How much do you tip your garbageman?

I throw out some good crap once in a while!!!!! But seriously my uncle is a garbage man and I wouldn't tip that @$$hole a penny. :laugh:

When I pay the water bill, I am also paying for the garabgeman's salary. Our waste management is run by the city and city EE's do not accept tips.....or shouldn't. I would never even think to tip the garbageman.....

I don't tip and I don't know anyone who does. The only time I would consider it is if I left out a ton of trash like I see happen when someone is moving or if I was throwing away something odd like a chair or something but honestly the early risers that roam the neighborhoods take anything salvageable in my area so it's a non issue.

I tip servers because they need tips to get anywhere near a decent wage. I also consider tipping for service that's above and beyond what can be expected by contract.

I find it disingenuous that the week before Christmas suddenly my garbage can is run all the up the driveway to the garage door, when the rest of the year it's left by the curb. Sure, if you go above and beyond all year, it might earn you a tip. If you do it one day a year in anticipation of getting a tip for it, when the rest of the year I typically have to retrieve a couple of pieces of stray garbage from my yard every other week, then forget it.

According to this site - http://garbagemansalary.net/MO/Lake-Saint-Louis/salary/Garbage-Man-Salary - local garbage men earn an astonishing $46k to $66k a year. Yeah, really not tipping someone who earns that much for collecting garbage. Sorry.

Edited to add - the garbage trucks around here have arms designed to pick up and empty our trash cans into the truck. So these guys aren't even muscling heavy stuff into the truck. They only ever need to get out of the truck for awkward loads.

seriously? garbage men get tips? ok, I will definitely start this tradition this year I say $500 is a good round number.


since I take my own trash to work and put it in my business' dumpster, doesn't that make me the garbage man?

i will be giving mine a 20 dollar tip for Christmas, because he goes above and beyond. i almost ALWAYS forget to put it by the road and he comes and gets it for me.

do you need to tip them??????

Yes, they do hard work and deserve it more than people who carry around food in climate controlled environments.

Yes, their work is hard, and they paid well by their employer.

Serving is more than carrying around food in a climate controlled environment. Yes, the dining room is comfortable, but kitchens are hot. Servers do spend a lot of time running around in kitchens, on their feet for hours, multitasking in a variety of ways, continually making people happy... An excellent server doesn't simply take your order and bring it to you; they should anticipate your needs and provide an experience that leaves you happy. Sadly, I find excellent service becoming more and more rare... if you've never had excellent service, how unfortunate for you. However, I feel even worse for those who've had the "pleasure" of taking care of you.

I have to wonder how long you would have lasted in my restaurant. My best servers routinely made 25%+ because they were amazing. They were amazing because I trained them to be, and they realized the killer money they could make by doing more than just taking and order and bringing it to a table.

I live in Canada and here its -40 almost year round. So would you like to argue that working in a restaurant is harder than lugging garbage around at odd hours in the morning in freezing weather?

Servers get paid almost close to minimum wage (which is $10.75), plus all of the tips they make... in the end they end up making a lot of money. It's not like they're exactly living below the poverty line.

In NY, the server minimum is 4.60. We paid our servers an even $5. And as I already said, garbage collectors are compensated well by their employer. And yes, servers do make a lot of money. I never claimed otherwise Those who are good at what they do make a very good living. Those who are not, well, they don't do so well. My point was that serving is more than bringing food to a table. Try it sometime. You might like it It's a lot more fun than a lot of jobs, if you have the personality for it.

Cool. So how much do you suggest I tip my garbageman? 20, 25%?

0%. If you feel the need to give them something over their base salary and probable benefits, I suppose it should be whatever you are comfortable with.

do you need to tip them??????

Yes, they do hard work and deserve it more than people who carry around food in climate controlled environments.

Yes, their work is hard, and they paid well by their employer.

Serving is more than carrying around food in a climate controlled environment. Yes, the dining room is comfortable, but kitchens are hot. Servers do spend a lot of time running around in kitchens, on their feet for hours, multitasking in a variety of ways, continually making people happy... An excellent server doesn't simply take your order and bring it to you; they should anticipate your needs and provide an experience that leaves you happy. Sadly, I find excellent service becoming more and more rare... if you've never had excellent service, how unfortunate for you. However, I feel even worse for those who've had the "pleasure" of taking care of you.

I have to wonder how long you would have lasted in my restaurant. My best servers routinely made 25%+ because they were amazing. They were amazing because I trained them to be, and they realized the killer money they could make by doing more than just taking and order and bringing it to a table.

I live in Canada and here its -40 almost year round. So would you like to argue that working in a restaurant is harder than lugging garbage around at odd hours in the morning in freezing weather?

Servers get paid almost close to minimum wage (which is $10.75), plus all of the tips they make... in the end they end up making a lot of money. It's not like they're exactly living below the poverty line.

In Michigan, the minimum wage for a server is $2.65. You try living off that if people aren't tipping. Yeah, it's impossible.

amusing, I would be broke if I tipped everyone, every where you go they want money.

Ok- I work for a national garbage/recycling company. I know a lot fo the drivers do receive tips. However, they are not expected. $5 gift cards are enough I believe (if anything).

Someone previously stated that the drivers are paid well. I know drivers who work directly for the towns and cities might be paid "well" but I have no problem saying that the drivers who work for the big named companies are not paid well. These guys (and girls) are driving on the streets for 10 -12hours a day. The work is hard on their bodies and minds. Driving thru residential streets all day long focusing on the task at hand plus being aware of all surroundings is not an easy job. Yes it's the job they signed up for and they all knew the rate of pay. So I am not saying people need to tip. But a $5 gift card to tim hortons or a plate of cookies would be appreciated.

** and no I am not a driver.

I'd say 30 degrees. 45 degrees if they did a really good job.

Thank you somebody for cracking this fantastic joke!

Made me chuckle, needs a bit more recognition I think

+1 at this

Btw im in Aus where we generally dont tip for anything (unless you get over and above service for something) because people get a decent minimum wage ($16.37 per hour) its abetter system I reckon.

I tip my garbage man $25 every year. I was a garbage man years ago and I never asked for tips but did receive them from about half of the people who's garbage I picked up. I will tell you this, go do that job for a few weeks and you will think twice about not tipping them. Saying it's a hard job is an understatement, its a brutal job and imo they arent paid enough! They have to work if its 100 degrees out, raining, or -20 degrees and snowing. You are getting in and out of that truck 700-1000 times a day, you are seeing stuff that will make some people puke. Another thing that tip will go a long way over the year. There are restrictions on weight and items that can be refused. I have never had a problem with that, but have seen other people on my block have an issue. My guess is they dont tip.

do you need to tip them??????

Yes, they do hard work and deserve it more than people who carry around food in climate controlled environments.

what about those of us who have to painstakingly stare at a computer all day and deal with consultants and what their idea of a "good design" is?!?!
ugh.

I tip my garbage man $25 every year. I was a garbage man years ago and I never asked for tips but did receive them from about half of the people who's garbage I picked up. I will tell you this, go do that job for a few weeks and you will think twice about not tipping them. Saying it's a hard job is an understatement, its a brutal job and imo they arent paid enough! They have to work if its 100 degrees out, raining, or -20 degrees and snowing. You are getting in and out of that truck 700-1000 times a day, you are seeing stuff that will make some people puke. Another thing that tip will go a long way over the year. There are restrictions on weight and items that can be refused. I have never had a problem with that, but have seen other people on my block have an issue. My guess is they dont tip.

I have heard many stories about some of our drivers (newbies of course) puking on the side of the road. I have a lot of respect for drivers. Safety issues alone. I dont think most people realize how alert these guys have to be at all times. I do think they are under paid. But they did choose the job.