In my time as a Customer Service Manager for a national communications company, we received a number of corporate holiday gifts throughout the years. With gifts ranging from sparkling cider to deep dish pizzas to corporate logo can coolers, some gifts were remarkable and some were forgettable. In a corporate situation, there are just some gift ideas that don’t turn out as well as the giver had intended.
One of the worst holiday gifts our company received was a gift card to an upscale spa. If the gift was specifically for me, I would have welcomed it and considered it one of the best gifts ever. However, with a staff of 15, how does one choose who gets the gift card? It wasn’t a high enough value to give every employee a spa service, so we ended up giving the card to the owner of our company, who gave it to his wife.
Another questionable corporate holiday gift we received was a box filled with logo t-shirts. While we appreciated the sentiment, every shirt size was “Large”, so about half of our staff couldn’t fit into them. I understand the thought behind the gift and I have no problem advertising for one of my vendors, but the vendor should have either taken the time to get all of our sizes or played it safe and sent a gift basket filled with food – where one size fits all!
One of our favorite holiday gifts was an enormous wicker basket filled with fresh fruit, gourmet chocolates and roasted nuts. The basket was wrapped with a satin ribbon stamped with our vendor’s logo, and the foodstuffs inside were appealing to everyone in the office. This basket made a great gift for all, whether we were watching our calories or not! Food gifts were by far the big winners in our office – we received a delicious honey-baked ham one year that was used for our office pot luck, and another year our vendor in Chicago over-nighted some authentic deep dish pizzas to our office. It was by far the best lunch of the year!
LOL – I can only imagine the carnage that would ensue at my office if my company received a gift card to an upscale spa. To keep the staff from mutinying, we’d probably have to set up some sort of a competition, like a three-legged race or a scrabble tournament (which would end in tears). Ahhhh, the Christmas spirit.
Comment by Wildcat — November 4, 2009 @ 9:39 am
We received a similar gift here that contained a single $10 gift card to Best Buy – for an office of 30. Not sure what they were thinking, but it can get expensive to buy corporate gifts. Gift baskets and other food gifts that employees can share is always a good idea in my opinion.
Comment by Chris Countey — November 19, 2009 @ 9:54 am
Here is a gift that the whole family can enjoy – that is if you are the lucky one in your office who gets to take it home! A peanut free and tree nut free gingerbread house kit! Make and enjoy in the comfort of your own home with your kids. Here is a chance to win a free kit. Happy Holidays!
Comment by Michelle — November 26, 2009 @ 6:50 pm