Tipping the binmen
 

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[Closed] Tipping the binmen

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Used to be a fairly straightforward job, but now we have four separate bins which seem to be collected by four separate lorries - and we don't get to see the chaps involved.

What's the correct etiquette here? I've consulted my copy of Debretts, but to no avail.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:48 am
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Round our way the lorry does all the work, and the driver never leaves the cab, so maybe I should tip the lorry?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:50 am
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Depends how good they are ? 😉

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:50 am
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you put your own bins out?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:51 am
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Round our way the lorry does all the work, and the driver never leaves the cab, so maybe I should tip the lorry?

You have self-emptying bins?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:52 am
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Our bin men don't give a **** where they put the bin back after emptying it, once resulting in backing it out across the road as they'd stuck it tight up to the back doors of my van. So they can I'm afraid whistle! Wheelie wash man will get one though as he's a lovely chap!


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:54 am
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The last time my mum tipped them (many years ago) she gave the bloke a fiver and the cheeky sod said 'come on you lot around here can afford more than that'. That was the last one they ever had.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:54 am
 hora
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You tip binmen?

Are you serious?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:54 am
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See the image above.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:54 am
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our guys are average bordering on rubbish (groan). They come around too early to see me, sometimes they do a decent job and other days I am sweeping up after they've been. Part of me wonders if tippoing them might improve their service when they get to my house... but I suspect its wishful thinking.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:57 am
 Keva
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I thought that said Tipping binners !

anyway why, do you tip everyone? the posty, the cashier in Sainsburys, why not send the gas a board a tip too?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 9:58 am
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What tips would you give binners ?

😀


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:01 am
 core
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Our binmen (at home, before I moved out) are/were very good, really polite, tidy, would take anything away. Same pair been doing our round for years.

So, we normally leave them a slab of beer out near xmas, and the old man tips them a fiver if he sees them.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:03 am
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Nope - we don't tip.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:05 am
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my wife asked me this very question last year and i just said give the drivera fiver and **** the rest of em, she was gone for an hour and when i asked her where she had been she said there were six of em, im red raw!


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:07 am
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Congratulations tightarses.

But the question was not "yes or no?", but "how when there's up to four crews?".


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:08 am
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sorry 😳


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:08 am
 irc
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Any chance of a tip vanished when the bin men wouldn't empty a wheelie bin which was full enough that the lid wouldn't close completely flat.

They also scraped a parked car with their lorry (not mine luckily) and didn't own up to it.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:12 am
 iolo
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Hora + 1000.
Do you tip the Postman, Doctor, Policeman, Streetworker, Mechanic, Oil Rig worker, etc etc etc etc etc?
Christmas is the only time binmen speak to you.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:12 am
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Usually 4 beers in a cardboard container! On nodding terms and they take bagged up overspill:-)


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:13 am
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I'd be more interested in tipping the velvet.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:16 am
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Tipping the binmen

😕 you have got to be kidding


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:16 am
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Do you tip the Postman,

erm, yes.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:17 am
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Hora + 1000.
Do you tip the Postman, Doctor, Policeman, Streetworker, Mechanic, Oil Rig worker, etc etc etc etc etc?
Christmas is the only time binmen speak to you.

Or your barber or window cleaner or waitress/ waiter?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:18 am
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But the question was not "yes or no?", but "how when there's up to four crews?".

Answer; if they do nothing outside of their job requirements, don't bother. Tips should be for good/exceptional service.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:19 am
 hora
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Utterly bizarre. My bin men turn up, take the rubbish and leave as they should. If they made a mess etc I'd probably have to complain to the council. I'm struggling with the concept of paying them extra. Do you have low-low council taxes?

As for tipping the postie? I always say hi etc (rarely see one though as most of our stuff is just junk mail delivered after the postie and most of our stuff is electronic etc nowadays.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:21 am
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Op the original question on how to do to tip when there are four crews for the different bins, a four pack of good beer for each, then nthey can divvy up a can each.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:26 am
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Utterly bizarre. My waiter takes my order, brings my food and takes my plate away. If he got the order wrong I'd probably have to complain. I'm struggling with the concept of paying him extra. Do you have low-low restaurant prices?

FTFY


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:30 am
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Is this concept similar to tipping cows?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:32 am
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Or your barber or window cleaner or waitress/ waiter?

Yes, no, yes. Not sure if you're serious or mocking iolo though.

Have been known to tip the LBS. That's gotta be worth a thread in itself though, eh?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:33 am
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btw out of curiosity, what's a binmans wages these days?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:33 am
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At my work, an envelope comes round to tip the cleaners - however, they dont clean - they dont hoover the floor, they dont wipe the desks, in fact all they do is drink tea and talk to the security guard - i'm at a loss as to what the tip is for.

What is it with xmas tipping - they get paid for the work they do and that is the reward for doing their job. I dont get a tip and i dont expect to get one


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:36 am
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Yes, no, yes. Not sure if you're serious or mocking iolo though.

Have been known to tip the LBS. That's gotta be worth a thread in itself though, eh?

I was trying to make the point that everyone tips a waiter here. Yet in France, it's not expected, so it's really just about convention. Personally, I think it's nice to recognise people who do a fairly grotty job for you, often in return for poor wages.

What is it with xmas tipping - they get paid for the work they do and that is the reward for doing their job. I dont get a tip and i dont expect to get one

Perhaps you could tell us how much you earn in relation to a cleaner?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:41 am
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If they put my bins back where they found them and not several hundred yards down the road they might get a tip...


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:44 am
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I thought this was going to be a thread about a variation on Tipping The Velvet.

Bit disappointing, really...


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:45 am
 hora
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What is it with xmas tipping - they get paid for the work they do and that is the reward for doing their job. I dont get a tip and i dont expect to get one

At the risk of sounding bar-humbug I agree. Up until recently didn't Birmingham council binmen earn upto 35k each until the council Dinner ladies find out?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:52 am
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Until the ****ers learn to actually empty the bin they are being paid to do, they are lucky there isn't a weekly complaint....
Tip? Yep - "do your job..."
We've just had leaflets through stating that they now will not take extra bags (something they've always done but apparently causes back problems, etc because of lifting a bag above shoulder height), won't take bins that are not ON THE KERBSIDE - they don't put them back though, recycling has been cut to half a dozen items allowed - the rest has to go to the tip.
Tip? f*** OFF


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 10:59 am
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Some of you would be better off emailing the council than sharing your tales of bin-based woe here, I suspect.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:02 am
 hora
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Our 3yr old always run excitedly to the window when he sees them coming 😀

Oh if only us adults had the same levels of excitement and fun as a 3yr old 😀


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:08 am
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They should only get half the tip anyway now that bin collection is two weekly.

As has already been said, where does the tipping stop? Do i tip the lady in newsagents, the barman, the lollypop lady, the guy in the petrol station, the postman, the cleaners, the bus driver, the train conductor, the dog groomer? Surely if you tip one then you should tip them all by all acounts. Why does one job deserve a tip and others dont?


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:19 am
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Our 3yr old always run excitedly to the window when he sees them coming

Oh if only us adults had the same levels of excitement and fun as a 3yr old

That's unfair - I often run excitedly to the door when I see them coming. Mainly because I've forgotten to put the bin out.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:22 am
 hora
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I find that mad when people tip the barman. I mean he half-changes you, skims off the till and gives his girlfriend/mates free drinks already


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:22 am
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hora - Member
I find that mad when people tip the barman
If it's a pub you're likely to visit a few times, or even yer local, it's good practice to buy the staff a pint every now and then.

Gets you served first when it's busy. Quite a sensible strategy. Randomly tipping bar people without this strategy in mind is nuts though.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:25 am
 hora
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Its bad enough when they say 'thats £3.80 for that ale sir'.

On Friday night I paid £35 for a round of 4 drinks. I had to sit down. If I had to tip on that I'd have started sobbing.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:30 am
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Since they drove over the lawn at the side of my house including several large rocks laid there specifically to stop vehicles driving over the grass and churning it up into a mudpit they can f*****G whistle.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:33 am
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Always remember my grandad telling me...

Binman - <knocks at door> "Compliments of the season, I'm the man that empties your bins"

Grandad "And I'm the man that fills them" <shuts door>

Tipping binmen, no chance!


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:35 am
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On Friday night I paid £35 for a round of 4 drinks.
Stop drinking noncey shitholes would be my only advice there! 😀


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:39 am
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I live in a flat which has a communal bin area.

After catching one of them having a piss in the bin area, I most definitely wont be tipping (not that I was going to or ever have before, do people actually do this??)


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:41 am
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They throw the bags into big piles in the street so they split open then a couple of hours later a street cleaner comes along to clear the mess up except most of the rubbish has blown into people's front gardens and under cars.
They are too lazy to walk closer to the pile of bags so none of them split open.
They can swivel AFAIC.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:48 am
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Since they drove over the lawn at the side of my house including several large rocks laid there specifically to stop vehicles driving over the grass and churning it up into a mudpit

Bet you didn't tip the Xmas before that?

😉


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 11:50 am
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Does anyone on here receive a tip in their line of work? No ****er tips me. I do however hope to get a Christmas bonus...


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 12:08 pm
 iolo
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I was in Zurich Aiport. I had dim sum and a small beer. It came to 35 swiss francs. That's nearly 24 pounds. She brought the bill and had added 5 swiss francs automatically without my say so. I told her to take it off and that I wasn't paying it. She gave me a look of death and muttered something under her breath.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 12:16 pm
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They tend to be grumpy unhelpful jobsworth types IME so no tipping.

Postie always makes sure I get my parcels/bike bits etc and always friendly so I buy him a "pint" at Christmas.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 2:19 pm
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I think there are two sorts of tips. The first is social convention, taxi's, waiters etc. The second is a bribe or ransom where you pay the service provider to do a better job just for you or not do something. So, my mum has to pay a tip to the binmen so they don't purposely drop rubbish on her garden (ransom), I pay the Postman, cos he's a nice chap and will walk round the back of the house and leave all my bike bit parcels hidden (bribe).


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 3:42 pm
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I must admit I haven't tipped the binmen in the past. However, they always return a cheery wave to my young daughter, and stop the lorry so I can get past on my bike. No doubt that also upsets the motorists stuck behind, so time to return some karma in the form of beer I reckon.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 3:47 pm
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Never tip the binmen but do tip the postie.

He's a cracking fella and know's I get a few parcels delivered so stashes them in an out of sight place. Always have a good chat and a laugh with him.

I have in the past dropped off a selection of beers at my LBS, I think I forgot last year but will this year.


 
Posted : 05/12/2013 5:23 pm

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