Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth or Cheap Crap for Christmas Parties

One of the expressions that my Mother used to pull out was Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It wasn't until I was a little older that I came to realize that that means be grateful for what you have and don't criticize the gift. That being said, when my Mother reads today's blog, I am sorry, Momma. Now then. Every year, if you work for the happiest retail heaven on earth, you may have a Christmas party. I say you may have a party because some managers are too cheap to dip into their bonus, even for that. If you have a party, there is a chance that there will be prizes. Tamara told me about the parties that they used to have at her store. The manager then-Harry-would spend quite a bit of the money that was allotted on the associates. One year he even booked a nice reception room for the Christmas party, and associates came and went as their schedules allowed. The days of Harry are long gone where Tamara works. Last year, at the Christmas party, the store still offered "prizes" for associates. Every hour some one's name was called, and that associate received what ever prize was available that hour. Sounds nice, doesn't it? But the prizes that the associates received were all returns and discontinued merchandise. Some of the luckier associates got floor models that had been credited out. One lucky associate that Tamara works with actually "won" a floor model vacuum cleaner. The only problem with the prize is that the cord had been severed to discourage theft. The associate was told that it would be less than $15 dollars to get it rewired though. How lucky is that? A prize that lets you find an electrician! Wow! Now again, with apologies to my Mother-if a store cannot afford to give associates a prize that doesn't have a catch, maybe they should just give everyone a five dollar gift card? It's ironic that smaller companies in the area around Walmart will often come in and purchase $50 dollar gift cards for each of their employees. What are they doing so well that they can be that generous to their employees, and the largest company in the world is giving away broken floor models? If I find out, you can thank me later.