Christmas Hampers - Still a Thing?
Discussion
I'm Old School so remember when giving /receiving Christmas hampers or even a bottle of something was the norm between businesses and clients, as a sign of gratitude for business during that year.
I can't remember the last time I received anything. I used to send a nice big hamper to all my best clients but that's been dwindling over the years, and I haven't sent any yet so far.
What do you think - a tradition worthy of continuation or a waste of money? Do you give or expect anything?
I can't remember the last time I received anything. I used to send a nice big hamper to all my best clients but that's been dwindling over the years, and I haven't sent any yet so far.
What do you think - a tradition worthy of continuation or a waste of money? Do you give or expect anything?
As a company about 10 years ago, we used to receive dozens of gifts, hampers, bottles of wine, Playstations etc
We decided to pool all the gifts and then have a company raffle where as your name was picked from the hat you could pick any gift you'd like. We had so many gifts one year that everyone went up to the table about 5 times to collect a gift (about 25 staff)
Over the last few years this has dwindled to the odd bottle of wine - and that's it. Even Christmas cards are pretty scarce in this Covid world we now live in. Up until this year, we'd send hampers to our best customers but we're not doing it this year due to Covid and alot of people now work from home as opposed to the office
We decided to pool all the gifts and then have a company raffle where as your name was picked from the hat you could pick any gift you'd like. We had so many gifts one year that everyone went up to the table about 5 times to collect a gift (about 25 staff)
Over the last few years this has dwindled to the odd bottle of wine - and that's it. Even Christmas cards are pretty scarce in this Covid world we now live in. Up until this year, we'd send hampers to our best customers but we're not doing it this year due to Covid and alot of people now work from home as opposed to the office
Crossflow Kid said:
Isn’t this just a form of bribery at the end of the day? 
You will find that nearly all companies over a certain size won't allow it for this reason - suppliers bringing in booze and food for the purchasing team and the directors etc is seen as corporate bribery. A number of firms i've worked at said that any gifts you received had to be put in a pot and were then fairly raffled off to all employees. I actually thought that this was quite fair, as in manufacturing for instance, it would be the purchasers/engineers/etc who would get the nice bottle of whisky from the sales rep of a supplier, yet the shop floor lads who had been just as insturmental in ensuring that said supplier sales rep got his bonus and company car upgrade, got nothing.
I did also however have a number of said sales reps who would bring in the gifts for 'everyone' and then on the way out just ask whereabouts my car was parked in the car park, and was it unlocked.
Nice to look in the boot when I got home on the last day before christmas break.
In summary, yes, its still a thing but dont be surprised if their are company restrictions, its just the way things are now.
I worked for a small printers (50 people) in France about 25 years ago. Every year we had two pallets of champagne arrive at the beginning of December and customers usually got one or two cases depending on how good/nice they were, delivered to their home addresses of course. Sadly we always seemed to over order and a few bottles went home with the staff on Christmas Eve. But the one that the whole family talks about still is the whole side of Irish Smoked Salmon I got from a supplier when I was running a yarn mill in Yorkshire a few years later. I'll be surprised if I even get a single card from a supplier now let alone anything liquid or smoked.
I work for a large blue chip.
In the 90's when money was no object they used to give every staff member from cleaner to MD, permie or contract, a Christmas hamper comprising 12 bottles of booze and festive foods. Everyone loved it, it was massively motivational, probably cost 100 quid per head at bulk buy prices, maybe less.
Mid 2000s we got a new MD, who immediately killed the hamper. Outrage ensued and he was universally disliked throughout the business because of it. He moved on and his legacy remains to this day as the bloke who killed the hamper. None of his successors revived it, but all of them have been generally well-liked, because they weren't the Corporate Grinch!
In the 90's when money was no object they used to give every staff member from cleaner to MD, permie or contract, a Christmas hamper comprising 12 bottles of booze and festive foods. Everyone loved it, it was massively motivational, probably cost 100 quid per head at bulk buy prices, maybe less.
Mid 2000s we got a new MD, who immediately killed the hamper. Outrage ensued and he was universally disliked throughout the business because of it. He moved on and his legacy remains to this day as the bloke who killed the hamper. None of his successors revived it, but all of them have been generally well-liked, because they weren't the Corporate Grinch!
There are rules on the value of gifts I believe £50 is the limit so its not a bribe if you get some festive snacks and a bottle of wine. But firms cut costs so don't bother, firms also are conscious of Christmas gifts offending some employee's (I have never met someone of another faith who found Christmas offensive but there will be some one).
So all in all its cheaper an easier for firms to not bother, as a society we are probably worse off for not doing such things.
So all in all its cheaper an easier for firms to not bother, as a society we are probably worse off for not doing such things.
Crossflow Kid said:
Exige77 said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Isn’t this just a form of bribery at the end of the day?
Like giving customers a free coffee if they come to your office for a meeting ? I worked at a bank in the city years ago where private banking had a stash of such pens and big clients would sign a contract with the pen and get to keep it, this is not a bribe as such as they were paying for it in the fees an only got it as a surprise when they signed a deal but I doubt it happens now
coppernorks said:
I remember my mum paying a few shillings every week for a big xmas hamper.
Full of exotic goodies that no-one liked like glace cherries, walnuts and dates, although we did polish off the sherry quite quick
Tinned boiled spuds, tinned boiled ham and even a tinned chicken. Lovely
What about the tinned ham with a boiled egg in the middle! That languished at the back of the cupboard until out of date...Full of exotic goodies that no-one liked like glace cherries, walnuts and dates, although we did polish off the sherry quite quick
Tinned boiled spuds, tinned boiled ham and even a tinned chicken. Lovely
Didn’t hampers stop when the companies kept on running off with the money in November ?!
Crossflow Kid said:
Exige77 said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Isn’t this just a form of bribery at the end of the day?
Like giving customers a free coffee if they come to your office for a meeting ? I worked at one company where gifts were raffled off to employees, the raffle was rigged so everyone 'won' their favourite tipple.
Many corporate organisations have a limit on the max value of what's acceptable, 30 euros in my case. That has to be an anodyne consumable like a pen or chocolates or something. Even they are strongly discouraged.
That aside, no gifts are acceptable and they're all returned. For any organisation dealing with public or national money that's as it should be in my view.
That aside, no gifts are acceptable and they're all returned. For any organisation dealing with public or national money that's as it should be in my view.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff