Business class, or savoir-vivre in business - about giving gifts

09/30/2020

In today's post, I'd like to touch on something a little "looser" - in quotes, since we're talking about etiquette and its subtleties...and subtleties are insanely important.

Gifts

Receiving gifts and/or bestowing them on others is for many of us the most wonderful experience, which often involves the release of huge doses of positive emotions. While in private life, often guided by the impulse of the heart, we allow ourselves to make purchases of highly original, even eccentric and often not very useful gifts, the charm of which lies primarily in this lightness of choice, when choosing gifts for co-workers, superiors, but above all for customers, we should take into account a few valuable and proven principles:

  • avoid buying expensive things that could be perceived as a desire to put pressure on the recipient;
  • take into account the universality of the gift, which should be non-committal and commensurate with the professional relationship you have with the recipient;
  • remember that tasteful means elegant, good quality, even sophisticated, but by no means expensive - likely to embarrass the recipient;
  • don't put your company's logo on the gift - it's not a company gadget, you probably wouldn't want to be suspected of unsophisticated marketing and bad intentions;
  • take care of the proper setting of the gift, which will intensify the pleasant impression that accompanies similar situations;
  • be tempted to write a handwritten note or greeting card;
  • consider that the memory of your employees, superiors or customers expressed through a small gift can do more than a formal visit or a dry e-mail with an offer!

A little humor ;)

One Christmas, a very long time ago, Santa Claus was preparing for his annual trip. However, problems were piling up everywhere.... Four of his elves fell ill, and the substitutes didn't produce toys as quickly as they did, so Santa began to worry that he might not make it in time.... Then Mrs. Santa announced to him that her mother was going to visit them soon, which made Santa very nervous. To make matters worse, when he went to harness the reindeer, it turned out that three of them were advanced in pregnancy, and two others had jumped over the fence and scurried off to God knows where.

Santa got even more nervous.... As he started to pack the sleigh, one of the skids broke. The sack collapsed to the ground and the toys were scattered all around. Annoyed, he decided to go home for coffee and a glass of whiskey. However, when he opened the bar, it turned out that the elves had hidden all the alcohol and there was nothing left.... An exasperated Santa dropped the coffee pot, which shattered into pieces on the kitchen floor. So he went to get the brush, but it turned out that mice had eaten the bristles from which it was made.... And just then the doorbell rang.... Santa went to open it. Behind the door stood a little angel with a beautiful big Christmas tree. The angel joyfully called out:

- Merry Christmas, Santa! Isn't it a beautiful day today!!!
I brought a Christmas tree for you. Isn't it wonderful? Where would you like me to put it?....

And this is where the tradition of the angel on the top of the Christmas tree came from....