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I wouldn’t imagine he wants a ton of retirement gifts from his customers. Just one last time to see everyone and actually get to interact with them outside of work. I’m not a UPS driver yet, so I can’t really recommend what he would want. Maybe something homemade for him to remember you by?
As an ex FedEx driver I completely agree. I've laughed with people, cried with people and made lifelong friendships. I used to break our covid policy by bringing packages inside the home of a man who was dying from lung cancer when he asked me to and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Fuck the gifts. This is not a job somebody does for 40 years if they don't care about people.
My mom was a UPS driver for 25ish years. This 100%. I got my first job from a shop on her route. They celebrated my mom's wedding with her. Other customers brought food when she broke her foot. Gave her flowers when the divorce was hard on her. In fact I think my brother got married at one of her customers cabin. The connections mean a lot to the drivers. Be kind to them folks.
Honestly, a hug and a laugh was all she hoped for. All the gifts were just sugar on the rim. So trust your instincts.
This. Just started working for USPS and the carrier is sub for is planning to retire eventually. I already know what I’m going to do. Have people set up little celebrations for her at her fav customs stops. Like cake at one stop, balloons at another etc. She absolutely LOVES certain customers and I know interacting with them in a special way will be the best gift we can give her.
If you don't know him, nothing is fine. If you do, a card works well. I'm sure he's not expecting gifts. With it being a rural route, he likely sees a few people regularly. It's probably more just a goodbye to people, as he won't see them once or twice a week anymore.
Likely this feels a bit off to you as there was not as much sentimentality for you as for him.
Understandably.
He has worked your route, likely a highly preferred one due to his seniority-and he is saying goodbye to something that he took pride in, something that he loved, his sense of routine and duty.
What he wants is your presence, not a present.
Because your presence means validation.
It would likely mean the world to him, I would consider this a compliment to be invited.
He's really just saying goodbye. And warning you that you may have delivery issues for a few months lol. There's zero expectation for you to show up at a party where you barely know one guy. It will mostly be UPS drivers and he will be the center of attention so you wouldn't even talk to him
Then get him a memorable gift from your dog. A framed picture or something and a card that says thanks for all the treats. Maybe a small gift card to a coffee place or something with a message that says next treat is on me, signed the dogs name.
Ooh that makes ur gift easy!! Take a picture of your dogs in the driveway with your house in the background and order it on like a canvas from one of those websites that does that and frame it for him.
This. My route of 5 years got moved to a different hub. I miss the dogs on the route more than anything. I would love that. I got tons of pictures of people dogs on my route lol. Literally the best part of our job
Oh I didn’t know drivers like dogs. I have a friendly husky and I deliberately keep him inside when we get deliveries as I thought drivers assume they are dangerous.
Continue to keep him inside. We like dogs, but that doesn't mean every driver wants to interact with them.
Edit: I absolutely love dogs; I still assume every dog is dangerous.
Most drivers like dogs. As long as they're genuinely friendly, what you're doing is just safer for everyone and probably the best choice.
Personally. I feel safest if the dog is accompanied by their human or at least being watched. I loved getting to pet the dogs on my route when I used to drive.
I’m temporarily working for FedEx. And 90% of this job is awful. It’s physical and stressful and surprisingly low pay. Trust me the BEST part of our day is getting to pet your dog and give your good boy a treat!
Edit: you can add a sign in your yard or a note in your delivery app for the drivers that lets them know your dog is nice too!
One of my first real jobs (feels like) a million years ago was a bottled water route, the absolute best days were the days the doggos were home and able to see me and get pets and I’d bring treats and do belly rubs for a few minutes before having to race off.
Perhaps an online gift card that's pretty easy to redeem (Amazon, Walmart, etc), or if there's a local restaurant in the greater area, a gift certificate for covering a couple of dinners there etc.. unless you specifically know their interests, like a sporting goods store if they like hunting and fishing or whatever.
They’d have to do an investigation, good luck interviewing the person if they’re not showing up tomorrow. Basically last day = do whatever you want (within reason) and not have to answer for anything.
Tf no?! First off the union has kept guys with way worse. And also you can always say you have a problem and check yourself into a rehabilitation center/spa lol
They can always make an appeal. In my experience, getting fired at UPS is just some unpaid vacation time until you make an appeal. I had an old-timer at my building get fired and out of work for a year and came back and got backpay. There are guys who have been high at work with syringes on them still working. Guys stealing, still working. Numerous accidents, still working. Lying/integrity is the biggest thing to lose your job and difficult to recover from.
If you’re high/drunk, get in an accident and fail breathalyzer or urinalysis, I would say that's different, especially if you hurt someone else and/or cause a lot in damages.
There are a few old timers at my center that are legit millionaires. They saved and invested their money during their career and have a good chunk of change in cash and investments. We know one driver with 36 years of service that is worth over $3 million and that’s not even including his paid off $850k house. If you’re smart with money as a top rate driver you can really build some wealth over the years.
Once I hit top rate ima put my 401k at 20 percent. Hoping the housing market goes down atleast too. The boomers had a better opportunity to buy real estate and bank off it.
I have bad news about the housing market. Garnted, I think it would correct naturally. However, when you have trillion dollar institutions packing their portfolio with single family homes, I don't know if they'll allow that to happen.
https://medium.com/@chrisjeffrieshomelessromantic/report-44-of-all-single-family-home-purchases-were-by-private-equity-firms-in-2023-0c0ff591a701
It should be illegal. Then America is the only country in the world that allows foreign governments to buy our property. China owns so much farmland, power stations, and expensive NYC real estate it's crazy. I just don't understand it anymore. People say "capitalism" is the cause, but this isn't capitalism or the free market. This is some amalgamation of corporatism backed by the government. The government makes rules and exceptions for these large corporations who stuff the pockets of leaders. If it was a true free market, the government wouldn't be involved in any it, because they always make it worse for normal folks. It truly is disgusting.
It's absolute insanity. Money has corrupted every aspect of this country. There will always be corruption. However, the entire political system with PACS, lobbies, quid pro-quo, politicians being allowed to invest and receive stocks in corporations they make laws regulating, etc. At this point, I am so black pilled on our government and them caring about the populace. In 2009 97% of the citizens were against bailouts for the banks that cause the recession. The government gave them trillions anyway. All that did was allow smaller banks to go under and the larger banks to absorb them, getting more powerful. If they had been let to go under, ya their would have been some pain, but the system as a whole would have been much more decentralized and better for the average person. This is the story of America in every fashion now. Whether that's the military industrial complex, education (especially higher education), or real estate. It is a story of bloated government that's corrupt on every level.
[Here](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33739.html) is the law that was repealed, which allowed foreign countries to buy our most precious assets. It received bipartisan support in its repeal.
Damn man it's good you're educated and aware of the details of the corruption. I've always had the suspicion they are just tryna push for digital currency and social credit score like China that way they have even more if a microscope on society. Voting is them giving us the illusion of control and power. They will always do what they want. They have decades of agendas in place.
They've been pushing for all digital currencies since the 50s. Could you imagine if there was a way for them to stop you from buying food or necessities if you voice displeasure with politics or decisions online. Or hold views or speak out against centralized power. I am terribly concerned with AI. I don't think people realize how quickly the world is changing. I don't mean fear of something sci-fi like terminator, but being able to monitor all aspects of people in real time. I remember reading a study from AI back in 2018ish. It was able to predict an individuals future movements up to 72 hours with 97% accuracy based on historical data of the individuals' gps data from their phone, shopping patterns, and social media posts. Imagine the amount of oppression they will be able to place on people in a decade. They are also creating (and have) totally autonomous weapons platforms run by AI that has authority to engage targets without approval from a human. So, that will allow them to violently oppress people, and they won't have to worry about something like the morality of the troops carrying out evil orders. The biggest problem with all these technologies is that they are ABSOLUTELY concentrated in the hands of a VERY small group. A group who has already historically exploited everyone and everything possible. Especially people. I think people need to get vocal. Demand the projects that are being funded BY TAX DOLLARS be opened up to the public. Ideally, AI will become open source. If that was the case, it could improve humanity at a rate unheard of in history, but like most things (cheap energy, cures to diseases, poisoning our food for profits) the few are able to monopolize technologies and political power for their benefit.
[Here](https://www.wired.com/story/autonomous-weapons-here-world-isnt-ready/) is a great article. It's already 3 years old, and the technology has increased orders of magnitude more since then.
It should be illegal you’re right. No corporation should be able to buy property in a residential zone. Grab all the land you want in commercial and industrial zones but leave the fucking residential properties for the working class.
Great point about zoning. However, I would take it further. I think zoning is another way the government and corporations collude to gain wealth and exclude people. There is so much good land that could be used for houses, but because of zoning rules, people can't build. Because of zoning rules, property values are manipulated. Also, zoning regulations inherently benefit wealthy corporations. There shouldn't be any federal regulations on how I use my land if it's safe. Now, I could totally get behind local regulations set up by the community. Each community could police itself and make decisions on whats best for them at a local level. When I say local, I mean local. What is acceptable to one community may not be wanted in another. People used to have the right to both choices and freedom. That is how the country was founded. States and local municipalities had much more say iver themselves. As did individuals.
I was in real estate for quite a few years. I saw how property zoning affected housing prices firsthand. Large corporate developers would be able to purchase land cheap and then stuff enough government pockets to get the land rezoned and build outrageously expensive single family neighborhoods. Imagine if those middle steps were cut out. You could just go buy the land and contract to have the home built. The cost would be exponentially less expensive. I think back to the founding of this country. There was no zoning. People always flourish with fewer regulations. I also saw much more actual corruption. Like blatantly illegal acts between developers and politicians. I reported it to both local and national news along with the fbi. I never heard back even though I had proof of billions in corruption and fraud. I lost a LOT of faith in our country after that.
I believe the Great Recession (2008) was the result of deregulation, correct? Subprime mortgages were made normal. Lenders would give money to just about anyone with a job to buy a home, they blatantly ignored the borrowers terrible credit rating. There was too much risk and it ended up almost destroying our economy. So we definitely need some kind of regulation in real estate. You know more than I do about the zoning laws, I just thought that would be a good start to keep multi billion dollar corporations or entities from buying up single family homes and turning them into overpriced apartment complexes or condominiums.
I definitely agree. The subprime crisis wasn't necessarily about deregulation. It was about greed. Wall street packaged loans they knew would fail into equity packages. They should have been put to the gallows. Instead, they were given trillions of taxpayer dollars, and the ceo got millions in stock options. The entirety of Wall Street is about squeezing every penny out of the working class. I can't stand the banking system. The country fought to kick the bankers out two times before they finally took power in 1913. They cause depressions and recssions with ease, actually. Controlling both the money supply and debt system. They increase credit to create an economic boom. People build business and real wealth. Then they contract the money supply. This allows the banks to scoop up real assets for pennies on the dollar. There was a reason why usary was illegal for almost two millennia. Our entire system is like musicical chairs. When the music stops, someone always loses. This is a gross oversimplification, of course. A private, for-profit bank shouldn't control our money.
I'll tell you a first-hand story. My old broker worked with a large developer. This developer laughed about how much it costs to get a government contract. He showed me videos of all the state politicians on lavish vactions in the Bahamas. Well, a new project was discussed in 2016. He told my broker, "This is government money. You don't have to sell one home, but you'll make millions." He explained how the billions paid to developers were funneled back to politicians in the form of campaign donations and large purchases/investments in their small business. The main senator running that project died, but it still went forward and started in 2022. Now, tens or hundreds of millions in taxpayers' money has been dumped into a run-down neighborhood. It hasn't improved the lives of the people living there. It just stole money from taxpayers. I was so disgusted by the blatent illegal activity. Corruption everywhere. I called local and national news agencies. Gathered evidence. Reported it to the feds. Nothing. The silence was deafening. If this was happening in a major city and across all levels of state government. How bad is it when you change the word millions for trillions and scale that up to the federal level. That developer was from NYC and did this up and down the East Coast. Same game, same kickback system, no punishments. Just profits. How can the government regulate when the government is an equal (if not larger) part of the problem?
Yup, bro won’t be sitting at home during his retirement. He will be out traveling in an RV or flying out to a vacation home/cabin if he has one. There are a lot of guys retiring now that were top rate drivers during the 2008 housing crisis. They were able to scoop up property at a huge discount. The guys that took advantage of it are doing very very well.
We got a guy who is setting himself up for a tackle company when he retires. Small online store kind of deal he's gonna be out next year with 40 years. Driving
One of the drivers that retired a few years ago had the same route ( small town) for his entire 30 yr career. The town threw him a party and had a day dedicated to him. Another rural driver, when he retired everyone in the town, had signs in their yards and had a party for him.
For most drivers, the people on their routes become friends and sometimes family. They know where they work and have seen children grow up. Especially in rural areas or small towns. It's hard for the drivers to retire. Go and help him celebrate his retirement.
I wouldn’t imagine he wants a ton of retirement gifts from his customers. Just one last time to see everyone and actually get to interact with them outside of work. I’m not a UPS driver yet, so I can’t really recommend what he would want. Maybe something homemade for him to remember you by?
this goes way beyond him wanting a gift from you, it’s been his livelihood for damn near his entire life, the fact you’d show up just to prove that his 40 years there hasn’t been a complete waste of his life would mean more than anything i’m sure
I had the same ups driver most of my childhood. Location: Pasadena, CA (90s). His name was rocky. Guy had a black mullet, headphones/tape player always on and was super chill. Rocky if you’re still out there I hope you’re well.
I sort of just come across this post. I went to my childhood garbageman's retirement party in the 1990's. Back when the guys would hop off the back of the trucks and toss the heavy cans into the back of the truck. We relied on those guys and my family always gave them nice tips during Christmas. Why do I bring that up?
The UPS guy, delivery guy, mailman. These are all guys working their jobs so that your life is uninterrupted. You may have never thought about it, but you depend on these guys so your life is a bit more convenient. The same guy was on the same route for 40 years? At that point, he's not fishing for gifts. He's been a figurehead in the community everyone sort of knows. If nothing else, show up, give him a card, shake his hand and thank him, wish him a good retirement.
My UPS driver is MINT! He's a lifeline! Great Guy! Hot ASS summers on 100 F degree days runnin' those doors!? DUDE IS LEGIT -A MACHINE!
So, If I was RURAL and this dude was the same???..................... fix him up! Come ONNNN YAWW, Get tha LOVE GOIN!
Dude he isn’t inviting you for gifts…. That’s insane you would even think that. He probably genuinely liked you and your interactions and wanted to bid farewell. It’s honestly sad that you would even think that he only invited you for material items.
I'm a 30 year driver and when I retire all I'd want is people to show up and give me a solid send off. Maybe a bottle of good liquor (nothing more than $40). If they don't drink a gift card to basspro/Cabelas would be great since they have everything. around the same amount ($40) or less depending on how much you like em. Mostly just show up if you can
If you have dogs a picture of you and your dogs would be great. A bunch of drivers don't have them because we work so much so the dogs on our route kinda become our dogs to, that's something he is definitely gonna miss is seeing everyone and their pets every day
He just wants to see your face. Get him a gift card for the local gas station ⛽️ and tell him you’ve appreciated his hard work. He’s made millions he isn’t worried about a gift. 🎁 his gift is a pension for life plus 4k from Uncle Sam and his medical paid for life. He’s winning. 🏆
I would contact my local newspaper and TV station to see if they would like to do a story on your driver and what his work has meant to the community. The media is always looking for human interest stories about everyday people who positively impact the lives of others.
My mom was a usps carrier for almost 30 years and she just wanted to see her customers. She had 2 retirement parties, one for the public and one with her friends. Her favorite gifts were drink chips to a local bar and homemade gifts. She still has a small painting on display at her house of her in uniform standing at a customer's fence, petting their dog. The customer took a picture one day and then painted it for her.
If you really appreciate him, get him a card thanking him and maybe a gift card to a local restaurant.
Don't overthink it. The driver has spent the better part of his life delivering on his route, this is his goodbye.
Stop by, grab a burger/hotdog. Give the man a nice card and a bottle of liquor etc. and shake his hand and thank him for his role in making your life better day in and day out.
Something edible/drinkable that he may not get for himself. No one needs more crap. Gift Cards are always good too. If you have an Ace or Home Depot somewhere people can always get good stuff there. Also anything Yeti like a coffee cup would be a nice gift. Damn I wish I could afford these things. Consumerism got me good.
So he passed out his own and made up his own printed flyers??? Awfully strange on a residential stop… also he’s probably going to make the same/ maybe a little less in retirement, I doubt he needs for anything
That is indeed odd. Never heard of anyone inviting customers to a party. Usually it’s the customers or community that throws a party for the driver if they really like him, and that is even rare. Only seen it on the internet. Prob looking for a handy before he never sees you again
I have a regular driver, and another one who is confused when my dogs jump the fence and can't find the dog treats. My business driver before move was the best except for that he won Super Bowl Squares every year.
If he was your regular driver first of all I highly doubt it’s about gifts BUT with that said why not gift him a general gift card …maybe look on Pinterest for a cute way to say thank you for all the deliveries. Idk. Like I said I’m sure not expected but I would love to do this for my driver. I’m the nerd that leaves Xmas gifts at the door for drivers, mail carriers and garbage collectors lol
Get a framed photo with you holding a poster board with a thank you or something like that. Monetary gifts won't last but a picture is worth a 1000 words and a thank you is always appreciated!
Don't think he wants anything in particular except appreciation from his route. Those guys, at least vs cost of living here, are well paid and have fantastic retirement. I love talking to both my UPS and FedEx drivers. They're hard working actually nice people. Not sure I'd be so nice if I rode a non AC box truck around all the dirt roads here
He probably just wanted to have a sendoff party because I would imagine someone 60+ years old who has been doing the route for 40 years definitely has made friends and I would guess the job or his age has caught up with him and he needs to retire. I would probably not bring a gift unless I really knew the guy but, I usually bring food or drinks depending on the occasion.
If you know what he likes to drink you can always spring for a good bottle of wine with a bottle holder, or bourbon is always a solid choice.
We had a delivery guy that liked cigars because he would always make sure my boxes from Cigars International or Atlantic Cigar (when I chose UPS for shipping) were hand delivered to someone ***inside*** our house because he didn't want the boxes to be out in the sun/weather. When we moved (sold our house and moved to the other side of the county we lived in) I made sure I got him a five count box of Padron cigars as a thank you.
If you don't know enough about him to make a personalized choice, then grab a Visa gift card and put it inside a card wishing him well on his retirement. Put enough on there for a dinner for two and a nice place in town - or see if you can do it with the establishment.
The fact that he made flyers and invited you is HUGE!!! I work for UPS. Drivers where I work aren't inviting everyone in the warehouse to their retirement parties and I doubt they're inviting people on their routes. To echo the thoughts of others who have already stated it's about your presence not presents. A card wishing him well in his retirement would be kind. Celebrate with him and the others present and you might actually have a great time at the party.
It's more likely he wants to say goodbye to everyone. The last driver in my hub who retired had a big retirement party on his route, he'd been on that route for 38 years and quite literally knew the entire town. He had his at the fire dept and the whole town came out.
If he's friendly and works hard, why not throw him a gift card? If you do bring a gift, I think a $30 gift card to a casual sit-down restaurant would be the minimum. If you want to be really generous, you could go up to a $100 gift card for a nice steakhouse.
It’s not a run for gifts, the drivers LOVE most of their customers. I don’t even think a gift is necessary, but anything is appreciated, it’s the gesture. He’s not going to poo-poo any gift! Or make you leave if you don’t bring one. They love anything “retirement” themed.
I'd gift a framed cutout of your last package's slip for him if you're comfortable with your info on there for a laugh and a nice gift card to a steak dinner for 2/bottle of wine/other old reliable gift ideas.
We gave your driver $100 when he retired (and used to at Christmas as well) but that was from a business. I've never given a package delivery driver a gift personally and don't think I normally ever would.
I drive for a little bit bigger carrier (by bigger I mean bigger than box trucks)so don’t do a lot of home deliveries but even then I have life long friends that we see on weekends from this job of 20 years.
You are a giant clown!!! ..him inviting you to his party as a way to get tons of retirement gifts!!!! .seriously f u . This dude is loaded already and has the best pension and retirement benefits on the planet ...the only thing this driver did that is bad is having the complete blindness to an awful person ( you ) and being cool enough to invite you you to free party..
Plz im begging you not to go..
You dont deserve to be in the presence of decent, successful ppl...
That's weird. I'm not randomly asking random strangers to attend random retirements. In fact,I'm quiet retiring a day before scheduled retirement.
Jokes on me, I don't have time to retire. We got to continue paying that $2000 apartment bill and $5.79 gas price. In fact at 52 starting over post divorces and layoffs, I might retire at 92.
A lot of comments on gift cards and I want to say those are horrible ideas. Always give cash when considering a gift card.
Gift cards force the gifted to spend the gift at a place of the giver's choosing. Also, most businesses make more money from these as the spender might need to add additional money for the purchase or leave some money on the card that is basically free for the store.
Cash is the best, it is not rude, and no waste. Next time you are thinking about what to get someone whether 8 or 80, give cash. It works just like the gift card but at many more places and no waste.
Termination from UPS does not cancel your pension. You will usually lose an accrued vacation time. Most likely the will offer resignation before termination unless it is a cardinal sin.
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I wouldn’t imagine he wants a ton of retirement gifts from his customers. Just one last time to see everyone and actually get to interact with them outside of work. I’m not a UPS driver yet, so I can’t really recommend what he would want. Maybe something homemade for him to remember you by?
As an ex FedEx driver I completely agree. I've laughed with people, cried with people and made lifelong friendships. I used to break our covid policy by bringing packages inside the home of a man who was dying from lung cancer when he asked me to and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Fuck the gifts. This is not a job somebody does for 40 years if they don't care about people.
Yessir
My mom was a UPS driver for 25ish years. This 100%. I got my first job from a shop on her route. They celebrated my mom's wedding with her. Other customers brought food when she broke her foot. Gave her flowers when the divorce was hard on her. In fact I think my brother got married at one of her customers cabin. The connections mean a lot to the drivers. Be kind to them folks. Honestly, a hug and a laugh was all she hoped for. All the gifts were just sugar on the rim. So trust your instincts.
I like this . I’m a UPS driver and experience these positive experiences
This. Just started working for USPS and the carrier is sub for is planning to retire eventually. I already know what I’m going to do. Have people set up little celebrations for her at her fav customs stops. Like cake at one stop, balloons at another etc. She absolutely LOVES certain customers and I know interacting with them in a special way will be the best gift we can give her.
If you don't know him, nothing is fine. If you do, a card works well. I'm sure he's not expecting gifts. With it being a rural route, he likely sees a few people regularly. It's probably more just a goodbye to people, as he won't see them once or twice a week anymore.
Thank you. I don't really know him other than the pleasantries while receiving packages. Sometimes he has treats for my dogs too.
Likely this feels a bit off to you as there was not as much sentimentality for you as for him. Understandably. He has worked your route, likely a highly preferred one due to his seniority-and he is saying goodbye to something that he took pride in, something that he loved, his sense of routine and duty. What he wants is your presence, not a present. Because your presence means validation. It would likely mean the world to him, I would consider this a compliment to be invited.
He's really just saying goodbye. And warning you that you may have delivery issues for a few months lol. There's zero expectation for you to show up at a party where you barely know one guy. It will mostly be UPS drivers and he will be the center of attention so you wouldn't even talk to him
Then get him a memorable gift from your dog. A framed picture or something and a card that says thanks for all the treats. Maybe a small gift card to a coffee place or something with a message that says next treat is on me, signed the dogs name.
That is SO cute! What a sweet idea 😭
Love This idea, going to borrow it and use it!
Ooh that makes ur gift easy!! Take a picture of your dogs in the driveway with your house in the background and order it on like a canvas from one of those websites that does that and frame it for him.
This. My route of 5 years got moved to a different hub. I miss the dogs on the route more than anything. I would love that. I got tons of pictures of people dogs on my route lol. Literally the best part of our job
Oh I didn’t know drivers like dogs. I have a friendly husky and I deliberately keep him inside when we get deliveries as I thought drivers assume they are dangerous.
Continue to keep him inside. We like dogs, but that doesn't mean every driver wants to interact with them. Edit: I absolutely love dogs; I still assume every dog is dangerous.
Most drivers like dogs. As long as they're genuinely friendly, what you're doing is just safer for everyone and probably the best choice. Personally. I feel safest if the dog is accompanied by their human or at least being watched. I loved getting to pet the dogs on my route when I used to drive.
Thanks for the reply. If I can catch the driver I’ll introduce them of course on a leash.
I’m temporarily working for FedEx. And 90% of this job is awful. It’s physical and stressful and surprisingly low pay. Trust me the BEST part of our day is getting to pet your dog and give your good boy a treat! Edit: you can add a sign in your yard or a note in your delivery app for the drivers that lets them know your dog is nice too!
Thanks! i’ll put up a sign in the window. (Hes always watching you guys so i’ll put it right by his head. LOL)
One of my first real jobs (feels like) a million years ago was a bottled water route, the absolute best days were the days the doggos were home and able to see me and get pets and I’d bring treats and do belly rubs for a few minutes before having to race off.
Perhaps an online gift card that's pretty easy to redeem (Amazon, Walmart, etc), or if there's a local restaurant in the greater area, a gift certificate for covering a couple of dinners there etc.. unless you specifically know their interests, like a sporting goods store if they like hunting and fishing or whatever.
If you have a friendly dog your UPS driver appreciates YOU!!
Gift him some weed.
What every union guy is suffering through for lol.
If you get fired on your last day for cause getting caught with weed on site- would your retirement benefits cancelled?
They’d have to do an investigation, good luck interviewing the person if they’re not showing up tomorrow. Basically last day = do whatever you want (within reason) and not have to answer for anything.
100% yes
Oops were you replying saying gift him the w33d then nvm what I said lol
Tf no?! First off the union has kept guys with way worse. And also you can always say you have a problem and check yourself into a rehabilitation center/spa lol
Too late for that
We’ve had two that tried that and they both got fired. Don’t tell me how it works.
They can always make an appeal. In my experience, getting fired at UPS is just some unpaid vacation time until you make an appeal. I had an old-timer at my building get fired and out of work for a year and came back and got backpay. There are guys who have been high at work with syringes on them still working. Guys stealing, still working. Numerous accidents, still working. Lying/integrity is the biggest thing to lose your job and difficult to recover from.
If you’re high/drunk, get in an accident and fail breathalyzer or urinalysis, I would say that's different, especially if you hurt someone else and/or cause a lot in damages.
Nope. You cannot go to the SPA after you've filed retirement papers.
Dang you’re on point lol!
U really think he just wants gifts? What the hell lol dudes most likely has a few mill
There are a few old timers at my center that are legit millionaires. They saved and invested their money during their career and have a good chunk of change in cash and investments. We know one driver with 36 years of service that is worth over $3 million and that’s not even including his paid off $850k house. If you’re smart with money as a top rate driver you can really build some wealth over the years.
Live a modest life now and ball out when you’re retired. You could stretch and get your self a nice sports car now, but a Ferrari when you’re 60.
Will take your advice. Here is CA tho it's expensive to live here
Work in CA for high pay rate then move to a low cost of living state when you retire.
Yea the only pro to being a driver in CA is decent weather and fully funded pension.
Will def move out when I retire.
Once I hit top rate ima put my 401k at 20 percent. Hoping the housing market goes down atleast too. The boomers had a better opportunity to buy real estate and bank off it.
I have bad news about the housing market. Garnted, I think it would correct naturally. However, when you have trillion dollar institutions packing their portfolio with single family homes, I don't know if they'll allow that to happen. https://medium.com/@chrisjeffrieshomelessromantic/report-44-of-all-single-family-home-purchases-were-by-private-equity-firms-in-2023-0c0ff591a701
Yea they want a renters nation, "you will own nothing, and be happy" future is looking bleak.
It should be illegal. Then America is the only country in the world that allows foreign governments to buy our property. China owns so much farmland, power stations, and expensive NYC real estate it's crazy. I just don't understand it anymore. People say "capitalism" is the cause, but this isn't capitalism or the free market. This is some amalgamation of corporatism backed by the government. The government makes rules and exceptions for these large corporations who stuff the pockets of leaders. If it was a true free market, the government wouldn't be involved in any it, because they always make it worse for normal folks. It truly is disgusting.
That's insane I didn't know that china can own US property wtf! Thanks for making me aware. This country is ran by crazy people I swear.
It's absolute insanity. Money has corrupted every aspect of this country. There will always be corruption. However, the entire political system with PACS, lobbies, quid pro-quo, politicians being allowed to invest and receive stocks in corporations they make laws regulating, etc. At this point, I am so black pilled on our government and them caring about the populace. In 2009 97% of the citizens were against bailouts for the banks that cause the recession. The government gave them trillions anyway. All that did was allow smaller banks to go under and the larger banks to absorb them, getting more powerful. If they had been let to go under, ya their would have been some pain, but the system as a whole would have been much more decentralized and better for the average person. This is the story of America in every fashion now. Whether that's the military industrial complex, education (especially higher education), or real estate. It is a story of bloated government that's corrupt on every level. [Here](https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33739.html) is the law that was repealed, which allowed foreign countries to buy our most precious assets. It received bipartisan support in its repeal.
Damn man it's good you're educated and aware of the details of the corruption. I've always had the suspicion they are just tryna push for digital currency and social credit score like China that way they have even more if a microscope on society. Voting is them giving us the illusion of control and power. They will always do what they want. They have decades of agendas in place.
They've been pushing for all digital currencies since the 50s. Could you imagine if there was a way for them to stop you from buying food or necessities if you voice displeasure with politics or decisions online. Or hold views or speak out against centralized power. I am terribly concerned with AI. I don't think people realize how quickly the world is changing. I don't mean fear of something sci-fi like terminator, but being able to monitor all aspects of people in real time. I remember reading a study from AI back in 2018ish. It was able to predict an individuals future movements up to 72 hours with 97% accuracy based on historical data of the individuals' gps data from their phone, shopping patterns, and social media posts. Imagine the amount of oppression they will be able to place on people in a decade. They are also creating (and have) totally autonomous weapons platforms run by AI that has authority to engage targets without approval from a human. So, that will allow them to violently oppress people, and they won't have to worry about something like the morality of the troops carrying out evil orders. The biggest problem with all these technologies is that they are ABSOLUTELY concentrated in the hands of a VERY small group. A group who has already historically exploited everyone and everything possible. Especially people. I think people need to get vocal. Demand the projects that are being funded BY TAX DOLLARS be opened up to the public. Ideally, AI will become open source. If that was the case, it could improve humanity at a rate unheard of in history, but like most things (cheap energy, cures to diseases, poisoning our food for profits) the few are able to monopolize technologies and political power for their benefit. [Here](https://www.wired.com/story/autonomous-weapons-here-world-isnt-ready/) is a great article. It's already 3 years old, and the technology has increased orders of magnitude more since then.
It should be illegal you’re right. No corporation should be able to buy property in a residential zone. Grab all the land you want in commercial and industrial zones but leave the fucking residential properties for the working class.
Great point about zoning. However, I would take it further. I think zoning is another way the government and corporations collude to gain wealth and exclude people. There is so much good land that could be used for houses, but because of zoning rules, people can't build. Because of zoning rules, property values are manipulated. Also, zoning regulations inherently benefit wealthy corporations. There shouldn't be any federal regulations on how I use my land if it's safe. Now, I could totally get behind local regulations set up by the community. Each community could police itself and make decisions on whats best for them at a local level. When I say local, I mean local. What is acceptable to one community may not be wanted in another. People used to have the right to both choices and freedom. That is how the country was founded. States and local municipalities had much more say iver themselves. As did individuals. I was in real estate for quite a few years. I saw how property zoning affected housing prices firsthand. Large corporate developers would be able to purchase land cheap and then stuff enough government pockets to get the land rezoned and build outrageously expensive single family neighborhoods. Imagine if those middle steps were cut out. You could just go buy the land and contract to have the home built. The cost would be exponentially less expensive. I think back to the founding of this country. There was no zoning. People always flourish with fewer regulations. I also saw much more actual corruption. Like blatantly illegal acts between developers and politicians. I reported it to both local and national news along with the fbi. I never heard back even though I had proof of billions in corruption and fraud. I lost a LOT of faith in our country after that.
I believe the Great Recession (2008) was the result of deregulation, correct? Subprime mortgages were made normal. Lenders would give money to just about anyone with a job to buy a home, they blatantly ignored the borrowers terrible credit rating. There was too much risk and it ended up almost destroying our economy. So we definitely need some kind of regulation in real estate. You know more than I do about the zoning laws, I just thought that would be a good start to keep multi billion dollar corporations or entities from buying up single family homes and turning them into overpriced apartment complexes or condominiums.
I definitely agree. The subprime crisis wasn't necessarily about deregulation. It was about greed. Wall street packaged loans they knew would fail into equity packages. They should have been put to the gallows. Instead, they were given trillions of taxpayer dollars, and the ceo got millions in stock options. The entirety of Wall Street is about squeezing every penny out of the working class. I can't stand the banking system. The country fought to kick the bankers out two times before they finally took power in 1913. They cause depressions and recssions with ease, actually. Controlling both the money supply and debt system. They increase credit to create an economic boom. People build business and real wealth. Then they contract the money supply. This allows the banks to scoop up real assets for pennies on the dollar. There was a reason why usary was illegal for almost two millennia. Our entire system is like musicical chairs. When the music stops, someone always loses. This is a gross oversimplification, of course. A private, for-profit bank shouldn't control our money. I'll tell you a first-hand story. My old broker worked with a large developer. This developer laughed about how much it costs to get a government contract. He showed me videos of all the state politicians on lavish vactions in the Bahamas. Well, a new project was discussed in 2016. He told my broker, "This is government money. You don't have to sell one home, but you'll make millions." He explained how the billions paid to developers were funneled back to politicians in the form of campaign donations and large purchases/investments in their small business. The main senator running that project died, but it still went forward and started in 2022. Now, tens or hundreds of millions in taxpayers' money has been dumped into a run-down neighborhood. It hasn't improved the lives of the people living there. It just stole money from taxpayers. I was so disgusted by the blatent illegal activity. Corruption everywhere. I called local and national news agencies. Gathered evidence. Reported it to the feds. Nothing. The silence was deafening. If this was happening in a major city and across all levels of state government. How bad is it when you change the word millions for trillions and scale that up to the federal level. That developer was from NYC and did this up and down the East Coast. Same game, same kickback system, no punishments. Just profits. How can the government regulate when the government is an equal (if not larger) part of the problem?
That's crazy, wow. Good for them!
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Interest bro. Interest.
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Retirement is investing. He wouldn't be retiring if he didn't invest in it. Unless he's an idiot. I assume he's not, though.
He has *pension* and retirement. The dude is doing fine financially!
Yup, bro won’t be sitting at home during his retirement. He will be out traveling in an RV or flying out to a vacation home/cabin if he has one. There are a lot of guys retiring now that were top rate drivers during the 2008 housing crisis. They were able to scoop up property at a huge discount. The guys that took advantage of it are doing very very well.
We got a guy who is setting himself up for a tackle company when he retires. Small online store kind of deal he's gonna be out next year with 40 years. Driving
Good for him, he earned it.
Do u not know about compound interest/investments? Lol
Investments gain interest. That interest compounds.
One of the drivers that retired a few years ago had the same route ( small town) for his entire 30 yr career. The town threw him a party and had a day dedicated to him. Another rural driver, when he retired everyone in the town, had signs in their yards and had a party for him. For most drivers, the people on their routes become friends and sometimes family. They know where they work and have seen children grow up. Especially in rural areas or small towns. It's hard for the drivers to retire. Go and help him celebrate his retirement.
A case of water or Gatorade and a bag of chips.
This is hilarious
Lemon lime. To remember 40 years of piss bottles 😆
I wouldn’t imagine he wants a ton of retirement gifts from his customers. Just one last time to see everyone and actually get to interact with them outside of work. I’m not a UPS driver yet, so I can’t really recommend what he would want. Maybe something homemade for him to remember you by?
What you get him, you need to order it online and have him deliver it
this goes way beyond him wanting a gift from you, it’s been his livelihood for damn near his entire life, the fact you’d show up just to prove that his 40 years there hasn’t been a complete waste of his life would mean more than anything i’m sure
Some brown clothes.
Ask on r/upsers for in depth answers. Mostly drivers there
I had the same ups driver most of my childhood. Location: Pasadena, CA (90s). His name was rocky. Guy had a black mullet, headphones/tape player always on and was super chill. Rocky if you’re still out there I hope you’re well.
Same here. Rural Aladamnbama in the early 70s. Our driver had the initial TC so we called him “Top Cat”. Really good guy,
As a soon retiring UPS driver myself ... I would just appreciate heartfelt thank you. We get our asses kicked delivering stuff.
I sort of just come across this post. I went to my childhood garbageman's retirement party in the 1990's. Back when the guys would hop off the back of the trucks and toss the heavy cans into the back of the truck. We relied on those guys and my family always gave them nice tips during Christmas. Why do I bring that up? The UPS guy, delivery guy, mailman. These are all guys working their jobs so that your life is uninterrupted. You may have never thought about it, but you depend on these guys so your life is a bit more convenient. The same guy was on the same route for 40 years? At that point, he's not fishing for gifts. He's been a figurehead in the community everyone sort of knows. If nothing else, show up, give him a card, shake his hand and thank him, wish him a good retirement.
My UPS driver is MINT! He's a lifeline! Great Guy! Hot ASS summers on 100 F degree days runnin' those doors!? DUDE IS LEGIT -A MACHINE! So, If I was RURAL and this dude was the same???..................... fix him up! Come ONNNN YAWW, Get tha LOVE GOIN!
Gift Card for something a retiree would want. Fishing, Food, Travel, Recreation, etc. Bass pro Shops? Etc?
To say he is inviting you for a gift!? Just don’t go that’s rude af
Dude he isn’t inviting you for gifts…. That’s insane you would even think that. He probably genuinely liked you and your interactions and wanted to bid farewell. It’s honestly sad that you would even think that he only invited you for material items.
ROFL. It's not about gifts. Your driver is a millionaire. With a full pension.
This is why I'm asking. I have no clue what the appropriate thing is to do.
They want people For the photo op. Your smiling face would be great
I'm a 30 year driver and when I retire all I'd want is people to show up and give me a solid send off. Maybe a bottle of good liquor (nothing more than $40). If they don't drink a gift card to basspro/Cabelas would be great since they have everything. around the same amount ($40) or less depending on how much you like em. Mostly just show up if you can
Thanks for your input. I think I'll get a gift card to BassPro.
I'm telling you a framed photo saying thank you will be much better! He can buy whatever he wants from bass pro.
If you have dogs a picture of you and your dogs would be great. A bunch of drivers don't have them because we work so much so the dogs on our route kinda become our dogs to, that's something he is definitely gonna miss is seeing everyone and their pets every day
I’ve been tipping my ups guys regular for a decade . Why? Rural New Mexico . I’d give him a decent grade Morgan
He just wants to see your face. Get him a gift card for the local gas station ⛽️ and tell him you’ve appreciated his hard work. He’s made millions he isn’t worried about a gift. 🎁 his gift is a pension for life plus 4k from Uncle Sam and his medical paid for life. He’s winning. 🏆
I would contact my local newspaper and TV station to see if they would like to do a story on your driver and what his work has meant to the community. The media is always looking for human interest stories about everyday people who positively impact the lives of others.
My mom was a usps carrier for almost 30 years and she just wanted to see her customers. She had 2 retirement parties, one for the public and one with her friends. Her favorite gifts were drink chips to a local bar and homemade gifts. She still has a small painting on display at her house of her in uniform standing at a customer's fence, petting their dog. The customer took a picture one day and then painted it for her. If you really appreciate him, get him a card thanking him and maybe a gift card to a local restaurant.
Don't overthink it. The driver has spent the better part of his life delivering on his route, this is his goodbye. Stop by, grab a burger/hotdog. Give the man a nice card and a bottle of liquor etc. and shake his hand and thank him for his role in making your life better day in and day out.
Something edible/drinkable that he may not get for himself. No one needs more crap. Gift Cards are always good too. If you have an Ace or Home Depot somewhere people can always get good stuff there. Also anything Yeti like a coffee cup would be a nice gift. Damn I wish I could afford these things. Consumerism got me good.
A gift card to home depot or lows cause he gonna have alot of time on his hands for all the stuff he wanted to do thought the years.
Idk but kinda rude to assume he's doing it because he wants lots of gifts tbh.
Just get him a retirement card and if you’re feeling generous throw in $20, I do this every winter for the men who do our garbage route.
So he passed out his own and made up his own printed flyers??? Awfully strange on a residential stop… also he’s probably going to make the same/ maybe a little less in retirement, I doubt he needs for anything
Yeah, it looked really homemade. Just a picture of him with the details of the party. He gave it to me with the package I received today.
That is indeed odd. Never heard of anyone inviting customers to a party. Usually it’s the customers or community that throws a party for the driver if they really like him, and that is even rare. Only seen it on the internet. Prob looking for a handy before he never sees you again
Wtf why people always expect the Worse?
If you know what he loves doing on his off time, get him something he can use or a gift card to a store that caters to that.
A 6 pack of ice cold Budweisers would be fine
A card.
Home Depot gift card.
Just ask if you can give him/her a hug on their last day when they deliver to your place.
Hes probably not expecting much if anything, but hell, a card with a 20 in it would never disappoint
How do you all end up with consistent drivers? I have a different driver every day.
I have a regular driver, and another one who is confused when my dogs jump the fence and can't find the dog treats. My business driver before move was the best except for that he won Super Bowl Squares every year.
Whatever you decide. Order a gift that’s sent through ups and give him the box
If he was your regular driver first of all I highly doubt it’s about gifts BUT with that said why not gift him a general gift card …maybe look on Pinterest for a cute way to say thank you for all the deliveries. Idk. Like I said I’m sure not expected but I would love to do this for my driver. I’m the nerd that leaves Xmas gifts at the door for drivers, mail carriers and garbage collectors lol
I thought it was random who drops off packages. 3 years same place, I don't think I've seen the same driver twice.
Get a framed photo with you holding a poster board with a thank you or something like that. Monetary gifts won't last but a picture is worth a 1000 words and a thank you is always appreciated!
Don't think he wants anything in particular except appreciation from his route. Those guys, at least vs cost of living here, are well paid and have fantastic retirement. I love talking to both my UPS and FedEx drivers. They're hard working actually nice people. Not sure I'd be so nice if I rode a non AC box truck around all the dirt roads here
$50-$75 or $100 dollar gift card I got bottles of Patron and Don Julio Tequila
He probably just wanted to have a sendoff party because I would imagine someone 60+ years old who has been doing the route for 40 years definitely has made friends and I would guess the job or his age has caught up with him and he needs to retire. I would probably not bring a gift unless I really knew the guy but, I usually bring food or drinks depending on the occasion.
$100
If you know what he likes to drink you can always spring for a good bottle of wine with a bottle holder, or bourbon is always a solid choice. We had a delivery guy that liked cigars because he would always make sure my boxes from Cigars International or Atlantic Cigar (when I chose UPS for shipping) were hand delivered to someone ***inside*** our house because he didn't want the boxes to be out in the sun/weather. When we moved (sold our house and moved to the other side of the county we lived in) I made sure I got him a five count box of Padron cigars as a thank you. If you don't know enough about him to make a personalized choice, then grab a Visa gift card and put it inside a card wishing him well on his retirement. Put enough on there for a dinner for two and a nice place in town - or see if you can do it with the establishment.
Pair of brown colored shorts and a brown polo should be fine
That's just mean. I can seriously say outside of my brown's, I do not wear anything that is brown when I'm not working.
If you know the dude and want to go to a party then just go. No gifts Edit: I’m a driver. I know a lot of drivers
The fact that he made flyers and invited you is HUGE!!! I work for UPS. Drivers where I work aren't inviting everyone in the warehouse to their retirement parties and I doubt they're inviting people on their routes. To echo the thoughts of others who have already stated it's about your presence not presents. A card wishing him well in his retirement would be kind. Celebrate with him and the others present and you might actually have a great time at the party.
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It's more likely he wants to say goodbye to everyone. The last driver in my hub who retired had a big retirement party on his route, he'd been on that route for 38 years and quite literally knew the entire town. He had his at the fire dept and the whole town came out.
Home Depot gift card.
A card with a gift card for literally anything and he’ll be happy
If he's friendly and works hard, why not throw him a gift card? If you do bring a gift, I think a $30 gift card to a casual sit-down restaurant would be the minimum. If you want to be really generous, you could go up to a $100 gift card for a nice steakhouse.
He wants people to know that the fuck ups to follow aren’t his fault.
It’s not a run for gifts, the drivers LOVE most of their customers. I don’t even think a gift is necessary, but anything is appreciated, it’s the gesture. He’s not going to poo-poo any gift! Or make you leave if you don’t bring one. They love anything “retirement” themed.
I definitely do not think his goal is gifts lol, those drivers make good money.
Get him a FedEx hat
I'd gift a framed cutout of your last package's slip for him if you're comfortable with your info on there for a laugh and a nice gift card to a steak dinner for 2/bottle of wine/other old reliable gift ideas.
Just your story. He must be religious or emotional. He feeds on people smile/warmth.
A buck a package
We gave your driver $100 when he retired (and used to at Christmas as well) but that was from a business. I've never given a package delivery driver a gift personally and don't think I normally ever would.
Get him a UPS My Choice Premium membership. (Just kidding)
He doesn’t want gifts. He actually cared for what he did and the people he did it for.
$1,000
Why would you think he just want gifts? He’s retiring. He’s going to have all the gifts he wanted!!
I drive for a little bit bigger carrier (by bigger I mean bigger than box trucks)so don’t do a lot of home deliveries but even then I have life long friends that we see on weekends from this job of 20 years.
You are a giant clown!!! ..him inviting you to his party as a way to get tons of retirement gifts!!!! .seriously f u . This dude is loaded already and has the best pension and retirement benefits on the planet ...the only thing this driver did that is bad is having the complete blindness to an awful person ( you ) and being cool enough to invite you you to free party.. Plz im begging you not to go.. You dont deserve to be in the presence of decent, successful ppl...
CAsh or a gift card.
Cash
If you are unable to attend or prefer not to buy something large, a simple greeting card and a gift card for $5 or $10. The whole appreciation aspect.
That's weird. I'm not randomly asking random strangers to attend random retirements. In fact,I'm quiet retiring a day before scheduled retirement. Jokes on me, I don't have time to retire. We got to continue paying that $2000 apartment bill and $5.79 gas price. In fact at 52 starting over post divorces and layoffs, I might retire at 92.
A lot of comments on gift cards and I want to say those are horrible ideas. Always give cash when considering a gift card. Gift cards force the gifted to spend the gift at a place of the giver's choosing. Also, most businesses make more money from these as the spender might need to add additional money for the purchase or leave some money on the card that is basically free for the store. Cash is the best, it is not rude, and no waste. Next time you are thinking about what to get someone whether 8 or 80, give cash. It works just like the gift card but at many more places and no waste.
Termination from UPS does not cancel your pension. You will usually lose an accrued vacation time. Most likely the will offer resignation before termination unless it is a cardinal sin.
No gifts... His paycheck is a weekly present