Courier Jobs - To Tip Or Not To Tip

When it comes to service
providers, it is customary in
most parts of the world to tip.
This is because, as a general
rule, this sort of professional
either does not earn a fixed salary or makes minimum
wage, therefore being forced
to rely on tips to improve their
quality of living. But while tipping is generally
encouraged for fast food
delivery, waiting tables, taxi
transfers or even hairdressing,
there is one specific type of
service that gets lost in the shuffle: courier jobs. Should
your 'parcel delivery person'
be tipped in a similar manner
to, say, your hairdresser, or
the waiter at the fancy
restaurant? At first glance, the answer
would appear to be 'yes'. After
all, courier jobs fall in the same
category as services such as
pizza delivery, where tips are
generally accepted as a given. It would seem to stand to
reason that, if you tip someone
who delivers a meal to your
door, so too would you tip
someone who delivers a parcel
to your door. However, in the case of courier
jobs, there are certain
specificities which keep this
practice from being applied as
a rule of thumb, most of which
have to do with drivers' affiliations. While some of the
people performing courier jobs
are freelancers, most are
contracted to a company - and
certain companies forbid their
employees from accepting tips. Therefore, if your driver turns
down a tip, do not think he or
she is being rude or ungrateful
- it may simply be that their
employer does not allow them
to take tips.