How much should you tip the paperboy for Christmas?

I think the first thing you need to think about is that delivering papers is part of the service industry. If you have special requests like you want it thrown on the porch, take that into consideration because the newspaper carriers have to get out of their car to make accommodations to you. You do not know how many papers they have to deliver and what time they have to finish there route by; some as early as 5:00 am. Some people who deliver the newspaper use rubber bands, paper tubes and others use plastic bags. Most of these items the carrier has to pay for out of his own pocket, but to provide service to the customer they do what they need to do.

The reason you wouldn't tip the mail man is because it is a government job and they have special benefits. You don't need to tip them. But someone like your waiter or newspaper carrier does not, and works minimum wage so it is only right to tip them good every year. Honestly, when you go to a restaurant you should tip your waiter 15% - 20% depending on the meal and how you were treated. The waiter visits your table four (4) to five (5) times during the meal. The newspaper carrier stops at your house everyday. Somewhere between twenty six (26) and 365 times a year. A proper tip to a carrier might start with $1.00 a week or $52.00 at the minimum and more if you have had great service and had your accommodations met. If you were not happy with the service let them know how they can improve, so that next year the tip will be higher.

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All the suggestions for tipping carriers are SO off, it makes me sick. Although this one suggests a fairer amount than most, it is still not on par with what should be suggested, realistically. I am a newspaper carrier. I pay for my bags, which I bag my papers in everyday (double on rainy days), I pay for my vehicle, insurance, gas, and because I deliver the paper 365 days a year: more frequent oil changes, tire replacement, brakes. The wear and tear on our vehicles goes without saying. Most people tip a waiter/waitress more money for visiting their table a few times than we get for throwing you your paper 365 days a year. I am NOT an employee of the newspaper. I pay for your papers, they reimburse me a smaller amount. I get no benefits, I pay my own taxes out of my pay. It is like a very poorly paid small business. If you are receiving good service from your carrier--$52.00 would be an appropriate tip ($1.00 per week). Weekend customers can cut that in half. But if you can afford it, we can use as much as we can get. I have almost 300 customers and receive only about $400. each and every Christmas. That is pitiful!

People are unaware of what our job entails. We not only get paid per newspaper, and are NOT employees of the newspaper company, but we, also. get docked for every missed delivery and wet paper called in.

If you get good service and few, or NO, days where you have to call into the newspaper to complain, you can tip throughout the year and at Christmas. We need it and, believe me, we DO appreciate it. Think about what you used to tip the paperboy who only had to put air in the tires of his bike, didn't have to bag each and every paper, and had NO overhead.

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another thought to keep in mind is that you no longer pay the carrier weekly in-person. when papers were delivered by young kids on bicycles, they would also come and collect once a week in the afternoons. it was customary to tip them a little each week (often a "keep the change" kind of thing) so they made money throughout the year. today's carriers are usually adults driving cars and delivering to a much larger geographic area. payment is made by mail, online, or via automatic payment schedules. thus, you may never actually see your carrier, so you have to make an extra effort to tip them. that "extra effort" significantly reduces their earnings, so being considerate and tipping well means even more these days.