of appreciation if we had the same mail carrier throughout the year but even in the last month there have been several bringing the mail. However, I would also be disappointed if I received what could be construed as a solicitation.



Cheers!

 

[braumeister]

Some people get really excellent service from their regular mail carrier and feel it's appropriate to show their appreciation. That was the case at our last home. I always gave him a $25 gift card from the local grocery store. Same for our newspaper delivery guy.

 

[target2019]

Amongst our mail was a post card printed with "Thank You! From Your Letter Carrier" on the front. On the back, it says "Happy Holidays, from my family to yours your generosity is much appreciated!" A handwritten addition says "Mario & Family."

Am I over-sensitive, or does this appear to be a government employee soliciting tips? I'm used to seeing such cards from newspaper carriers, but never from the mail carrier.

Incidentally, while it wouldn't be the case in my immediate neighborhood, a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine. They aren't some "poor soul barely making ends meet."

He should have stopped at "Happy Holidays, from my family to yours."


Edit: $17.48 per hour
14% Below national average
https://www.indeed.com/cmp/United-States-Postal-Service/salaries/Mail-Carrier

 

[REWahoo]

We have had the same rural mail carrier for more than a decade and she does a great job. In keeping with the USPS policy posted above, we give her two (one from each of us) $20 gift cards from our HEB grocery chain. I would have second thoughts about gifting her anything if we got a solicitation like the one Amethyst posted.

 

[target2019]

Government employee or not, if ANYONE asks me for a gift or similiar, I am not going along with it.

I do intend to give a small non monetary gift to some of the employees at my post office though because they are really good folks.

Regarding your rant here. No offense, but it reeks of jealousy that I did not expect to see on this board. Most people who choose government jobs do so knowing they will have a smaller paycheck than a peer doing non governmental work. The benefits of government employment has almost always been the steady/stable paycheck and the other benefits(health, TSP, pension, etc) that come with government service. I would expect most people here to understand this.

and no, letter carriers do not make a ton of money

I can understand your rant about the alleged rant of Amethyst. But you may be misinterpreting some of what she wrote in the OP. The OP did not say anything about making a ton of money.

FYI, the Fed employees I met were not making less than industry in every case. Also count in generous PTO and a pension, and the gulf may not be as wide as you say. Finally, industry does down-size with great effect on labor, but government does not.

BTW I respect gov't workers for the job they perform.

 

[CaptTom]

A good friend's relative is a rural carrier. It's not the glamorous or lucrative career some might think. I get them third-hand, but the complaints are serious.

Our regular carrier is great. We always include him on our gift list. Certainly no problem with the $20 limit, but a token of appreciation.

I will say that the short-time or temporary carriers that come on his days off aren't always as good. Having a good carrier really does make a difference.

 

[Dtail]

Actually our mail carrier has delivered to us the incorrect mail 6x over the last year. Complained to the office 4x.
Umm, no tip from me.

 

[FDC319]

I can understand your rant about the alleged rant of Amethyst. But you may be misinterpreting some of what she wrote in the OP. The OP did not say anything about making a ton of money.

"a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine."

Not misinterpreting anything. It is a pure sour grapes statement on something he/she does not understand the negatives of government employment.

I know all about government benefits. I did almost 3 decades in the Army where junior Soldiers often qualify for food stamps. The benefits for those that stick around are significant.
<---Fully retired at 47.

I stand by my earlier statement that I will not gift anyone asking for gifts. IMO it is pretty low class.

 

[Aerides]

Am I over-sensitive, or does this appear to be a government employee soliciting tips?

why not both?

If your carrier is great, tip them, sure, if you are so inclined. I think the cards are a way for some to go "hmm I want to tip/know my carrier's name but I don't..." so now it's easy. I'm sure only the minority of people respond, and I wouldn't feel obligated if I didn't rely on mine so much.

Because I have a small home business, I depend on my because my carrier for far more than inbound mail. If she was terrible, it would impact my business. She's not, she's great, I need her to do much more for me than the average customer, and is super friendly and nice. Her error rate is very low compared with prior carriers.

I know they can be far less reliable, and I'll be sad when she moves to another route and have to "train" a new one...

 

[target2019]

"a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine."

Not misinterpreting anything. It is a pure sour grapes statement on something he/she does not understand the negatives of government employment.

I know all about government benefits. I did almost 3 decades in the Army where junior Soldiers often qualify for food stamps. The benefits for those that stick around are significant.
<---Fully retired at 47.

I stand by my earlier statement that I will not gift anyone asking for gifts. IMO it is pretty low class.

You sorta missed her entire statement about that...

Incidentally, while it wouldn't be the case in my immediate neighborhood, a letter carrier probably makes better money than most people in the area he/she serves; and their health insurance is better than mine. They aren't some "poor soul barely making ends meet."

I will see if I can find a source for actual USPS salaries...

 

[donheff]

I like my mail carrier. My gift was advising him to pull back on a panic move of his entire TSP to the G (government bond) fund during a downturn a few years back - summer of 2016 I think. He saw that I received the Federal Times and asked me my advice on the TSP. We got talking about AA, buy and hold, and avoiding market timing. He stopped by the next day and said he was able to reverse his exchange before it went through. He then changed his incoming allocation to primarily stock. As the market climbed I kept reminding him that he could lose half his gains at any time and shouldn't panic when it happens. He held tight through the spring 2020 downturn and is now sitting pretty.

 

[Montecfo]

Have not gotten these but I respect the job the letter carriers do. I have never felt the need to tip as what they are doing for me is generic and does not rise to that level. But I would understand if people did.

Now the trash guys, that's another matter. Our lot is heavily wooded and we put out loads of extra limbs and yard waste. Most is cut into manageable sizes but not bundled and tied like the guidelines state. They always take it and I am grateful for this.

They never ask but I tip them.

 

[Jerry1]

How do you tip these folks. Not how much, but how. The mail man is someone I know by first name, but if I put it in the mail box, how do I know he got it and not someone else, like when he takes a day off.

The garbage guys? Hell yeah, they deserve a tip, but again, what do you do, stand at the ready on garbage day and run out there? Seems unlikely that these are the same guys every week so I guess they luck out by the timing? Plus, we have yard waste collection (now done for the year), recycle and garbage. All picked up by different trucks. When doing a good thing creates a problem for me, I tend to avoid problems.

 

[Aerides]

How do you tip these folks. Not how much, but how. The mail man is someone I know by first name, but if I put it in the mail box, how do I know he got it and not someone else, like when he takes a day off.

For my carrier, I put a card in my mailbox with her name on the envelope. If it's her day off, and another carrier picked it up, they'd have to be a terrible person not to give it to her back at the PO.

 

[Ready]

I have no idea who my mailman/woman is. It may not even be the same person who shows up every day now that packages are being delivered seven days a week. As for the level of service they provide, I wouldn’t even know how to measure that. I mean the mail shows up in my mailbox. Is that great service? What else are they doing to go above and beyond?

 

[JoeWras]

Anyone else remember mom and dad giving their carrier booze?

Growing up in the dense city, our carrier was known to all. He'd let the kids tag along, and even let us put letters in the door slots. (Probably illegal back then too, sue him.)

At Christmas Eve, my mom and aunt (lived in same building) would have an envelope with money, cookies and booze ready. He'd come inside and enjoy the drink. After he left, mom would usually comment that he was already two sheets to the wind since we were near the end of his route.

Good memories.

And no jokes about the mailman. I know who my dad is!

 

[tb001]

I’ve always wondered about how to tip the trash guys too. Maybe tape it to the top of the can? And I’m not sure if the trash and the recycling and the yard waste are picked up by the same or different teams.

Re the mail, I have a friend who is a rural carrier. They have had a horrible year this year. From what I understand, their pay is calculated on the amount of typical mail/packages and the time it takes a carrier to deliver. But with covid the volume has increased dramatically, but no increase in pay, so she’s working like crazy for what ends up being a lower hourly wage. Eventually it will right size, but it’s been bad.

We’ll definitely be tipping our carrier, though I too would be put off by a note like that.

 

[Amethyst]

I am a retired Federal government employee. Our health insurance is more expensive than the Postal workers'. One thing I did not do, even when I was at the bottom of the pay scale, and that's hint around for tips. Had I done such a thing I would have been reprimanded.

At no point did I hint they make a "ton" of money. I said they often are paid better than people in the areas they serve, which is hard to argue with, especially in this year of incredibly widespread unemployment. It seems to me very inappropriate to blanket your route with "thanks for your generosity" cards.

I did expect to see people defending their wonderful letter carriers. We in this neighborhood joke about how frequently we deliver one another's misdelivered mail, since the house numbers are the same on each street. This could perhaps be blamed on the mail sorters, but I don't see them hinting for tips.

Regarding your rant here. No offense, but it reeks of jealousy that I did not expect to see on this board. Most people who choose government jobs do so knowing they will have a smaller paycheck .... I would expect most people here to understand this.

and no, letter carriers do not make a ton of money

 

[Amethyst]

If ours did a great job, I might consider doing this. We give the UPS guy a $20 now and then, because we can see him busting what little butt he has. He is a small guy, who totes heavy boxes extremely fast and sets them down carefully, and I know what a long route he has. Even if he's paid overtime for 12-hour days, that's 4 extra hours of lift and tote and he always has a grin for me.

We have had the same rural mail carrier for more than a decade and she does a great job. In keeping with the USPS policy posted above, we give her two (one from each of us) $20 gift cards from our HEB grocery chain. I would have second thoughts about gifting her anything if we got a solicitation like the one Amethyst posted.

 

[Amethyst]

It is even more often, here! We re-delivered 4x this year and had neighbors bring us mail 3X; I have a neighbor's bills on the table right now. Somebody in the chain has literacy issues, or needs glasses.

Actually our mail carrier has delivered to us the incorrect mail 6x over the last year. Complained to the office 4x.
Umm, no tip from me.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Regarding your rant here. No offense, but it reeks of jealousy that I did not expect to see on this board. Most people who choose government jobs do so knowing they will have a smaller paycheck than a peer doing non governmental work. The benefits of government employment has almost always been the steady/stable paycheck and the other benefits(health, TSP, pension, etc) that come with government service. I would expect most people here to understand this.

and no, letter carriers do not make a ton of money

Emphasis bolded. While this statement might have been true in 1970 or 1980, it is not true today. I live in an area with many state government employees. They have in general better wages and much better benefits and pension than others in the area. They have had virtually no risk of job loss.

In my own case, while working for mega-corp, I worked my a*s off compared to my government employed friends.

In terms of my postal carrier, if it were up to me the person would be fired. Packages left out in the rain (where there was a porch to put them on), and many times the person won't bring them down the driveway and instead I have to go to the post office to pick them up. I've had my mail box (rural) stuffed with a package where I literally had to cut it open with a knife and screwdriver because I couldn't physically remove it because it was packed in there so tight. Doing that at night with a flashlight isn't so much fun. All because the person was too d**m lazy to walk it down 50 ft.

To be fair, In the post office itself, there is one employee who's been great.

In terms of generalities, I don't think government employees should be soliciting "tips". In fact, I think Walmart's policy for curb-side grocery is the correct one: That they don't allow tips of any sort.