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Corp gift to other businesses?

Machinist_max

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 15, 2016
I’m looking for ideas for business gifts to the some of my best customers. I’m very lucky that I get to work with such great people and they helped the business grow.

It’s the least I could do.
I’m hoping for something practical... rather than cheese basket.
 
I’m looking for ideas for business gifts to the some of my best customers. I’m very lucky that I get to work with such great people and they helped the business grow.

It’s the least I could do.
I’m hoping for something practical... rather than cheese basket.
Laser etched desk name plates, perhaps with biz card holder. Hidden bolt novelity. Tom

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Not sure if it applies but the bigger companies have very strict rules on gifts from vendors nowadays so if a large corp you should ask.
I can't give any gift with a value over $5.00 to most.
Gone are the days of 30 foot sailboats, the latest and biggest TV, or 2 week all expense paid vacations for the customer and family to anywhere on the globe.

It can be awkward and embarrassing to both you and the customer if they have to return your gift.
The game is played differently on different playgrounds, fairly sure I could give Ox a new sled with no problems.
(get that Ox has never spent one penny to me and I am not gonna ante up to this and would not if he did).

Deal here is that gifts and bribes get confusing. You appreciate your customers and it that time of giving back.
At some point as a supplier you do want to bow down a bit to those who keep us alive, Yet how to make this gesture?
Bob
 
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I liked getting the food since I could put it out on the conference table for everybody, including visitors. That seemed to avoid the "conflict of interest" the brass was always worried about since split 50 ways it didn't reach the gift limit amount per person and also indicated it wasn't for me personally.

Anything worth $10+ to me personally had to be turned in.
 
Food works..

We have a vendor that brings a large platter of ham / sausage / tenderloin biscuits first thing in the morning to each department once every year around Christmas. One brings a few boxes of good cookies, Others bring other types of community type food. These items are just placed on our office food / snack / coffee area for all to enjoy. It is goodwill and doesn't constitute enough of a gift to violate any policies (that I am aware of).
 
I remember attending a meeting at Boeing when a small box of Christmas chocolates arrived. The guy receiving them immediately opened them and set them out in a public area and invited us to partake. He said the value estimated to be around $40 exceeded the company limit and that we would be doing him a favor if we helped make them disappear.

Know the policies of the companies that you are sending gifts to.
 
One larger trucking company bought Christmas turkey vouchers at Christmas time for all the staff of a trailer manufacturer in gratitude for a job well done on a large batch of trailers. Best check for company policies as well as tax rules with your accountant.
I have received company swag in the form of baseball hat. Our whole crew each got a hat from a customer.
There are all kinds of words for this kind of thing ranging from kickback, good will, trinkle, baksheesh, and it works well as long as it does not get out of hand. Doing the deed takes some tact.
Reminds me of story told to me by a retired pilot. They were operating some sort of cargo plane into a Middle Eastern country and would take in booze in their personal bags. One bottle would be in the opened bag and a similar bottle would be set standing up in the cockpit for the customs inspector to take. It was a close call when a supervisor was doing the inspection. There was some hard stares but the bottle was taken.
 
Used to do booze n baskets. Those days are pretty much gone.
Last one we did we spoke to persons supervisor asking if it was okay to send.
Following year we were told no...that made for an awkward situation.
 
We had a 25 ton machine component that was shipped from a subsidiary in France for refurbishing on a rush basis. The French plant manager had a lot style, and put a case of French champagne inside the component. And customs found it. Needless to say, by the time we got that sorted out, the schedule was toast.
 
These are pretty small places. Like 3 employees, owner (husband), cfo (wife) and another hired engineer.
Beer and wine seem pretty popular and well accepted to small places.
 
One of our customers solicit donations from their vendors for the company Christmas party. They pass them out kinda like door prizes. The biggest gifts are a few flat screens and a DeWalt tool combo, most gifts range in the $15-$40 range. Cell phone battery banks, Bluetooth speakers, cheap VR goggles, $20 gas cards. Some are fairly novelty, some are useful. It's a chore but excellent for customer relations and no one in particular is getting "paid off". I have no issue with it unless it's my year to shop for the gifts. I have enough to do.
 
I have had quite a few top customers and I have always made it important to me that I give back at Christmas time when people think about gifts. For anyone who spends over a certain amount, I give sizeable gifts back. For example, my best customers get.... Plant manager gets.... 1 meat stick and variety pack from Swiss colony, plus $100 visa gift card which they normally regift, the maintenance day shift and night shift each receive a meat stick box and variety box from Swiss colony to share per shift.

I usually end up spending about $200 per great customer and down to 40$ for steady customers. The maintenance staff always knows when it's getting closer as they keep asking if it came in yet. They get addicted to this stuff and it keeps my name around.

If a customer goes down in value, they drop in package level. So they try to keep it high to get the good stuff.

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Not sure if it applies but the bigger companies have very strict rules on gifts from vendors nowadays so if a large corp you should ask.
I can't give any gift with a value over $5.00 to most.
Gone are the days of 30 foot sailboats, the latest and biggest TV, or 2 week all expense paid vacations for the customer and family to anywhere on the globe.

It can be awkward and embarrassing to both you and the customer if they have to return your gift.
The game is played differently on different playgrounds, fairly sure I could give Ox a new sled with no problems.
(get that Ox has never spent one penny to me and I am not gonna ante up to this and would not if he did).

Deal here is that gifts and bribes get confusing. You appreciate your customers and it that time of giving back.
At some point as a supplier you do want to bow down a bit to those who keep us alive, Yet how to make this gesture?
Bob


Well, not for not trying...

I PM'd you and left a message on your answering machine 2 months ago.
No reply either direction.

Maybe it wasn't a good fit...


-----------------

Think Snow Eh!
Ox
 
Well, not for not trying...
I PM'd you and left a message on your answering machine 2 months ago.
Think Snow Eh!
Ox

And i did not do what should have been done.
Will take the beating behind the wood shed as desired or needed and this one desires a beat down.
All kinds of excuses but in the end My Bad.
Bob Hem
 
I totally depends on your customer and the policies at the company they work for. for sure the corporate rules have really changed the entire scheme of gifts.

We may have a major account we do nothing for as they are not allowed to accept gifts. We can have another customer, same dollar value in sales, we may give them a case of wine, packer tickets, a nice dinner or whatever their " thing" is.

For many customers thru the year we will send golf balls to those who play. Then at Thanksgiving time we send out cheese boxes.

We then have the regular gifts of hats, shirts and the small trinkets like pens or flashlights.

At the end of the day- you should use these gifts in a way to THANK your customer for the business they give you. Not business you hope to get.
 
If timing works right with a delivery around mid december I just bring some chocolates/cookies for the people in shipping/receiving/assembly area. Depends a bit with the customer. First few years I did a few more gifts and more treats but its gotten harder to do.
 
If possible a gift basket delivered around back to the workers break table rather than through the front door will bring more work if you do repair work or other rush jobs. Most gift baskets never get past the front office.

A previous boss always made sure the ladies in accounting that processed our invoices always got invited to our big Christmas party.
 
Personally dropping off a nice card would do it. Most companies frown on gifts of any value as it is seen as an inducement to get more business. My customers? Nothing, and they don't care. To be honest, at this time of year, anytime I get a Christmas card it goes in the trash. Just me.
 








 
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