Opinions wanted on event gifts and what your company does with them

[redbeard1]

I went to a MS sponsored event and was given a certificate that was good for a free copy of Office 2003. I ran into a problem when I went to redeem it, and one of the bosses said he would take care of it. The cd came in and he gave it to a customer, and then had me load it on their system besides. I questioned him on this, as the place we both used to work at, always let the techs or salesmen keep whatever they were given when they attended these events. He answered that I was paid for working the event day, and not to worry about it.

I have other friends in the IT industry and they say that they have been able to keep what they were given.

I think it is pretty slimey to bribe a customer with something that was meant to be a reward for attending, and that is supposed to help you learn the product better.

I'll get over it, but I wanted to get some other opinions.

 

[SpunkyJones]

What I get I keep. Whether I get software, shirts, or mugs (I have to start throwing these dam things out), it is kept by me. You got screwed by that guy. Just remember this in the future, and don't trust that idiot again.

 

[high]

i keep everything too...that is bs to just give it away..
i would want one happier employee as aposed to 1 happy custy

 

[redbeard1]

^

 

[apriest]

I happen to own my company now, and my wife and I each got one of those at the last MS seminar we went to. We gave them to our parents for Christmas presents...

When I did work for an employer (I'll never work for another one again), I kept whatever I was given at a seminar. It was never a question. Of course, I was not usually paid to go, though I often drove a company car at no cost as they paid for gas. I think that was pretty low of your employer if he didn't go himself and get a copy.

 

[dkozloski]

Don't forget to declare it on your income tax if you want to keep it. This is similar to who gets the airline miles when the company buys the ticket. It's one of those battles that are lose,lose. In the future, keep the boss out of the act. Make a big issue out of it and you get the reputation of not being a "team player", rightly or wrongly. It helps from your point of view if the policy is consistant. If not, you can always move on to greener partures.

 

[Epsil0n00]

I always keep all the goodies that I get from vendors or conferences/trainings. The best thing I have received recently is a $50 gift card to Nordstrom (man was my GF happy about that!). My co-worker recently got a free 20GB iPod from a vendor! w00t!

 

[redbeard1]

once more

 

[odog]

all the MS stuff i get is my property.

i also get lots of other promotional things. i've gotten tshirts, jackets, cable modems, cable/dsl routers, tools, gift certificates, xbox's, tivo's, etc etc etc. all of them are mine to keep. their was an issue that i squashed about whos property this was. they wanted the some of the equipment to be company property. my rebuttal was every single freebie given to anyone in the company would have to fall under that rule. every pen, every tshirt, piece of software would then be a piece of company property. it would then have to been given out fairly and evenly amoung all employees. that pretty much killed that idea. now everything given to me from any vendor for whatever purpose, IS MINE.

good thing to... cause i've gotten a lot of cool things over the years

 

[wickedone]

I dont work for any IT Department or anything related to computers, but getting items from vendors for exampel say you worked in a supply room for a Production Plant and a vendor is one of 3 that have items you need for your plant and he takes you out to eat once a week dropes off several cases of beer or what not to sway you to buy from him even if his product cost more and isn't as good as what the others have to offer. This is not good for the Plant as a whole they suffer were only the guy in the supply room and the vendor gained.
Inturn some companies enforce that vendors are not allowed to give donations to the company employee that they sale to.
In your case I see no reason to have taken it from you sounds like the employer was jealous. I definitely would of been Ticked off if that happened to me. I Use free Office Programs just do to the cost of the Microsoft Office Programs.