Shawn in Pennsylvania found this oh-so-subtly guilt-trippy thank you note tucked inside his Sunday paper. (“Apparently our paper delivery person is hoping for bigger and better tips in 2011,” he says.)
![Happy New Year I would like to say to all that gave or didn't give a thoughtful gift. Thank You doing [sic] these economic times, believe me last year was a very tough year for me, you all made the end of my year lot better [sic]. Once again thank you all and may your New Year be very prosperous and blessed. Your carrier, [redacted]](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/5316181976_493e959f61.jpg "Happy New Year I would like to say to all that gave or didn't give a thoughtful gift. Thank You doing [sic] these economic times, believe me last year was a very tough year for me, you all made the end of my year lot better [sic]. Once again thank you all and may your New Year be very prosperous and blessed. Your carrier, [redacted]")
related: If you don’t tip you’re racist
May your New Year be very prosperous…so you can tip me better next time.
January 3rd, 2011 · 63 comments
FILED UNDER: guilt trip · holiday spirit · newspaper · Pennsylvania · spelling and grammar police · tipping
63 responses so far ↓
#1
heat
Nice typo.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:29 pm rating: 1
#2
KST
They’ve got their tenses all wrong. It should be “to all that gave or don’t gave.” Sheesh.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:32 pm rating: 38
#3
Gnatalby
That doesn’t seem passive aggressive to me. That seems nice.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:37 pm rating: 16
#4
eddy
Ow. That hurt to read. I’m not quite sure why words were where they were.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:38 pm rating: 11
#5
Woman on the Verge
Frankly, I don’t give a thoughtful gift what he thinks.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:41 pm rating: 31
#6
lulz
Ahhhh.
Centering the paragraph hurts the eyes more than it should. Whatever happened to just tabbing the beginning of a paragraph over a space or two and then writing as normal?
Letter carriers begging for tips in a passive-aggressive way will receive nothing from me. If they ask me why I didn’t tip them. I will tell them it was because I did it for the lulz.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:43 pm rating: 6
#7
zenvelo
sorry, I don’t “do” economic times. And if the paper is anything like this note, there are no articles in it.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:45 pm rating: 13
#8
Bad Allen Moose
If you don’t tip, the terrorists win…
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:58 pm rating: 16
#9
Kathy
Those economic times weren’t so hard if he could afford color ink.
Jan 3, 2011 at 12:59 pm rating: 12
#10
Divvitar
Please cancel my subscription doing these tough economic times. I have had a rough year. Thank You!
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:07 pm rating: 25
#11
Woman on the Verge
I’ll do your thoughtful gift.
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:08 pm rating: 0
#12
Speakage
I agree with eddy! Ow!!
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:08 pm rating: 0
#13
The Grammarphile
“Doing” these economic times? I thought the economic times already did us…up the butt, sans lube.
I wonder what this carrier would think if someone tipped him not with money, but with a lovely little book written by Strunk & White.
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:10 pm rating: 9
#14
aquapt
Basically, the entire P-A aspect of this note hinges on the three words “or didn’t give.” Without that little jab at the non-givers, this would be just a pleasant thank-you note. The literacy level is slightly below par, but hey, if he were qualified to write for the paper, he probably wouldn’t be delivering it. (Though I will say that I’ve seen writing in newspapers that isn’t a whole lot better than this.)
What makes it funny is that it feels like he was trying his hardest to write the purely-nice thank you note, but just couldn’t choke back those three little words of reproach.
Jan 3, 2011 at 1:24 pm rating: 22
#15
Tim
I was a paperboy as a Kid (Late 80′s). Back then we made 10 cents per paper delivered so 60 cents per week (no Sunday paper). With my 50 customers that came to a whopping $30 a week. Most folks tipped something at Christmas. I can still remember the cheap bastards that didn’t (and it wasn’t usually the old folks on a fixed income either). I always took care of my customers well. Nobody’s making a killing delivering your paper.
Jan 3, 2011 at 2:09 pm rating: 4
#16
knittykat
I’m supposed to be getting the New York Times, not the Economic Times!
Deliver the right paper and you might get a tip!
P.S. Stop doing my Economic Times. Makes it hard to read.
Jan 3, 2011 at 2:42 pm rating: 11
#17
shwo!
Your carrier,
Typhoid Mary
Jan 3, 2011 at 3:11 pm rating: 4
#18
Chiclet
I’m still trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Because I’m pretty sure this isn’t it…
Jan 3, 2011 at 3:16 pm rating: 2
#19
ozy
Why would you tip the paperboy for… doing their job? Tips are for going above and beyond, and for excellent service. I tip in restaurants if my glass is always full, the service is cheerful, dishes delivered and cleared promptly, and the bill delivered in a timely manner.
Nothing of the sort applies to paper delivery. Were I to buy the paper, delivery to my front door in a dry, readable condition is part of the cost I pay. Does it matter to me when the paper comes? Not at all, unless it is late — at which point the service I paid for was not rendered, and I call the paper and let them know.
This seems silly.
Jan 3, 2011 at 3:16 pm rating: 0
#20
Odious
Why, you’re welcome. I enjoy doing these economic times.
Bur seriously; does a paper boy even HAVE economic times?
Jan 3, 2011 at 7:08 pm rating: 2
#21
Who? Me?
Why You Bad Thank You Note Write?
No Tip? I Have For Son Newspaper Owner.
You Ok? Fuck You Guy! Okay!
Send Note Paper Inside My Again? NO!!!
Bad Note Write You.
Jan 3, 2011 at 11:05 pm rating: 11
#22
Nahhh
Dear Carrier,
As is our tradition, we originally planned to give you a $20 gift this Christmas. However, as is also our tradition, we deducted 10¢ for each time we had to reach under a bush to retrieve our paper, and 25¢ for each time we had to crawl under our car (or someone else’s) to retrieve it.
We sincerely hope you enjoy the enclosed stick of gum, and that the coming year brings you better aim.
The Subscribers
Jan 4, 2011 at 3:22 am rating: 7
#23
Elmo
I make sure to tip the carrier because I know what a really crappy job it is. The newspaper considers them to be independent contractors so they get no benefits, no help with gas money, and if you try to call the newspaper and ask them a question, they call it a complaint and charge the carrier a dollar for the “service” of taking the message. And now that the afternoon paper is history, the carrier has to be doing it all in the wee small hours of the morning. These aren’t junior high kids anymore, they’re people who have to take a really crappy job.
Jan 4, 2011 at 7:51 am rating: 6
#24
Na
How do they know it’s not genuine?
Jan 4, 2011 at 8:18 am rating: 1
#25
Bcal92
Tip your carrier. Miserable job (at least in Boston). About 17 cents per day per paper, and all cost on the carrier (even plastic bags and elastics). I did it for 6 months while my wife was home with the kids – working 2 to 6 AM (and longer on Sundays).
Jan 5, 2011 at 6:02 pm rating: 3
#26
Sour_Sadie
Well, this is the first grammar head’splosion I’ve experienced here. The ones over at another site, STFUP, are really something else.
Jan 10, 2011 at 7:06 pm rating: 0
#27
DeafBrit
I do a paperround at the moment to help contribute to my uni savings. I started it because people on my street complained they never got papers, so I figured I’d do it. I deliver on new years and christmas as well as on time every evening and I have never received a single tip even during winter in a foot of snow and pitch dark. this guy should stop with the notes and just be glad he got any at all
Feb 24, 2011 at 9:20 am rating: 0
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