Gifts to service people at the holidays.... (Memphis: new home, buying)

[NY Annie]

We have always given gifts of appreciation at the holidays to those who provide us a service: sanitation, mail delivery persons, etc.

So now here we are, new home, new state, new customs. What is customary here?

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

We have always given gifts of appreciation at the holidays to those who provide us a service: sanitation, mail delivery persons, etc.

So now here we are, new home, new state, new customs. What is customary here?

Yes, this is customary. Usually something like a small fruit basket or for someone that is usually tipped, a larger tip than normal and a card. That's what I've usually seen and have done myself.

[Memphis1979]

I'd give teachers presents during the holidays. My grandparents would roast some pecans that we'd give to service folks that helped with the business, but we never gave the mail man or the trash guy a present. Just wasn't a normal thing for us to do.

[DubbleT]

Check with your neighbors and other locals. In Memphis we always tipped trash collectors, mailmen, paper delivery, etc. to ensure good service.
When I moved to northeast TN people thought I was crazy when I asked about it, apparently it's not done in this area.

[NY Annie]

Unfortunately, we have only 1 neighbor; so I guess I'll ask some of the cashiers in the markets. We've made friends, but not in our town - err, county.

Thanks for the answers so far.

[BirdieBelle]

I do leave gifts for them. I leave the mailman's in the box with this name on it. The trash guys I leave a tin of cookies they can eat right there on a break and a short note of appreciation. I mark it with something like "To our awesome helpers at XX Trash Removal" and leave it on top of the trash can early one morning right before their scheduled time.

One day during this season, our newspaper carrier leaves a card with his home address on it in the paper and I mail him a money order worth $20. Here that is actually a very hard job where they arrive around 3 am to sort and bag the papers themselves, then drive around and deliver.

We also take big cookie trays to our local police and fire dept. They LOVE those!

I think a gift of thanks, whatever the item or amount, is always appreciated.

[BirdieBelle]

I do leave gifts for them. I leave the mailman's in the box with this name on it. The trash guys I leave a tin of cookies they can eat on a break, along with a short note of appreciation. I mark it with something like "To our awesome helpers at XX Trash Removal" and leave it on top of the trash can early one morning right before their scheduled time. It's a job I wouldn't want to do and I do appreciate their doing it!

One day during Xmas season, our newspaper carrier leaves a preprinted Christmas card with his home address on it in the paper, and I mail him a money order worth $20 or a Target/Walmart gift card. Here that is actually a very hard job where they arrive around 3 am to sort and bag the papers themselves, then drive around and deliver.

We also take big cookie trays to our local police and fire dept. They LOVE those!

In my experience, gestures like offering a water bottle to contractors, pest control workers or repairmen go a long way because they can encounter a LOT of a**hole customers in a day.

I think a gift of thanks, whatever the item or amount, is always appreciated.

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

Unfortunately, we have only 1 neighbor; so I guess I'll ask some of the cashiers in the markets. We've made friends, but not in our town - err, county.

Thanks for the answers so far.

Just my opinion but I don't feel there's any need to check and see what others do. A gift of appreciation, especially at the holidays, is always appreciated. Just don't buy something too huge or people may find it off-putting. A platter of homemade baked goods, a small citrus basket, a card with an extra large tip...you can't go wrong with any of those! This was standard in France, standard in Nashville, and appears to be standard here in Boston as well.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by vivelafrance

Just my opinion but I don't feel there's any need to check and see what others do. A gift of appreciation, especially at the holidays, is always appreciated. Just don't buy something too huge or people may find it off-putting. A platter of homemade baked goods, a small citrus basket, a card with an extra large tip...you can't go wrong with any of those! This was standard in France, standard in Nashville, and appears to be standard here in Boston as well.

That was my first thought, too. If you are happy with someone's service, then by all means, reward them. I like buying gifts for the holidays or just recognizing someone's hard work and exceptional customer service with money or a gift card. But I imagine she didn't want to make a local faux pas and perhaps insult someone. When you are from somewhere completely different than where you now live you never can tell and it is probably savvy to just check with others. No harm, no foul.

[rdflk]

We also take big cookie trays to our local police and fire dept. They LOVE those!

I never thought of that. I do have things for my regular service people - if I use them during a given year: my regular go-to plumber, HVAC, electrician etc. And my yard guys every year.

We have a volunteer fire department which I give a small monetary donation to every year, But I never thought about just popping by with a basket of goodies for the folks who actually might be on duty at the local station. I 'll think about that.

Also it's strange but I have never tipped or given anything to the mail- or trash people. I know it's because -- to be honest -- I don't feel like I have any relationship to them. I never see them. I don't have a 'regular' mail carrier. I can have three different people a week. And when I do see one he or she is on their darn cell phone as they walk by, so they might give a head nod and say "how you doin'"

And when I go to the post office, I don't see anyone doing anything all that special to be rewarded for.