Tipping garbage men??? (cul-de-sac, house, property taxes)

[himain]

Does anyone up here do this for the holidays? If so, how do you do it?? Do you leave an envelope out or something??

[NCyank]

I would try to meet them at the truck with a tip. I live on a very quiet street but I still wouldn't leave it stuck to the can or mailbox. Besides, something like that seems nicer when given personally.

I admit to not being a holiday tipper but even if I was....we don't have the same garbage men every week, or even the same mailman. I think they must rotate routes because I do see the same guys over several weeks/months, but not the same every week. Sometimes there are just 2 guys, sometimes as many as 4. We also have separate recycle and garbage men so I would easily be looking at 15 or so people to tip if I wanted to tip everyone who has been here through the year.

[anifani821]

NCyank - same here. I do not tip b/c it would be totally random as to who would get it and that doesn't seem right. I have never had a clue how to handle this. One year, I was able to catch our mail delivery person at the mailbox and give her a Christmas ornament as a gift. She is our most frequent mail person. But unless I can catch her and put a gift in her hands . . . I don't want to leave a tip in an envelope for a substitute to pick up. It is a dilemma.

[Barkingowl]

Tip the garbage men? Part of my property taxes pay for that service. They definitely don't deserve any extra.

[JanuaryGirl]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

Tip the garbage men? Part of my property taxes pay for that service. They definitely don't deserve any extra.

I think it depends on the garbage man. If you have the same person and they go out of their way to help out if you have unusual amounts of garbage to pick up, or if they do their job very well, then I don't see why not. Plenty of people that receive tips get paid by taxes, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve extra if they provide exceptional service.

Tipping isn't about what somebody makes from their paycheck or whether that money comes from their taxes, it's a way to thank someone that does a job that affects you personally and does that job well.

[mullman]

Originally Posted by Barkingowl

Tip the garbage men? Part of my property taxes pay for that service. They definitely don't deserve any extra.

+1

I tip the news carrier and the mail man, but I just cannot tip the sanitation engineer. When I get home on trash days my two bins are either in the middle of the street or in the neighbor's yard. Granted I do live in a cul-de-sac which probably makes it harder to operate that new fangled crane they have now (as opposed to a driver and two hands working the hopper like it was for decades).

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Hte only time I ever tipped the garbage guys was when I moved into a house and ripped out all the carpeting. We did it ourselves and met the garbage truck at the curb and asked them if they could back up into the driveway to get it for $20 each. They were happy to help. Maybe that's not really a tip? but it sure solved my problem, as we stained the concrete slab to look like stone (not more carpet).