The holidays are coming up fast, and I've been thinking about tipping more than usual this year. It used to feel like a small cash thing you just did without thinking much about it, but now with delivery fees and prices up everywhere, I'm honestly not sure what's fair anymore. Do you tip your regular delivery driver? What about the mail carrier, or the trash collectors? How much is normal these days — $20? $50? Or do you go with a small gift instead of cash? Curious what everyone else does.
Common US guidance: a cash tip or small gift in the $20–50 range for a regular delivery driver or trash crew is typical. For USPS mail carriers, rules limit gifts to $20 in value per occasion and no cash or gift cards usable like cash, so cookies or a small gift card for a coffee shop work better. A thank-you note costs nothing and gets noticed too.
I usually try to give a little extra around the holidays, especially to the delivery driver we see all the time — it just feels right after a busy year. I hadn't thought much about the mail carrier rules, so that's good to know. For us it's usually cash if we can, or a small gift card when we're not sure. It's tricky to keep it fair when everything else is already so expensive, but a thank-you note goes a long way too.
Buen tema. En EE. UU. lo más común es dar entre 20 y 50 dólares, o un pequeño regalo, al repartidor habitual o al equipo de basura. Para el cartero de USPS hay reglas: regalos de hasta 20 dólares y nada de efectivo, así que unas galletas o una tarjeta de cafetería funcionan mejor. Y una nota de agradecimiento siempre se aprecia.