Gifts sent to office by vendors--ettiquette?

[ducklite]

I work in a small office. There are only about eight of us here, the rest all work in the field or our retail stores.

I am the primary contact for some of our vendors, and one of the company executives is the other.

This week I've gotten several gift baskets--food and treats--from the vendors I work with. I opened the boxes and put everything in the kitchen for all to share. I figure just because I'm the primary contact, doesn't mean that we could stay in business without the folks who do payroll, AP/AR, HR, etc.

Our Director of I/T got a basket today and also put it out to share.

The CFO has also received gift baskets from vendors, and he's taken them all home. One of the people in the office commented to me that perhaps he should have shared them. I just shrugged my shoulders, I don't like to get into a lot of the drama that goes on around here.

What do you all think is the proper thing to do?

Anne

PS--I did lay claim to one of the actual baskets when the food is gone--I need something like that to hold some odds and ends in my office LOL!

 

[Shannon G]

IMO, if it comes to the office, it should be shared.

 

[Castlebound]

If it has someone's name on it then it is theirs to do what they want with it. If it has the company name on it then it should go in the kitchen for everyone.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you work for the federal government, it gets shared.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If your name is on the basket you can do with it as you wish, keep or share.

 

[Lisa L from MI]

If you work for the federal government, it gets shared.

Is that a "law"?? Just wondered cause I just started working for our local county and I have to log each "gift" that comes in and call the administrator to let her know what was received and get the ok to give it to the person....if it doesn't specify a department or a certain person then the administrator usually takes it back to their offices...

They are suppose to "share"....but only a few do.....

 

[NMAmy]

In our office, gifts are shared out amongst everyone, no matter whose name was on the basket.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We share all of them at our office.

 

[WDWLVR]

When I was in a job that got gifts like that at the holidays I put them out to share. I also had some vendors send things to my home and those I kept.

 

[wdwmom2]

If it has someone's name on it then it is theirs to do what they want with it. If it has the company name on it then it should go in the kitchen for everyone.

This is exactly how it is handled in our office. Most of the items are addressed to the office in general and are placed in our lounge for everyone to enjoy!!! Occasionally the docs will get one specifically sent to them. In this case we put the item in their office.

When there are nice containers involved, as long as no one else wants it, it's yours. If more than 1 person wants it, we draw names to see who gets to take it home. Seems fair to me.

 

[DVC-Don]

Not an issue with us. Our company has a policy of not accepting gifts from vendors so we thank them but, have to decline to accept them.

 

[Zurealsoon]

At my old company, the purchasing dept(5 people) kept all the goodies there. If you were friendly with them, you could go in and get some nibbles-the majority of the 60 + front office, however never saw the treats.

The Head purchasing agent kept the high end stuff-like Omaha steaks.

 

[Honu]

All my food gifts go to the lunchroom. I rarely keep any vendor gift and I have a strong aversion to imprinted promotional gifts. Sorry, but even if it came from Tiffany - if it's got a logo, it's going in the trash.

 

[floridafam]

I, too, think it should be shared. That only seems right. It also seems to create a more friendly work environment, I believe.

It doesn't surprise me that the CFO took his basket home. It also doesn't surprise me that some people were put off by it. I think he should have shared. Employees like to feel acknowledged by their company.

I think it's perfectly appropriate for a vendor to send a gift. I agree with one of the posters who said gifts with logos are a bit strange.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I've seen both scenarios in my old office. We would office give to the guy who delivers all the UPS/FedEx packages of samples, the guys on the Receiving Dock, the folks in Advertising, etc. There was always someone who wasn't willing to share and quite honestly, their name is on the box and they can do what they want with it. Sure it's nice to share with the group, but some don't play nice with others.

 

[ducklite]

Thanks for the opinions. You can probably tell by what I do with the gifts what my opinion is. I guess if it's a very personalized gift then to take it home is fine. But when it's a generic gift basket, to me it's something that should be shared with the entire staff, especially in a small office.

BTW--I did a dorky thing--I was tasked with ordering a gift for each of our retail stores and field ops people. I sent treats to each from Hershey's . And didn't order anything for home office LOL! I forgot about us!

Anne

 

[figment52]

When I was in a job that got gifts like that at the holidays I put them out to share. I also had some vendors send things to my home and those I kept.

I have a couple vendors that send to my home. Otherwise if it comes into the office and is share-able I share it. If it isn't share-able I offer it to my assistant first and then put it up for grabs, unless it is something that I know was personally selected for me.

I have worked for one guy that said it doen't matter who name it is on the gift, it was HIS company and it was because HIS company was doing the business with the other company so the gift was HIS and he always took everything home and didn't share with the employees no matter what.

 

[nwdisgal]

In my past profession we were generally not allowed to receive gifts from vendors unless the gifts were almost worthless (like a token gift). When we did receive items, if they were too high of a value, we would donate them to charity and inform the vendor in writing what we were doing and why we had to donate gifts and gratuities. If they were token items (i.e a simple box of candy) we would put them out in the community area for everyone to enjoy. I think sharing it with your co-workers is a good idea. It also relays an appropriate message of impartiality to the supplier.