Warming The Outstretched Hand
Posted on | December 21, 2004 at 2:46 pm | 2 Comments
I’ve been reading a lot lately about holiday tipping etiquette. I know I’ve been remiss in past years, and though not exactly motivated to change my ways, I don’t want to be known as the holiday Scrooge that I so obviously am*. I’m particularly fascinated by what to do about people whom you tip all year (cleaning service, hairdresser, newspaper deliverer, etc.) and then are also maybe expected to give an extra holiday gratuity to.
My present conundrum revolves around the newspaper carrier. I pay my newspaper bill by autopay – every month the paper takes money from my credit card account. When I originally set it up, a year or so ago, there was a space to include a tip. The bill was like $13 a month and I put in an extra $2 per month for the tip. Well, in a recent Sunday paper, I received a Christmas card from my carrier, along with an empty envelope that has her address stamped on it in the “to” area. The obvious implication is that I’m supposed to throw some holiday tip money in there and send it off. But should I really? Doesn’t the carrier know I tip $2 every month no matter how good or bad the service is? (I have no idea how to change that, since the paper never sends me anything that gives me a chance to redo things. I notice the price recently went up to $13.18 a month, judging by my credit card bill, yet I was not informed of this nor given a chance to increase the tip or to cancel my subscription due to the price increase.) Is my $2 a month enough, or am I supposed to be adding more on top of that for the holiday season? Of course, the carrier probably gave out this card/envelope to everyone, hoping that some would bite no matter how much they tip during the year.
Also, the envelope is really small. Am I supposed to find a really tiny Christmas card to stick into it with the money, or just put in cash or a check with no holiday greeting? A post-it note, maybe? It’s just the right size for a magnetic-stripe gift card – maybe I should run down to the local Fascinations and get one to stick in there? What to do, what to do…
Latre.
* – Actually, I like to think I’m fairly generous, I just don’t like shopping or dealing with crowds & Christmas muzak.
Comments
2 Responses to “Warming The Outstretched Hand”
December 22nd, 2004 @ 8:18 am
I do not tip my carrier during the year like you do. I give $10 or $15 around the holidays (we also get the envelope). I’d suggest calling your newspaper’s circulation dept. if you want to turn off the auto-tip, but then you’re obligated to give something around the holidays. Otherwise, my advice is to ignore the envelope — $24/yr seems like an ample tip to me for a newspaper carrier. It is kind of weird, though… since my paper is delivered long before I awaken, this is the only “interaction” I have with my carrier all year!
December 24th, 2004 @ 1:04 pm
My wife’s boss just gave her a $1,000 tip for Xmas. So if my wife delivers your newspaper, cough up some dough Mac!