Demotivationist Call for End to Holiday Gift Giving

NEW YORK: NY: "If you want your business to be more successful, you should not send out holiday gifts to your clients," according to Dr. Mark Geoffrey Young, author of Dr. Young's Guide to Demotivating Employees.

"Clients are perceptive people who’ll see through your lame attempt to buy their business and will shop elsewhere, Dr. Young said.

He went on to say that it could even get you in trouble with the regulators. "New York brokerage firm, Jefferies & Co., ended up paying more than $10 million in fines after it spent thousands of dollars on concerts, Super Bowl parties and $625 bottles of Chateau Petrus when it attempted to woo business from Fidelity Investments. The only good news is that the judge realized that the firm was innocent and that the incident was caused by the firm’s greedy staff who were attempting to increase their personal commissions. As a result he didn’t require an admission of guilt."


As well as having a policy on giving gifts, you need a policy on accepting gifts. "We don’t permit our employees to accept gifts because it costs us money," Dr. Young said. "Studies show that employees who are given gifts—even small items like promotional pens and chocolates—are more likely to steer business to that company, regardless of the cost or product quality.

"Even if your staff are scrupulously honest, accepting gifts still costs you money because business etiquette requires all gifts to be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt. Ask yourself: Do you want your staff wasting time writing thank-you notes, or spending their time working?

Dr. Young writes a daily column at www.demotivationist.com. His book is available at www.dolyttle.com.

To stay one step in front of the competition, check out my latest book: Dr. Young’s Guide to Demotivating Employees at Dolyttle & Seamore.