# Should I tip the UPS delivery guy for the holidays?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 27, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261 "2002-12-27T23:44:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Merejane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merejane)
#### Post date: [December 27, 2002, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/1 "2002-12-27T23:44:25Z")
I do a lot of my shopping online, and most of the deliveries are made by UPS. Unless he’s on vacation, the same guy makes all the deliveries. I don’t tip him for individual deliveries, but should I give him a tip for the holidays? If so, how much?
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### Author:  [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/2 "2002-12-28T00:35:15Z")
My dad’s a UPS guy…some of the places he delivers to the most frequently around the holidays will give him, like, a box of chocolates (he got a box of something called ‘assorted nutmeats’ this year…my mother and I were a little bewildered, he said they’re really good), but hardly anyone will tip with actual factual currency. Nobody does for individual deliveries, but I think some money (I have no idea what the norm is) or the box of chocolates route (not necessarily nutmeats, not everybody’s a weirdo like my father) might be a good idea…most of those guys have to work all day in crappy weather and have a huge workload around Christmas. I’ve heard all the Christmas horror stories about boxes you could imagine.
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [December 28, 2002, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/3 "2002-12-28T20:35:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Merejane \*
> I don’t tip him for individual deliveries, but should I give him a tip for the holidays? If so, how much?
Something to consider, tipping delivery folks comes from the idea that they use their own vehicles and or do so in a more prompt manner to get your pizza/newspaper/whatever faster and or placed where you like it if you tip them.
UPS drivers are generally very well paid for what thay do, a high level of service is expected of them. If you want to give them a gift I don’t see why you couldn’t or shouldn’t.
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### Author:  [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/4 "2002-12-29T00:18:32Z")
Earlier this month, I saw a news report from NYC about tipping service people. The UPS driver indicated that he would like $5 per stop.
Personally, I have never tipped the UPS driver. Nor would I tip the USPS delivery person either.
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/5 "2002-12-29T21:18:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by notfrommensa \*
> \*\*Earlier this month, I saw a news report from NYC about tipping service people. The UPS driver indicated that he would like $5 per stop.
>
> Personally, I have never tipped the UPS driver. Nor would I tip the USPS delivery person either. \*\*
If this is true from another [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=147878)
> [@](#):
>
> BTW, the friendly UPS driver next to me said that today he had 204 stops. That doesn’t include pick-ups.
$5 per stop? :eek:
Time to turn in your PhD’s for the browns. Over $1,000 a day in tips above and beyond the $20+ an hour… Uh keep dreaming. For a $3-5 tip per stop I would happily do this job for no salary and provide my own vehicle.
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### Author:  [@shulmahn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shulmahn)
#### Post date: [December 29, 2002, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/6 "2002-12-29T23:05:58Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by drachillix \*
> \*\*
>
> $5 per stop? :eek:
> \*\*
I think the UPS guy meant for Christmas he would appreciate $5 for each of his regular stops. I guess it would all depend on how much you like your UPS guy. So that would be a one-time only $5 tip.
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### Author:  [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/7 "2002-12-30T04:12:56Z")
This is, of course, a matter of opinion, so I’ll shoot it over to IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/8 "2002-12-30T09:17:08Z")
My dad was always ordering software, so we knew our UPS man–Steve–so well that he would just open our front door (never locked) and put the package in the hall.
He was a very nice guy and my mother would bake him things. (My mother bakes outrageously delicious things, so I think Steve was just as lucky to have her on his route as we were to have him.)
I’ve never heard of tipping the UPS guy…but I’m sure some token of appreciation would be well-received.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/9 "2002-12-30T13:51:53Z")
I never see my UPS dude. He just drops stuff off on the porch, rings the doorbell, and scurries off to his next stop.
I’d sooner tip the newspaper delivery person because they come by every day.
The question I have is if you’re expected to tip furniture delivery men? I’ve offered them sodas in the past, but have only given them cash once (when they delivered an extremely heavy dining room set). And what about carpet layers?
I’m soooo confused.
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### Author:  [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/10 "2002-12-30T14:45:07Z")
I’d be willing to tip the UPS guy if and only if they start delivering at times when people are actually home.
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### Author:  [@Merejane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merejane)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/11 "2002-12-30T14:46:45Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by PunditLisa \*
> \*\*The question I have is if you’re expected to tip furniture delivery men? . . . And what about carpet layers? \*\*
This one I can answer. But first, thanks to everyone for your replies to my question about tipping the UPS guy! Anyway, as to tipping furniture delivery guys, [The Original Tipping Page](http://www.tipping.org) website, at [this page](http://www.tipping.org/tips/TipsPageDeliveries.html), suggests $5 to $10 per person minimum, and up to $20 if the delivery is “large, heavy or difficult, or requires assembly.” I couldn’t find a guideline for carpet layers, but I think the suggestions for furniture delivery guys might apply.
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### Author:  [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)
#### Post date: [December 30, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/12 "2002-12-30T19:30:17Z")
So why do we have to tip the UPS guy, but not the guy who fixes your car, or computer? How about the guy that pumps your gas? How about the McDonalds cashier next time you go in? Tipping should be left to service based resturants IMO.
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### Author:  [@Benanuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Benanuel)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/13 "2002-12-31T07:08:16Z")
At work, we “tipped” our long-suffering FedEx delivery person with a Macaroni Grill/whatever-else-in-that-chain gift card. We receive and/or ship out a couple batches of workstations/server/monitor orders a month, all of which have to be shlepped up and down a flight of stairs as we’re in the building without an elevator. It all adds up to a lot of large boxes. And all of our delivery people (FedEx, Airborne, UPS, USPS) know we’re good for snacks and soda/juice/water.
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### Author:  [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)
#### Post date: [December 31, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-tip-the-ups-delivery-guy-for-the-holidays/145261/14 "2002-12-31T07:42:15Z")
I’d say something like cookies or something like that would seem appropriate.