Dear Miss Manners

[RhondaLea 3]

I got the Sunday paper today--walked out the front door, picked it up off the walk and went back in the house.

In it was a Christmas card from my carrier. The card was not in the envelope, instead the envelope had his name and address on the front.

I tip everywhere I go, and I tip well. I even put money in tip cups at places where the employees aren't really supposed to have tip cups.

That's not the point. It just seemed so ill-timed, so crass and grasping--particularly since one can arrange with the business office for the carrier's weekly tip and holiday gift--that I'm tempted not to give the guy anything.

And not only that, if you're in business, you send holiday cards, not Christmas cards, because there's just no way for you to know what your customer celebrates.

But the latter faux pas would have gotten a pass if not for the rest of it.

In the grand scheme of things, this is a small thing, but it annoys me, so I thought I'd share.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[labrys 0]

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The card was not in the envelope, instead the envelope had his name and address on the front.

I agree that that's uncouth. I'd write a note explaining my thoughts and send it to him in his self-addressed envelope. Tactfully, of course.

Owned by Remi #?

[sinker 0]

what annoys me in all of this is you didn't answer your phone tonight

-the artist formerly known as sinker

[RhondaLea 3]

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what annoys me in all of this is you didn't answer your phone tonight

OMG!

I looked at the number, and I didn't recognize it...so I not only let you go to voice mail, I deleted your number too.

Sorry.

rl

P.S. This is a thread hijacking, and you will be punished.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[AggieDave 6]

You could always do something to be a jerk, whatever idea you use, but then what happens to your papers? Someone like that might be the person that will go out of their way to make sure you get a messed up paper. That would be more annoying, then try to prove your paper delievery person did that.

Honestly, as much of a "go getter" I tend to be, I would just let it go and maybe write a letter to the editor as a general gripe.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[sinker 0]

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what annoys me in all of this is you didn't answer your phone tonight

OMG!

I looked at the number, and I didn't recognize it...so I not only let you go to voice mail, I deleted your number too.

Sorry.

rl

P.S. This is a thread hijacking, and you will be punished.

I need a good punishment... for sure... especially since I didn't leave a voice mail...

note to rl... 615 is my area code...

-the artist formerly known as sinker

[LouDiamond 1]

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I even put money in tip cups at places where the employees aren't really supposed to have tip cups.

Have you stopped to think that his "tip cup" just might be that envelope he provided? What makes his method any different from those who have tip cups displayed other than it's not actually a jar? As far as the "correctness" of a X-mas card is concerned, I don't think it is that big of a deal. I've never bought into all the PC bullshit, the season is about giving and celebration, no matter what you want to call it. If you think the guy deserves a tip for his efforts then by all means stay consistent in your tipping practices.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[tbrown 26]

The thing is that your newspaper guy/girl is nearly invisible. They come in the dark before you're up and you get your bill in the mail. Do you ever add a tip to your regular bills ? Most newspaper bills have a line for doing that, but hardly anyone ever does. The point being that they're invisible people who don't get tipped unless they ask and then they're called crass for doing that....

So the question would be, is the service good ? Do you get your papers all the time, on time, in good condition ? Do you get good service if you have an occasional complaint ? Do you have any problems more than once or twice a year and does the problem get fixed if you call ? If so, if the service is good, get the chip off your shoulder and mail the guy a tip. If the service is crappy then don't.

People who complain about tipping really gripe my ass.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[sinker 0]

*beep beep beep* that's the microwave... my popcorn is ready...

-the artist formerly known as sinker

[RhondaLea 3]

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I even put money in tip cups at places where the employees aren't really supposed to have tip cups.

Have you stopped to think that his "tip cup" just might be that envelope he provided? What makes his method any different from those who have tip cups displayed other than it's not actually a jar? As far as the "correctness" of a X-mas card is concerned, I don't think it is that big of a deal. I've never bought into all the PC bullshit, the season is about giving and celebration, no matter what you want to call it. If you think the guy deserves a tip for his efforts then by all means stay consistent in your tipping practices.

Y'know, I started to put the following in my post, and then I deleted what I'd written. Edited to add: No, it's in there. I just figured since you addressed it as if it weren't that I must have deleted it. Once again:

The business office allows customers to add a regular tip to the flat rate. No need to deal with the carrier directly, which is just as well considering how often he puts my paper right into the only puddle on the walk.

Further edited to add that I pay for my paper by credit card; it's an automatic payment and the tip I chose to add at the time I subscribed is included in what I'm billed each month.

And finally edited to add the following note to Mr. Brown: what chip? I do my part: I pay for the paper, I tip the carrier, my paper is soggy a good part of the time. Now he gives me a Christmas card at Thanksgiving with a self-addressed stamped envelope so I can send him a "Christmas present?"

If expecting someone to do their job and not make a pretty blatant demand for money is a chip, then yeah, I've got one.

And I never said anywhere that I wasn't going to tip him. That wasn't the point. The point was that I felt like complaining about what I see as a lack of service coupled with an attitude of entitlement, and it annoys me.

I hope it is all clear now.

rl

P.S. I tip everyone. Seriously. Even when I get take-out. I was a waitress once for three months. I have never since then begrudged a tip. This post is not about begrudging a tip. It's about an attitude and a behavior. Sometimes I feel like I must be speaking Swahili.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[slug 1]

Hi RL

Damn the art of delivering newspapers sure has changed over the years, except for the xmas card

Back in the day we had a peper route delivering the New york post to apts in the bronx.No mud puddles to deal with, but we had to make our own collections weekly, a major PAO.

We used the "Holiday card" in December as a gentle reminder to our customers that a tip would be appreciated. The tips during the holiday season was a major source of our yearly income.

A weekly/monthly tip. we were lucky to have the customer answer the door so we could get paid weekly. Sometimes we had to pay our customers bill for weeks out of our own pocket until we could collect the money.

R.I.P.

[RhondaLea 3]

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We used the "Holiday card" in December as a gentle reminder to our customers that a tip would be appreciated. The tips during the holiday season was a major source of our yearly income.

Y'know, maybe I was speaking Swahili...just a little. Or maybe I just wasn't as complete as I should have been:

Add in one more factoid: I've always received the holiday card. It's just that every other carrier has had the sense to put it in the paper at an appropriate time with an appropriate card, and I've never had one give me a self-addressed envelope, much less using the envelope that was supposed to be on the card for that purpose.

I know that delivering papers is a pain in the ass, because at least one of the guys from the dz does it. And I delivered phone books during my three year period of unemployment, just for something to do (no tips there, btw, although it actually paid pretty well on an hourly basis). I've never understood the logic of putting people in the position of making their own collections for the newspaper, and I'm glad it doesn't happen here. I also don't like the idea of making people dependent on tips for their livelihood--employers ought to pay a living wage.

I don't begrudge the tip--either during the year or at Christmas--but I do begrudge the ham-handed, inelegant, crass and thoughtless style, hence the title of the post.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[LouDiamond 1]

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I just figured since you addressed it as if it weren't that I must have deleted it.

In response to your reply to me. First off, you never stated in your first post a majority of the information you have subsequently gone back and editted to include in your second post. I think everyone expects one or two papers to get mangled out of say a possible 365 that are delivered, it's inevitable. That in it self does not constitute bad service IMO. If your service has been substandard, then by all means, take the steps needed to fix the situation and perhaps don't tip the guy.

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but I do begrudge the ham-handed, inelegant, crass and thoughtless style

What makes it any different from what you said in your first post?:

"I even put money in tip cups at places where the employees aren't really supposed to have tip cups"

Only you can determine if the guy should get a tip or not. However, based on your posts I detect a bit of a double standard in your tipping habits as your statements contridict one another. But let me ask you this, you stated that you paid with CC and there is an option to pay a tip to the paper and not directly to the carrier. So did you exercise that option when you had the cahnce or not?

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[RhondaLea 3]

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But let me ask you this, you stated that you paid with CC and there is an option to pay a tip to the paper and not directly to the carrier. So did you exercise that option when you had the cahnce or not?

Yes.

PM sent.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[noluckned 0]

Well, you could always use his envelope to send him a bill for all your soggy papers.

Or fill it with a well written piece of your mind.

Or......fake snot, always a crowd pleaser!


happy holidays.

*Disclaimer*
The views expressed in the above post may or may not be the result of drunkeness or temporary insanity and should only rarely be construed as the views of the poster himself

[RhondaLea 3]

I'm going to tip him through the business office. Message sent, although I don't expect him to "get it." He's likely to just resent having to pay the taxes.

Given the way I read the paper these days, I may cancel the subscription anyway and just pick it up when the mood strikes me.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[LouDiamond 1]

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But let me ask you this, you stated that you paid with CC and there is an option to pay a tip to the paper and not directly to the carrier. So did you exercise that option when you had the cahnce or not?

Yes.

PM sent.

rl

OK, now that you made that clear, if I was you, I'd ignore the the envelope knowing that you alredy tipped him and enjoy the X-mas card he gave. There, the world is perfect again.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[Girlfalldown 0]

Hey you just gave me a great idea! I'm going to go stash envelopes with my name and address on them in all the neighbor's papers and see if they send me anything!

Don't worry, I'll use a p.o. box.

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[tr027 0]

Maybe jump pilots should affix tip jars next to the door? Or on the dash for those of us at small plane operations.

"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it. " -John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, 1957

[jessicat 0]

Did he at least put a stamp on the envelope?

[RhondaLea 3]

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OK, now that you made that clear, if I was you, I'd ignore the the envelope knowing that you alredy tipped him and enjoy the X-mas card he gave. There, the world is perfect again.

Now the world really is perfect.

Shortly after all this happened, the newspaper business office pissed me off. They stopped billing my credit card in October, and then waited two months to send me a bill. (No, I never noticed.) When I called, I was told that the card had expired (no it didn't) and that they had tried and failed to reach me by phone (cell phone with caller id).

So, I paid the final bill and added a $20 tip for $50 of newspaper deliveries.

My conscience is clear, and I now have an extra hour every day to spend here.

rl

Edited to add: I only dug up this stupid post because you guys are boring me to death. Someone please post something interesting.

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[Girlfalldown 0]

We're all playing poker right now on PokerStars! You should join us! You can help me heckle people.

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(Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.)

[RhondaLea 3]

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We're all playing poker right now on PokerStars! You should join us! You can help me heckle people.

I'm tired, Shannon.

I need to be entertained, because right now, I'm about as entertaining as...

...I'm not even smart enough right now to come up with a clever analogy so you'll have to .

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[airtwardo 6]

Someone please post something interesting.


***

Here's a pic from my window on new years eve day...

BEFORE going out to get frozen, beat on, blown up, and ripped off...

How was YOUR New Years?!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[RhondaLea 3]

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BEFORE going out to get frozen, beat on, blown up, and ripped off...

What the hell did I miss?

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb