Tipping at feed store?

Those people give my faith a bad name. If you use those tracts there better be real cash in a generous pile with it.

I used to tip the guys at my feed store. I sent a check in a Christmas card and enclose a note of appreciation every year to the owners along with $100, and sent a check to the delivery guy for the same amount. Why? Because they went so over the top delivering service. Anything I wanted, I got. They did stuff that wasn't even requested. When I used to order grain, the younger of the two brothers that owned the place would handle deliveries. He would find my bins with the same feed, remove the older stuff into an empty bucket or bin, put in the new stuff and put the old stuff on top so that it was First In, First Out. Think about it-- he emptied the bags and filled the bins. The bags were stacked neatly so I could see that I got what I had ordered. Bags of shavings were brought in with a hand truck and neatly stacked in the area I designated. An invoice was left and I could pay when I next came in.

They changed from working out of a warehouse to a really nice storefront. The delivery guys changed too, but I still kept up because the service was still just amazing. Then some new guys came in that were above average, but not by much. Their business grew and grew, and I started to feel weird tipping so much when the exemplary level of service declined. When the turnover of delivery guys became fast enough that nobody lasted a year, I stopped tipping. How do you assess your tip to someone at the holidays that's managed to make one or two deliveries? The new guys are still instructed to bring in the bedding and stack it where you designate, but the bins of feed are left to us. That's fine; but that's not very different from anywhere else.

Still, I'm really happy for these guys. They're in the process of opening their third store, and they have a really nice product mix. But they have growing pains in terms of personnel. I don't often see the same faces twice anymore, so it's gotten to be more like Walmart. I don't tip at Walmart either.

I do, however, send Christmas cards with tips and letters of appreciation to my hay man and my farrier every year. I want both of them to know how much I am grateful for their superior service, craftsmanship, and professionalism. And should either of them ever decide they need to trim their lists, I hope this will help keep me on their ledgers.

__________________
‎"The trouble with quotes over the Internet is that you never know if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln

Tipping is only called for when someone goes beyond the call of duty to do something for you. I don't think it's at all necessary to tip for performing within their job description.

The only reason I tip restaurant servers is that I know they don't make a very good wage in the first place and it's become part of the social obligation to do it. I don't think I should have to tip if the person is friendly, takes my order in a timely manner, gets the order right, clears things off the table when necessary and gets the bill right.

I wish I was on those terms with my hay man. Every time i think about hay service I have to redo the math on the price of getting and maintaining my own equipment.

No ....at Christmas I take in a NICE box of candy for all to enjoy. I do the same for our butcher (where we take the animals), post office, garbage pick-up men and lady where we harvest our wood.

farmmaid, what about your friends on HT?? We all like candy!!

I mean as many as you are already sending out, whats a few dozen more right?

For sure. I have left a tract, but when I do I make sure and tip even a little more than usual. Leaving a tract instead of a tip is achieving the opposite of what it should.