I confess I was briefly tempted to take the box full of snacks left outside of an office down the hall from the one where I work. I saw it as I was leaving for the day and obviously the delivery person couldn’t get anyone in that office to answer the door. It’s possible everyone had already left for the day, although from what I’ve seen there’s rarely anyone in that office, which made me wonder if the snack box had been ordered by someone who worked there or if it was a special promotional gift sent by someone outside whatever department uses that office. I still wasn’t going to take it but I wondered if anyone who worked there knew it had been delivered, and how long it would take them to find it. At least from a quick glance I didn’t think there was anything perishable in the box.
If it was sent by an outside party then I wonder why. The office is a department in the same large non-profit organization I work for, which is why we’re in the same building, and over the years I’ve gotten a fair amount of swag from visiting companies. One of the best things I’ve ever gotten was a tote bag full of assorted books from a distributor, but I also have small things, like some leatherette writing pads which are handy for taking notes. And once I got a five-pound box of baklava—enough to make a baklava balaclava, but that’s another story. Even though I could have easily eaten it all by myself it arrived at the perfect time to go to the office holiday party.
Since I work for a non-profit there are strict rules about taking gifts from outside companies, but, aside from the baklava, I’ve never gotten anything big enough to sway my opinion even if I were in a position to make big policy decisions. It seems like business gifts—from pens and reusable bottles, and I even had someone give me a Bluetooth speaker with their corporate logo on it—have become big business, but do they really do influence anyone? My father worked in sales and I’d sometimes get to tag along on business dinners—Black Forest cake at the Hermitage Hotel, where the men’s room is a tourist destination, will always be a cherished memory—but these seemed more like thank-yous and, well, a chance to have a little fun on the company’s dime than bona fide attempts to get more business.
I can honestly say I’ve never been influenced by any of the corporate gifts I’ve gotten, but then it probably would take more than a bag of books or even baklava to buy me.
Like you, I can’t accept gifts with any monetary value above what is “reasonable and customary”. Box of baklava, sure. Gift card to Tzaziki’s? No. It’s arbitrary.
But more than that, I used to work for a company that dealt in branded swag. I would have to get on the phone and light into vendors who were running late, but it wasn’t really my thing. I couldn’t get worked up about a squeezy ball or plastic keychain. It’s not a heart transplant. If it gets there at 10AM or 7AM, it’s still just junk that gets flung into the recesses of a drawer at your desk.
If I got a gift card to Tzakiki’s I’d definitely share that with my coworkers. We did, as a team, all get a day at Cheekwood and lunch, so that was nice.
And I like swag. Well, not all of it, but there was a company that used to give us leather note pads and I kept several of those. I still have ’em even though the company went under. And I have a Bluetooth speaker. It’s really nice but I can only use it at home.
I can’t accept gifts from corporations or gifts from patients above a certain monetary value, Chris, but I always appreciate the gift of your posts. Thank you.
Your comments are a gift to me, Ann, as are your blog posts.