Don’t Forget To Thank Your Mail Carrier…
If you’re like me and have done the majority of your Christmas shopping online this year, then don’t forget to thank that important person that delivers all of your online goodies (and freebies!) right to your door… your mailman or mailwoman! You can see how I’ve shown my appreciation previously by watching the end of this video. 😉
Also, check out the email that I recently received from reader, Kelsey…
First I want to say thanks for all you do! You saved my family so much this holiday season and you are always posting great freebies! This is the time of year when my mailman works the hardest. Delivering packages, free samples, and coupons! So I decided to put a package together for him. I included razors, shave gel, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and some homemade goodies! When we gave it to him on Saturday, he was so grateful. I think it would be a good idea to remind couponers to give their mailman something little for Christmas!
(How are YOU going to thank your Mail Carrier? Will you make them a sweet treat, leave them a special card or give them a gift? Let us know what you will be doing to show your appreciation! 🙂
And.. our UPS man.
I do not shop very often in stores, all but grocery shopping for fresh items is done online and delivered by my Letter Carrier or the UPS drivers. This year I simply gave them the thing that everyone needs these days….cash. I had met my UPS driver in the driveway a couple of times because I saw him, and found that there was a driver and a runner this season…..so all in all it cost me $60, but well worth it…..they remember it and take care of me. My last package AFTER the $20 each to the UPS guys, was wrapped carefully in a plastic bag and set outside my door. I love the people who help me shop!!
I have a question so you had to pay for your freebie gifts
I gave our mailman a $10 giftcard to get lunch and some treats. I gave the newspaper delivery man a gas giftcard.
I added a small bottle of bath and body works in a cellophane bag with a note that said thank you for putting up with my coupons/samples! merry Christmas!
My family gave our Mailman a tin of danish cookies, our newspaper carrier recieved publix gc from the clorox deal awhile back and our 3 garbage men recieved 3 bottles of coca cola…we very much appreciate all of them.
Mail lady: Big Box of candy and gloves,
Newspaper person: Box of candy
Trash Guy: Peanuts and box of candy
UPS: Box of candy
Done. 🙂 Can’t forget those important people!
My husband and I always give our mailman $20 for Christmas. My maibox is at the end of ,my driveway and he’ll bring packages to my front porch. I also give him bottled water in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter. He is a great guy. UPS not so much. They leave my packages in the driveway in the rain. I don’t understand why they can’t put my packages on our covered front porch as it’s right next to the driveway.
Tipping, thanking, whatever you want to call it is a preference. Let people do what they think is right. No need for undies to get all bunched up over this 🙂
What do you do if you have a different mail carrier every day or different waste pick-up guy every week and don’t know them? Our mail carriers cannot even get the mail right. At least once a week I have someone else’s mail in my box or someone stops over with my mail (mistakenly delivered to them)….
i also have a different mail carrier literally every day so i’m not sure what i’ll do.
My husband’s a mail carrier. He works 5 days, and a sub works the 6th day. He trains his sub as well as he can, but the subs don’t always work a route that they know. So, that once/week mail mess up is probably a substitute! If you have a different carrier everyday, your regular either retired or is out on disability, and the post office can’t or won’t hire a new regular, so you get a different sub everyday. All I know is that my husband works 12 hour days during the end of Nov-December delivering packages and cards! Thanks.
I wish I could say my mailcarrier is the greatest. But isn’t so. A dvd that was supposedly put in my mailbox wasnt. Several times I was suppose to get packages they were never delivered. and nobody knew anything. The last package sent from my sister I had to pick up at the post office. Glad others do not have this problem.
Oh I do! Big time! Right there with ya!
Thanks for the idea! I just left mine some Christmad pretzels!! https://breezypinkdaisies.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-gift-for-mail-carrier.html
I made a brown sugar hand scrub and a hand lotion to give to my mailwoman. I’ve never done anything for her before and wanted to do something. She left a note and said her hands take a real beating in the winter and was very thankful for the hand products.
We live in rural area, so I like to surprise my mail lady on a monthly basis; some of the things she got this year were; b B&B works antibacterial at beginning of flu season; huge REESE’s bar when summer ended; hot cocoa and cup with marshmellows this month; ICE COLD 7 UP in JULY! spring flowers when in bloom! she really looks forward to delivering to our house and always leaves a note thanking me!
Love this! How thoughtful! 🙂
I’m a rural mail ma’am and my customers are very thoughful! My hard work (and it is hard) is appreciated by the people I deliver to, not just with Christmas gifts and ice cold water in the summer but also with a simple “thank you” We appreciate customers like you Faye!:-)
Just curious Suzanne, have you ever spent any time in a classroom full of up to 30 children of any age?Teachers DO NOT make nearly what they should!! I’m not a teacher but I’ve volunteered on numerous occasions,I’d rather work in snow,sleet and 100 degree weather…GOD BLESS our teachers.
It’s easy to say something like this but when it comes down to it, it is not at all pleasant to have a job working outdoors in the worst types of weather, and I’m sure you would change your mind. My husband was a mailman for yearsand took an early retirement so that he could work inside. So many of those guys and girls can’t make it to their retirement age due to knee problems too. Their mail comes to them already sorted, so they spend most of their 8 hours walking (if they have a walking route), instead of sorting their mail before going out on the street. AND they do not get summers off either. I know teachers work hard, but it isn’t as physical of a job.
I just left my mail carrier the $10 McDonald’s card that we got from the living social deal. I figure it’s really cold here, and we live in a small town that only has a Walmart and McDonald’s, so I am hoping she can at least get lunch or a cup of coffee!
this has turned into quite the debate… didn’t see that one coming at ALL! 😉
My husband is a rural mail carrier, and he works 5 days one week and 6 days the next, 9-12 hours/day, rain, snow, ice, you name it, to get your cards and packages delivered correctly and on time for Christmas! He’s very, very conscientious. His substitute carrier doesn’t always get it right, but he tries his best to fix all mistakes. He appreciates all the presents–cards, little gifts, notes of appreciation. I give my mail carrier fancy ground coffee. Good hand cream sounds good, too. Thanks for all of the wonderful comments!
I left my mailman candy and lottery tickets, the same for the UPS guy. I used to leave the trash guys stuff too, but now that we moved out of the city we take our own trash to the dump. My husband works for Fedex and he loves receiving these little gifts, he works super long hours during the holidays and is hardly home, so these little thank you’s from his customers really put a smile on his face.
My mom has been a mail carrier for 31 yrs and a single mom, she works 10-12 hr days 6 days a week. She often leaves for work in the dark and gets home in the dark. She woulndt get out of her uniform until midnight after helping us with homework and baths some nights. We live in FL and it can get upwards of 95 degrees in the mail truck with no ac just a small fan that blows hot air. She has had to have surgery on both hands from casing mail and often complains about knee and leg pain. It is one of the hardest jobs I know. Thank you everyone who remembers your mail carrier like my mom!! I left mine a bottle of wine, some bath n body works lotion, a gift card to publix, and a thank you card! Merry Christmas! May the Lord bless everyone in 2013! Thank you Collin for all you do too!!!
Thanks to you Collin for trying to remind everyone that this is the season of giving. I was just catching up on this blog and I got caught up in this post, mainly because my husband is a mail carrier. Then, I became mortified at the turn the posts took early on, prompting my two cents. Those of you that think they are doing those a service by posting what you think are salaries and benefits are sad. You seem to be trying to convince people that their gratitude is pointless. Thank goodness there seem to be more people with thoughtful hearts than those that don’t. Everyone has their own community circle of those that are important to them and no one should continue to be criticized for giving from their hearts in whatever way they want to. Even if that only means a simple Thank You. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and may the feeling and season of giving continue to bless everyone in the new year!
I left my mailman an unopened box of Little Debbie gingerbread men for Christman… and he didn’t even accept it! I left him a note that read, “To our mailmain. Thank you for your service. Merry Christmas!” I decided to leave him this little gift because I had heard of people doing things like this for mail carriers. Well I order A LOT of stuff on the internet and he carries packages to my front porch on a weekly basis. He used to place them on my porch but now he literally throws them. I hate confrontation so I decided that maybe if I did something nice for him he wouldn’t feel so spiteful when delivering my packages and I wouldn’t have to say something to him about it. But since he would not accept my good gesture I’ve decided that if he ever throws a package on my porch and something breaks, I will catch him doing it on camera and I will hire a lawyer. If he hates doing his job that bad then he should or be fired!
Personally, I have noticed that ‘customer service’ in general has become more the rarity than the norm. Many people are not happy with their jobs, their lives, or just plain anything at all. When we come in contact with these folks it can be unpleasant to say the least. These unhappy folks come in all shapes and sizes and jobs, be they waiters, store clerks, gas station attendants, stewardesses, police officers, teachers, mayors, congressmen or mail carriers. When I come in contact with someone who is content with being a malcontent I certainly do not like the experience but I try to focus on the situation at hand and think that perhaps they are going through a tough time in life and that is affecting their attitude. Truth be told, they may not be going through any rough patch at all, they may be better of than I am financially and perhaps they are just a miserable SOB that likes being rude, lazy, nastly, useless or otherwise. But I will not let their behavior affect how I deal with them or live my life. As far as my mail carrier is concerned, he is a friendly guy but not a real ‘go getter’ at his job. Sometimes we have not received mail and on frequent occassions he does not make the effort to leave a package on the porch as opposed to just sitting in the rain. But, each year just like this one, we left him a gift. Why do we do this when we are receiving far from commendable service? Because this guy is no different than anyone else, he’s dealing with issues in life and supporting a family. Whether he does his job with gusto or not, he still for the most part gets the mail to my home every day. He is not someone that I would complain about on a coupon website message board or anywhere else for that matter. He is just trying to get through the day like everyone else. He is not perfect but then neither am I.
Tipping should be done for a service performed in a manner that is above and beyond your expectations. Personally my mail carrier is a LIFE SAVER!! I run a business out of my home and on some days ship out about 100 packages of all different sizes and weights. She never complains and is always friendly. she always leaves my mail inside my garage with a few treats for my dog. the sub mail carriers do not do this service. actually I am lucky if they pick up my packages at all. They do not see the HUGE bag of packages with US Mail written in big block letters. My carrier knows my name and all of my family members too. I live in a rural area and she works her tail off for her job. I honestly believe that she would provide this great service even if I did not tip her. She earns a well-deserved tip. I will not share the actual tip that I give her(she would get in trouble because it is higher than the allotted amount!) My friends think that I am crazy for even thinking of tipping her. she makes my life easier!! On a side note, I recently had a fantastic experience at a glass installer business. They too went above and beyond their call of duty! I did not leave a tip, but, a beautiful thank you note! They can post it on there wall for all customers to see. That is a tip in itself. Again, tipping is a personal preference and I believe that if someone stands out from the norm then they should be recognized.