Supplier Xmas treats - for boss or staff?

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Margie

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My friend works in the admin/reception office of a large firm. She is responsible for dealing with any local companies as regards ordering supplies etc. At Xmas these companies drop off a "Xmas box" e.g. bottle of whiskey or box of chocs to her office in thanks for the custom throughout the year. Is she entitled to take these items or should they be given to the boss/owners of the firm?
 
I know that I give the xmas box to the person whom has helped me during the year and I make it my business to give it directly to that person.
 
If the company does not have a policy on dealing with such gifts then I would imagine that she should check with her boss.
 
in our department all such christmas bottles/chocolates etc are gathered together and divided equally among staff on the last day before we go home for christmas.
 
What it would amount to might be 2 or 3 boxes of chocs and maybe 2 bottles. These coundn't be shared amongst staff as there woudn't be enough to go around! Also in the other sections of the firm Xmas boxes are given out eg. the kitchen etc. Yes she could say it to the boss but what if they are taken from her. Is she not entitled to them as she is doing the ordering and the liasoning with the suppliers?
 
Margie said:
What it would amount to might be 2 or 3 boxes of chocs and maybe 2 bottles. Yes she could say it to the boss but what if they are taken from her.
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It would hardly be the end of her world would it.

A few bozes of chocs? Just open them and offer them around the office. As for the booze well just take a bottle and offer the rest to her boss.

Can't see how it's anything to be getting excited about.
 
Margie said:
These coundn't be shared amongst staff as there woudn't be enough to go around!
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When we dont have enough to go round we just do a raffle and if you get lucky you get lucky.

It is considered unfair in our office that these treats are only addressed to one or two people who are publically in contact with suppliers/clients as the rest of us are working as a team behind the public point of contact.
 
I advised her to ask the suppliers who the gifts are for. I would bet they will say that they are for her to thank her for her help and support during the year.

Why should she have these items raffled amongst a huge staff who don't even know where they came from when she's the one that has earned them.

I certainly don't think it's selfish when other members of staff don't share their tokens.

It certainly isn't keeping her awake at night but there is a principal. The majority of all staff get some form of Xmas box for themselves.
 
truthseeker said:
It is considered unfair in our office that these treats are only addressed to one or two people who are publically in contact with suppliers/clients as the rest of us are working as a team behind the public point of contact.
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I completely understand - if there were a few people working in the office, by all means the items should be shared but she is the only one working in this section .
 
If she is the only one in the section then I would think she should ask her boss what the protocol is about these things. Im sure the boss will say 'keep the stuff' if thats the norm there.
 
truthseeker said:
If she is the only one in the section then I would think she should ask her boss what the protocol is about these things. Im sure the boss will say 'keep the stuff' if thats the norm there.
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Yes I agree but her boss would be the type to say "great, thanks" and take them.
 
Margie said:
Yes I agree but her boss would be the type to say "great, thanks" and take them.
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well in that case if she wants her boss to know about it but also wants to keep the stuff can she not say 'oh look, such and such dropped me in a bottle of wine for all my help - isnt that nice of them?',
that way she isnt hiding anything from the boss but she is claiming ownership immediately.

although if the boss would take the stuff then perhaps thats the norm in her place of work and she shouldnt go outside of it - especially for what amounts to a few sweets and a couple of bottles of wine.
 
Companies often centralise these things & arrange a raffle, not just to be fair on the people who work "back of house" but to avoid suppliers offering particularly generous presents to try to secure future business. Many of them also now have a limit on the amount of any one particular gift (had a customer wanted to buy a pram or some such for a forthcoming arrival, but it was a complete no-no).
 
If it was a small company and if she got enough to go round i.e. 10 bottles of drink, then everyone at work could take one.

If it is a large company & not enough to go round, she could quietly keep one or two things & offer the rest up to be raffled.

Of course if she got a hamper or anything really nice, she should offer it to the owner.

I used to keep one or two things & offer a hamper to the owner. The rest would be shared/raffled among other staff.

I know one poster said 'what is the big deal'. However, if a person is earning 25K or under, and gets no Xmas box from the boss, it is a big deal. Any box of chocs or any good bottle of wine is 10 Euros plus.
 
buzybee said:
I know one poster said 'what is the big deal'. However, if a person is earning 25K or under, and gets no Xmas box from the boss, it is a big deal. Any box of chocs or any good bottle of wine is 10 Euros plus.
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You've hit the nail on the head!
 
Most companies have some sort of a system for the Xmas sweetners. Some companies have a raffle on the last day before the holiday of all the stuff that has been handed in. Just ask what the score is and this saves being mortified if it seems you have nobbled a box of chocs. Furthermore if the boss takes all the stuff him/herself than just let it be. Must be a real tight wad to do this!
 
We put all of ours in one room and then on the last day everyone takes something and we keep going round and round picking stuff until everything is distributed. There are only five of us by the way, so everyone ends up getting loads of stuff. We start with the boss, so he gets first choice and then the person who has been there longest, and so on.

Last year someone got a voucher for the Richard Corrigan Restaurant in Lyons Estate for €200 and because it came in the post and they got the envelope, kept stum. The boss found out well after Christmas by accident and read the person the riot act, quite rightly in my opinion.

Because there are only five of us in total, clients or suppliers giving gifts tend to give five of everything.

Hamper alert started today, started today, five boxes of Leonidas chocolates, one for everyone in the audience, so no rows so far.
 

She needs to apply common sense. From the limited description you've given it appears the supplier is not giving the gifts to her specifically. They are giving them to the business as a thank you for the custom.My own opinion is that she should ask her boss what to do and abide by their decision.
 
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