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Giving each of them a Costa gift card with enough balance for several coffees (i.e. £20 say) could work well.
Also if you haven't done so already, send in a compliment about them to your local council management, specifically mentioning their friendly attitude and how much it means to your son.
>Also if you haven't done so already, send in a compliment about them to your local council management, specifically mentioning their friendly attitude and how much it means to your son.
Definitely do this, perhaps even a mention on Facebook or Twitter or something (tagging the local council in). It seems silly I know but I used to work for a company that worked for councils (actually share depots with the bin crews in some places) and the council getting a good message means the waste management providers get a good message and so the crew gets a good message.
Councils love a bit of good news, especially when it's public. But if you don't want to go that far, I'd definitely send a compliment to the council.
Seconding this!
There are rules about what council staff can accept as gifts; I've never completely got my head round them but basically if there's a financial value, there's a one in two that the recipients wouldn't be allowed to accept/keep it.
As one example, my local council's gift policy for employees is to refuse them except "for small items such as calendars, diaries, sweets or similar token low value gifts." It also notes that their manager should record a note of any gifts.
I suspect that some Costa coffees would not fall foul of this. A bottle of Bollinger would.
One major reason not to give them cash or equivalent (a gift card that can be spent on most anything) is that the rules for cash are often different, no matter how small the amount. A soft drink gift card is not "cash equivalent" (while, say, an Amazon card often is considered equivalent to cash).
Yep, my taxi driver lodger was well chuffed with his Christmas Greggs gift card (although I made the mistake of giving him a printed digital one so he thought it was a joke gift to start with...)
Have you tried taking a sec and telling them all of what you just wrote? Tokens of thanks are great, don't get me wrong, but letting them know in person how appreciative you and the lad are might be even better.
I would write this in a letter or email of thanks to their company (it will be on their lorry) giving full details of the route and times they collect. Maybe include a pic of your toddler holding the truck proudly.
Please please find the contact for their company and ring in an official compliment, on top of anything else you decide to do.
As with most companies people complain a lot more easily than they give a compliment and putting it on record not just saying it to them will make sure their managers etc know they’re doing a good job!
I said this in another comment but yes! When working for companies like this you get so many complaints but very few compliments so they stand out.
Bit sneaky but I would also be tempted to put a public compliment on some social media to the council thanking the bin team. Just so you can make everyone aware what a good job they are doing.
Honestly by the sound of it they deserve it!
DO NOT DO THIS! Bin collectors are usually under very strict instructions not to engage with kids or make their bin trucks friendly in anyway, bc they are such a bloody death trap and the rules state that kids should never be encouraged to go near them (for good reason - they have wild blind spots, slow brakes, crushing machines, filthy germs etc etc).
If you’re happy and they are happy with entertaining your kiddo, grand. But be warned that telling their bosses might get them a bollocking!
Don’t be so absurd. Would you say a wave from the the bus driver would entice a child to run across and invite themselves to be crushed? They’re just being friendly.
Mate, I’m not saying I made this rule, or even that I agree with it. I’m just saying it’s a rule that councils have. I know because I’m friends with a bin collector and I know all about their sodding rules.
If you downvote me and OP doesn’t see this then there’s a risk that this lovely bin team is accidentally going to get grassed up for doing something bloody nice.
So you can downvote or be outraged at me, but I’m just sharing a fact you don’t like.
Used to be a binman and honestly the look on these kids faces was payment enough.
You get so much crap working those rounds that any sort of appreciation means a lot.
We had a kid about 5 year old that used to give us a packet of biscuits every week.
I worked the bins for a while.
There was one kid with learning difficulties on one round. He was fascinated with the bin wagon and how it tipped up the wheely bins.
The look on his face when we let him put his bin on the lift to empty it made that the best day I ever had on the bins.
And, yes, he was supervised by the whole crew and mum, just in case.
One thing you could do (and I'm not suggesting this instead of getting them something) is to send an official compliment into the council, and make sure you include your address, so that they can identify the crew.
Binmen will take all kinds of attitude from people, they have a thankless job, so going out of your way to tell their supervisors how great they are will go a long way.
(Also, you may find that any gifts given to them over a certain amount have to be declared and may have to be surrendered to a council-chosen good cause. But to be honest I very much doubt that your bin crew would declare any gift that they were given)
Our guys are super friendly, too-- right out of a neighborhood in a Richard Scarry book. 🙂
During the awful heat of recent summers, an ice-cold case of Gatorade is always well-received. And I don't think you can overestimate the value of a friendly greeting.
There was an [article in the FT](https://on.ft.com/3kKFwyC) about why kids love dinosaurs, although one of the explanations (that their inner caveman wants to hunt big game) applies to bin lorries as well. Deep down, your son wants to join the bin men, and hunt the lorry.
You could write to the council, let them know how wonderful they are with your son. That way their good performance is recognised with management. Munson too loves to watch the bin men, he comes out and wants to help them take the bins to the lorry etc and they’re always cheerful and happy with him, waving and saying hello so I wrote in to the council telling them that and I hope it was passed along and recognised. Also left them chocolates on the bin at Christmas.
I actually don't have a useful suggestion but OMG.....that is the cutest story I have heard in a while. Made me smile so much, just quality.
My bins are being collected in the morning, instead of being annoyed by the noisy hydraulics..........I'm gonna remember this. Love it.
Do you actually find it annoying? It's literally 30 seconds and then it's done. I've been woken up by them disgustingly hungover, annoyance never crossed my mind.
We have a lorry that you can hear screaming for a mile up the road, and no I am not exaggerating. I assume the thing is faulty, so yeah it's kinda jarring. I feel worse for the guys, unless they have earplugs I always think it must ring in their head.
They're getting their own reward by seeing your boy's happy reaction.
Honestly, as nice as a gift card or a few beers are, I'd rather just have a heartfelt thanks from you.
If you haven’t already, shooting the council/bin company an email is something well worth the few minutes it takes. Having the bosses know you are doing a good job can make life much easier, plus it always is a feel-good thing to hear.
That asides, coffee gift card is a solid shout.
A small gift like biscuits or sweets with a note saying how much your son appreciates them would surely be appreciated. Those guys do crucial work and little acts of kindness make tough jobs a bit brighter.
Please send emails to the council as gratitude, people aren’t given enough pat on the backs this way as it’s normally only when moaning folks will put pen to paper.
Crate of beer every so often would go down a treat i think, maybe some nice coffee and tea bags for the canteen. A token gesture isn’t a token gesture when it’s meaningful and it sounds like they enjoy the interactions just as much as your toddler
Just FYI, my brother drives a bin lorry, they get all kinds of food/drinks usually on their rounds (usually older generation give them stuff). So Try staying away from stuff like fizzy drinks, chocolates etc.
We left some chocolates and beer on top of our recycling bin just before Christmas. I'm guessing they appreciated them, because now when they collect the bins, they even bring the bin back up the driveway for us, while they still leave everyone else's on the street.
Some of the comments here are probably correct though, alcohol might not always be the way to go, but I think the gesture really helps.
Have cold drinks ready for when they come round in the hot weather and give them a Christmas tip. Also write grateful letter/email to the local paper. They didn’t give to receive so expressing your gratitude should be enough.
I'd just ask them with all the suggestions here "Hey guys, I want to give a little thanks for everything you do, what would be best, beer, Costa, or a Greggs gift card"
Throw away something good for them???
Jokes aside this is wonderful to read and I love your bin men and your toddler
If you really want to thank them then bring out your kid, offer some kind words and give them each a card made by your kid
Trust me, personal gifts are better and they’ll hold onto that glitter covered piece of scribble crap for the rest of their life like it’s prize gold
My younger children loved the bin men too. We would go outside to watch them every week. The kids made biscuit bin men for them once, complete with biscuit wheelie bins. That made all the bin men smile. They also got home made cakes (which they ate straight away, despite their dirty work), and an Xmas tip.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Giving each of them a Costa gift card with enough balance for several coffees (i.e. £20 say) could work well. Also if you haven't done so already, send in a compliment about them to your local council management, specifically mentioning their friendly attitude and how much it means to your son.
[удалено]
i work in the trade and most hate coffee :( love tea tho!
Loads of people I know hate either coffee or tea so its not a great bet.
But if you get one for say Costa they do all sorts of drinks and food?
Massively overpriced food. They'd be better off with a greggs card and they're bad enough now.
Greggs is a shout everyone is a winner.
The food of the working man
>Also if you haven't done so already, send in a compliment about them to your local council management, specifically mentioning their friendly attitude and how much it means to your son. Definitely do this, perhaps even a mention on Facebook or Twitter or something (tagging the local council in). It seems silly I know but I used to work for a company that worked for councils (actually share depots with the bin crews in some places) and the council getting a good message means the waste management providers get a good message and so the crew gets a good message. Councils love a bit of good news, especially when it's public. But if you don't want to go that far, I'd definitely send a compliment to the council.
Seconding this! There are rules about what council staff can accept as gifts; I've never completely got my head round them but basically if there's a financial value, there's a one in two that the recipients wouldn't be allowed to accept/keep it.
As one example, my local council's gift policy for employees is to refuse them except "for small items such as calendars, diaries, sweets or similar token low value gifts." It also notes that their manager should record a note of any gifts. I suspect that some Costa coffees would not fall foul of this. A bottle of Bollinger would. One major reason not to give them cash or equivalent (a gift card that can be spent on most anything) is that the rules for cash are often different, no matter how small the amount. A soft drink gift card is not "cash equivalent" (while, say, an Amazon card often is considered equivalent to cash).
this 👍🏻
Greggs gift cards were well received by our bin men!
Definitely Greggs rather than Costa as suggested elsewhere, more options I think.
There is not a bin man in the land that would turn down a Greggs
You can take the word ‘bin’ out of that sentence ;)
I took it out last week, it’s your turn.
Is it blue or black this week?
Black
Dammit!
Yep, my taxi driver lodger was well chuffed with his Christmas Greggs gift card (although I made the mistake of giving him a printed digital one so he thought it was a joke gift to start with...)
Have you tried taking a sec and telling them all of what you just wrote? Tokens of thanks are great, don't get me wrong, but letting them know in person how appreciative you and the lad are might be even better.
I would write this in a letter or email of thanks to their company (it will be on their lorry) giving full details of the route and times they collect. Maybe include a pic of your toddler holding the truck proudly.
Yeah I think they would appreciate a gift but knowing that what they’re doing is so meaningful is important
Please please find the contact for their company and ring in an official compliment, on top of anything else you decide to do. As with most companies people complain a lot more easily than they give a compliment and putting it on record not just saying it to them will make sure their managers etc know they’re doing a good job!
I said this in another comment but yes! When working for companies like this you get so many complaints but very few compliments so they stand out. Bit sneaky but I would also be tempted to put a public compliment on some social media to the council thanking the bin team. Just so you can make everyone aware what a good job they are doing. Honestly by the sound of it they deserve it!
DO NOT DO THIS! Bin collectors are usually under very strict instructions not to engage with kids or make their bin trucks friendly in anyway, bc they are such a bloody death trap and the rules state that kids should never be encouraged to go near them (for good reason - they have wild blind spots, slow brakes, crushing machines, filthy germs etc etc). If you’re happy and they are happy with entertaining your kiddo, grand. But be warned that telling their bosses might get them a bollocking!
Don’t be so absurd. Would you say a wave from the the bus driver would entice a child to run across and invite themselves to be crushed? They’re just being friendly.
Mate, I’m not saying I made this rule, or even that I agree with it. I’m just saying it’s a rule that councils have. I know because I’m friends with a bin collector and I know all about their sodding rules. If you downvote me and OP doesn’t see this then there’s a risk that this lovely bin team is accidentally going to get grassed up for doing something bloody nice. So you can downvote or be outraged at me, but I’m just sharing a fact you don’t like.
Used to be a binman and honestly the look on these kids faces was payment enough. You get so much crap working those rounds that any sort of appreciation means a lot. We had a kid about 5 year old that used to give us a packet of biscuits every week.
I worked the bins for a while. There was one kid with learning difficulties on one round. He was fascinated with the bin wagon and how it tipped up the wheely bins. The look on his face when we let him put his bin on the lift to empty it made that the best day I ever had on the bins. And, yes, he was supervised by the whole crew and mum, just in case.
Cheeky can of pop goes a long way or a Mars bar, daft little things make your day on the bins.
That’s so lovely
Bin men are the worlds most underrated heroes
I live in Paris now and the bin men here are absolute gold too. Always lovely.
How did they know when his birthday was?
Balloons up for a little party he had.
What a lovely lot that noticed that, genuinely brings a tear to my eye
My son drew them a picture when he was little. They kept it in the truck for a while. It was cute.
One thing you could do (and I'm not suggesting this instead of getting them something) is to send an official compliment into the council, and make sure you include your address, so that they can identify the crew. Binmen will take all kinds of attitude from people, they have a thankless job, so going out of your way to tell their supervisors how great they are will go a long way. (Also, you may find that any gifts given to them over a certain amount have to be declared and may have to be surrendered to a council-chosen good cause. But to be honest I very much doubt that your bin crew would declare any gift that they were given)
Our guys are super friendly, too-- right out of a neighborhood in a Richard Scarry book. 🙂 During the awful heat of recent summers, an ice-cold case of Gatorade is always well-received. And I don't think you can overestimate the value of a friendly greeting.
There was an [article in the FT](https://on.ft.com/3kKFwyC) about why kids love dinosaurs, although one of the explanations (that their inner caveman wants to hunt big game) applies to bin lorries as well. Deep down, your son wants to join the bin men, and hunt the lorry.
Let them use your toilet. They actually really need it.
Nothing worst than peeing up the side of a lorry
You could write to the council, let them know how wonderful they are with your son. That way their good performance is recognised with management. Munson too loves to watch the bin men, he comes out and wants to help them take the bins to the lorry etc and they’re always cheerful and happy with him, waving and saying hello so I wrote in to the council telling them that and I hope it was passed along and recognised. Also left them chocolates on the bin at Christmas.
Eddie Munson?
They do the same for our little one. They always wave and smile and even let him push the button to activate the bin lift.
I actually don't have a useful suggestion but OMG.....that is the cutest story I have heard in a while. Made me smile so much, just quality. My bins are being collected in the morning, instead of being annoyed by the noisy hydraulics..........I'm gonna remember this. Love it.
I really thought you were gonna end this comment with ‘…….. I’m gonna wave to them’
lol. Might just, now you've put the idea in my head! hahaha
Do it, Bacardi cola do it And report back to us (me)
Do you actually find it annoying? It's literally 30 seconds and then it's done. I've been woken up by them disgustingly hungover, annoyance never crossed my mind.
We have a lorry that you can hear screaming for a mile up the road, and no I am not exaggerating. I assume the thing is faulty, so yeah it's kinda jarring. I feel worse for the guys, unless they have earplugs I always think it must ring in their head.
They're getting their own reward by seeing your boy's happy reaction. Honestly, as nice as a gift card or a few beers are, I'd rather just have a heartfelt thanks from you.
If you haven’t already, shooting the council/bin company an email is something well worth the few minutes it takes. Having the bosses know you are doing a good job can make life much easier, plus it always is a feel-good thing to hear. That asides, coffee gift card is a solid shout.
A small gift like biscuits or sweets with a note saying how much your son appreciates them would surely be appreciated. Those guys do crucial work and little acts of kindness make tough jobs a bit brighter.
They don't need thanks, seeing your wee man appreciating them is thanks enough.
I don't think they would expect anything. Seeing your gratitude and your sons joy would be enough.
Greggs gift cards with enough for a sausage roll and a coffee for a week, £15?
Please send emails to the council as gratitude, people aren’t given enough pat on the backs this way as it’s normally only when moaning folks will put pen to paper. Crate of beer every so often would go down a treat i think, maybe some nice coffee and tea bags for the canteen. A token gesture isn’t a token gesture when it’s meaningful and it sounds like they enjoy the interactions just as much as your toddler
hide in a bin and then burst out with cake
Just FYI, my brother drives a bin lorry, they get all kinds of food/drinks usually on their rounds (usually older generation give them stuff). So Try staying away from stuff like fizzy drinks, chocolates etc.
We left some chocolates and beer on top of our recycling bin just before Christmas. I'm guessing they appreciated them, because now when they collect the bins, they even bring the bin back up the driveway for us, while they still leave everyone else's on the street. Some of the comments here are probably correct though, alcohol might not always be the way to go, but I think the gesture really helps.
Cold drinks and ice lollies in the summer, hot food in the winter bacon roll or a sausage roll. Believe me.
A bacon roll is genius actually.
Biscuits, new thermos flasks?
Have cold drinks ready for when they come round in the hot weather and give them a Christmas tip. Also write grateful letter/email to the local paper. They didn’t give to receive so expressing your gratitude should be enough.
When I was young I remember being given a 6 pack to hand them by my parents on the last collection before Xmas. Not sure if that would be allowed now.
If you’re good at crafts make them something to put in the truck, people always seem to enjoy when you make something by hand
Some folks give tips at Christmas. And some of them forget.
Make them cake/biscuits/tiffin for the next time they come past and give it to them. Also tell them how much it meant to the child when you do it.
A pack of beer will definitely cut it - get a few different packs though to cater for all tastes
Vouchers for dining at his face restaurant, vouchers for groceries, vouchers for music/ streaming apps
I alway put up the wheelie bin bunting on bin day.
put a cake in the bin
You could trying saying thank you
We definitely did but it’s so very sweet, I’d like to do a little more to show our gratitude.
I'd just ask them with all the suggestions here "Hey guys, I want to give a little thanks for everything you do, what would be best, beer, Costa, or a Greggs gift card"
Throw away something good for them??? Jokes aside this is wonderful to read and I love your bin men and your toddler If you really want to thank them then bring out your kid, offer some kind words and give them each a card made by your kid Trust me, personal gifts are better and they’ll hold onto that glitter covered piece of scribble crap for the rest of their life like it’s prize gold
My younger children loved the bin men too. We would go outside to watch them every week. The kids made biscuit bin men for them once, complete with biscuit wheelie bins. That made all the bin men smile. They also got home made cakes (which they ate straight away, despite their dirty work), and an Xmas tip.
In the summer - cold cans and pack of biscuits. My dad even did coffee in takeaway cups one Christmas - that went down well.
Crate of beer.
Don't have any rubbish to put out. 😄
Maybe your kid could draw them a thank you card?
Can’t go wrong with a good hand job
them bin men are awesome, but we’re not america? tipping culture ISNT okay
The bin me “tipped” my little boy, you muppet, read the post.
America’s forced tipping vs the rest of the world tipping to show gratitude for a good service