I am a waver at Liberty Tax service, meaning I work four hours a day, everyday, dressed as a giant maple leaf dancing on the side of the road for minimum wage, AMA!

I always honk and wave at you guys. It seems to make you happy. Does it? Because seeing you dance and wave and smile always makes me happy.

I used to work near oceanside, CA, USA. There was a sign twirler for a sandwich shop. He had long, flowing hair and rocked his sign like a guitar. The guy was so metal and so awesome. He always made my day better.

Yep it makes me happy! Thanks man

I use to work at one(american version) and they gave frequent breaks and the break room they had like any beverage I could want and like 8 varieties of cookie in an oven at any given time. Is your experience so good or was I just getting fattened up so they could eat me after tax season?

You were getting fattened. I have a water fountain

How many breaks in that four hour shift? Is it dependant on the weather? In my wyoming town the costume is the statue of liberty. It's a pretty dumb idea. Who stops to get their taxes done on the spur of the moment. I do my own anyway.

They say i can take as many breaks as I want, and i do. If it's extremely cold outside i take a ten minute break an hour and do stuff like file taxes and make thank you calls, but on a mild or warm day i take 0-1 per shift, and it's usually just to fill up my water bottle.

Do you keep the suit on? The image of someone in that costume doing taxes and phone calls is hilarious

I only use it when waving, but I don't do taxes. I only sort tax papers and make thank you calls.

Any idea how many people drive by and think "oh, a maple leaf. I should take my taxes here!"? I've never understood why the wavers were effective, but presumably they are...

I've never seen them do anything, and i find it hard to believe that they do anything bt they tell me shit like "This customer came here instead of H&R block all because of you!" and shit like that.

What is the nicest thing that anyone ever did for you while you were on the job? And when you are doing your job, what do you wish other people knew about The Man Behind The Maple Leaf?

the nicest thing people did to me while on the job is take selfies with me while complimenting me. it happens about once a shift, and it's really fun. I wish people knew when and when not to wave, i always glance out of my suit and see 3 year olds frantically waving, and I want to wave back, but alas, i can't, because I'm reading manga or on reddit etc... i know that doesn't have anything to do with ME as a person but it's important to me.

Wait, how are you able to read and Reddit while dancing around?

I dont dance while on reddit

So there's enough room in your suit to have your hands in front of you with your head pointed down? Didn't think there was that much room

I could have an entire person standing in front or behind me in the suit

Wow! I see you daily on Bayfield! You are way better at attracting attention (and potential customers) than those the kids just up the street working for Little Caesars!

Is there more than one person who does this for liberty? Or can I stop by with beverage (of your choice) and not get thought of as a weirdo.

There are four people that work at liberty on kozlov but two of them requested march break off and now im stuck covering for them. And holy shit if you wanna give me a dark roast 3 milk 1 sugar or any soft beverage i would love you forever

aww man, I really hope you get your coffee now.

Me too

Do you have a dance routine figured out and what music are you listening to when you are out there?

my dance routine is, rotate arms in windmill fashion, then do windsheild wipers, then wave at cars while kicking my feet, and throw a random turn in there somewhere. I listen to house, nightstep, and variations of either, mostly because it's easy to dance to, and they randomly look outside to see how hyped up my dancing is and tip me for it. I listen to The Cranberries outside of work.

Lmfao. I have this mental image in my head of someone flailing around, listening to dubstep.

It's exactly what you think

You should definitely incorporate the sprinkler into your routine

Thanks for the advice!

Ever try any breakdance moves, or do they forbid it?

I tried the worm once when a car of teenagers stop beside me and told me to show them my best move. It looked like I laid down and started having a seizure. Liberty taxs doesn't give two shits about me

Has anyone ever thrown anything at you from their car?

YES! I've had around 10 empty paper cups thrown at me, one metal water bottle, a pair of headphones, and a loonie.

Were they good headphones? What do you wear up there, Beats by Eh?

^{Get it? I'm sorry}

they didn't work and were covered in mud and earwax.

[deleted]

I didnt wear them.... i just put my music full blast with the headphones on my phone edit: the two deleted comments were about me wearing them, and what I would've done if they did work. I was going to put them in the washing machine if they did work.

Who throws away a perfectly good metal water bottle.

It was rusted, dented, and couldn't find a lid on it. It definetly wasn't "perfectly fine"

one metal water bottle

Like while they driving ? Holy shit, that could have been bad (I'm assuming you're fine).

Yeah it hit me on my knuckle AND IT FUCKING HURT. It didn't do any permanent damage, but it got me fucking pissed

Do "wavers" actually increase business?

I have no clue, they tell me it does, but I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe.

I did my taxes at Liberty two years ago because of "Leafie", who I stared at 4 hours every day from my office across the street.

You make a difference.

:D

I worked as a waver for the American version of Liberty Tax. Yep, I was that poor soul that was dressed like the Statue of Liberty. What's your most memorable moment so far?

Two hot girls took a selfie with me. That was fine, but then they posted it to my facebook wall. That was fine by me, but i never saw them before and never told them my name

Can you help me with american taxes?

hell no

What is the minimum wage in Canada? What does that translate to in U.S. dollars per hour?

$11.00/h in Canadian dollars

$10.80/h American Dollars

Edit: I suck at conversions

Uhhhh I wish (Canadian here). 11 CAD is more like 8.75 USD.

yeah sorry I had no clue

Is it hot in there?

Considering the fact that it's Northern Ontario in early March, it's cold as hell.

Edit: not northern ontario

Shit. Barrie gets to the front page and it's not for having a drug house blow up. This is nice to see.

Do you and the Liberty Tax leaf from the South End ever get together and swap stories? Or have a healthy competition?

IM ON FRONT PAGE!? WTF! I WAS IN MY INBOX THIS ENTIRE TIME. I have two friends who work in the south end and we often share stories of our experiences. We don't really compete though

Your costume makes me cower in fear. There's one of these in my neighbourhood and I sometimes get stuck next to it while waiting to cross the street. I stand as far away as I possibly can desperately waiting for the light to change before it spots me and starts capering in my direction. Do you notice other people having this reaction or is it just me? Do you try to leave people alone when they're visibly terrified or do you exploit it?

I leave people alone when they're terrified, but i only give anybody just one or two waves unless theh ask for a selfie or something like that

Ever pick up in that costume?

I try. Only try

Have you ever been flicked off? Or someone mooning you?

Flicked off? I assume flipped off? If it's flipped off then yes, 7-8 times a shift. Haven't been mooned yet, but ive only worked on cold days so that might be stopping them

How physically demanding is this job?

A lot more than i thought it would be. Im usually exhuasted by the end of a four hour shift

That is the scariest maple leaf I have ever seen. The American ones dress up as the statue of liberty which is... actually kind of sad and depressing when you think about it.

I know the Canadian tax season is later...around June 30, I think is your filing date? When do you usually start? Americans are pretty much 01/02-04/15.

Im answering some of these in the suit. Our tax seasons end by the end of april

Do you mingle with other wavers?

Yes

Is it true you guys have a union?

No. But my employer is a co-op student who doesn't give two shits and thinks my job is a joke so I don't really need one

Did you sign a waver waiver when you got the job?

Yes

So?

I felt like this was a weird and unique thing about my life and i thought some people would enjoy asking me a few questions about it