What do you 'gfit" your Mail Carrier?

[Anonymous]

I am just wondering what you 'gift" your local mail carrier this holiday season? Is it the same as last year? Thanks for any help!

[Anonymous]

I do not give my mail carrier anything. He is terrible.

[Anonymous]

The federal regulations, which I am too lazy to pull up right now, limit the absolute value to $20 or less. I'm almost 100 percent certain those same regs say that carriers cannot receive cash.

Someone please post about gift cards, ie, do the feds consider these the same as cash?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not give my mail carrier anything. He is terrible.

Aww! I am sorry! Our mail carrier is awsome. This is the first year that we have had such an awesome, caring, ON TIME carrier. It just has to be rewarded! lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not give my mail carrier anything. He is terrible.

Mine too. These days we haven't been getting our mail delivered until about 7pm, sometimes even 9pm!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The federal regulations, which I am too lazy to pull up right now, limit the absolute value to $20 or less. I'm almost 100 percent certain those same regs say that carriers cannot receive cash.

Someone please post about gift cards, ie, do the feds consider these the same as cash?

Really? I did not know that. So I should give a gift card and not cash? What about a present with cash/gift card in it? Why is there regulations on what a person can give another person for Christmas? I have never felt the need to do this before but this mail carrier is truly caring and very helpful.

[Anonymous]

PP, why are you assuming that the late delivery is the fault of your mail carrier? The mail carriers just *carry* the mail -- they are not responsible for bulk mail distribution, sorting, etc., etc. Besides, if a mail carrier is working at 7 or 9 p.m., that's probably not his/her preference, either ... it certainly wouldn't be mine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not give my mail carrier anything. He is terrible.

Mine too. These days we haven't been getting our mail delivered until about 7pm, sometimes even 9pm!

I guess with all of the Christmas deliveries it is making them work harder and longer hours. They carry boxes to the doors if they don't fit inside the mailboxes.

[Anonymous]

Because they are federal employees, #1, so the feds get to regulate their work life. and #2, I imagine, is a safety issue. The idea that mail carriers are walking around during the month of December with a lot of cash in the truck (in theory) probably in part prompted the reg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP, why are you assuming that the late delivery is the fault of your mail carrier? The mail carriers just *carry* the mail -- they are not responsible for bulk mail distribution, sorting, etc., etc. Besides, if a mail carrier is working at 7 or 9 p.m., that's probably not his/her preference, either ... it certainly wouldn't be mine!

I think it is because of the Christmas packages/deliveries. I bet that is making the hours longer too.

[Anonymous]

http://www.ehow.com/how_2189872_tip-mail-carrier.html

U.S. Postal Service regulations state that mail carriers are not allowed to accept gifts of cash from their customers. They may accept gifts of food and beverages, perishable items such as flowers and cookies and gifts with a retail value of less than $20. Tipping is never required, but is often done around the holidays by people who see their mail carrier on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

I'm the first PP who said her mail carrier is terrible, and I am pretty sure that it's the mail carrier's fault that we get such late deliveries some days. It's just completely irregular -- some days the mail might come at noon, some days at 3, and some days not until after 8 p.m. I have to think that if it was an issue with being overworked or late sorting or something that the lateness would at least be consistent. It's also not late now because of Christmas... this is an ongoing problem regardless of season.

He's terrible in other ways, too, though. He talks loudly on his cell phone when he comes to the door every day, which can be alarming. He never closes the gate behind them. Those aren't big deals, of course, those are just added annoyances because everything else is so terrible. We have a mail slot in our door, and if a package comes that is too big to fit through the slot, he leaves it on the front steps without knocking. He knows I'm usually home and could answer the door, but he never, ever knocks. Even if he knocked and left it there without waiting for me to come to the door, at least I'd know a package was out there. We regularly get mail for the wrong address -- former owners (which I understand to a certain extent) but also our neighbors. Some days we don't get mail at all, which I find suspicious given the amount of mail we get otherwise (and on at least one or two occasions, my neighbors haven't gotten mail that day either).

It's maybe my number one pet peeve, if you can't tell! Oh, well!

[Anonymous]

We have a different mail carrier every day. There are probably 2 or 3 that I recognize-- they'll be on the route several days in a row, then they disappear, then come back a few weeks later. In the meantime, we get all kinds of temp carriers. I don't know what's going on in my neighborhood, but I don't give any gifts to the mail carrier because I have no idea who it will be from one day to the next.

Not like when I was a kid, and Mr. Franklin delivered every piece of mail we ever received, from the baby gifts when I was born right up to my college acceptance letters.

[Anonymous]

I love the guy who delivers mail at our office. I don't know who delivers our mail at home. I would totally get the office guy something!

[Anonymous]

We have a variety of them and none are particularly outstanding, but also I admit there's a part of me that feels odd tipping a govt employee. If I was going to tip one it would probably be the garbage guys!