Got a camera in my work mailbox - Who else works for a Co. who wastes money?!

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RoaringBrewer

RoaringBrewer

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So, anyway, today I went to check my office mailbox and what do I find? A silver, foil wrapped rectangular object with a sticker on it...

Take it back to my cube and read the sticker. "Picture this... 100% completion on our work satisfaction survey... ladedadedadedoo... Please complete the survey at your earliest convenience."

I unwrap the foil wrap expecting a candy-bar or something... And there is a genuine, Kodak disposable camera with flash. The kind that run at least $6-7 or maybe even $9 in the store? So, I checked everyone elses mailbox and they also have one of these each - some foil wrapped, some in the regular yellow Kodak plastic wrap.

Now, in a way, this is cool; I'll use the camera at an upcoming Halloween party or Brewpub bar-tour where I don't feel like carrying along my Kodak P850 point and shoot; However, this has to be a huge waste of cash if every employee of this Company received one of these cameras. I mean, our office alone employs about 100+ accountants, auditors, consultants... The entire US firm employs probably 20,000 employees... And wordlwide I have no clue...

Anyway, I would much rather see the Company save the money on this type of 'promotion' or 'incentive' and at the end of the year throw another 1-2% everyone's way. I can't complain about my raise (which was 17% this year), but I would have liked 18-19% even more! :)

Other things I can recall getting in my mailbox - Athletic socks to support the Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) iniatives a few years back, a tire pressure checker, and a shower-bag... Interesting eh?

/End Mini-Rant and enters the drawing for those who completed the survery... Now, I would take this... a 42" plasma TV! w00t! :ban:

Thoughts?
 
You do realize that your company pays millions of dollars to other companies to come up with these idiot campaigns? Those companies employ people that failed burger flipping, but are very, very enthusiastic. Would you rather forgo the dollar or support them on welfare?
 
david_42 said:
You do realize that your company pays millions of dollars to other companies to come up with these idiot campaigns? Those companies employ people that failed burger flipping, but are very, very enthusiastic. Would you rather forgo the dollar or support them on welfare?
Click to expand...

I'd rather have a job coming up with stupid campaigns!
 
rdwj said:
I'd rather have a job coming up with stupid campaigns!
Click to expand...

I used to do crap like that and, while you get a lot of free swag, most of it is junk. In the end, everyone bitches that they don't like what you picked out and that all they want is money. But no one remembers money. Money pays bills. No one looks back in a few years and says "This gas bill...my company paid part of this gas bill." Money isn't a motivator, believe it or not. There are tons of studies out there to conclude that people feel they are entitled to money, but not motivated by it. People are motivated by gratitude. Money attached to gratitude is a strong force, but more than anything people like the thought that they earned the money, not that it was just given to them.

If we were hanging out and you wanted to go to the bar, would you rather me come with and maybe take turns buying rounds, or would you feel more comfortable if I just peeled you off a $20 and walked away and didn't go out with you. Or if you said "Hey, let's go out to dinner...your turn to buy!" would you rather I just give you a couple bucks and let you go where you want, or would you prefer to wait until I could have dinner with you?

In either case, you end up making out the same, but there's no gratitude associated with it. There's no fun.

Sure, they could have given you $5.00 instead of buying a camera but is that $5.00 going to take that killer funny picture you'll always remember? Or that last picture of your father or mother? Are you going to pull out a $5.00 bill and say "Look what my company gave me! Just the thing since I forgot to bring a camera to this party!"
 
Cheesefood said:
.. would you rather me come with and maybe take turns buying rounds, or would you feel more comfortable if I just peeled you off a $20 and walked away...
Click to expand...
To make me really remember it, do both. Buy me rounds of beer, then peel me off a $20 and walk away. I promise to remember it for the rest of my life.

In fact, more companies need to get of their politically correct ass*s and start taking their employees to a bar and buying them rounds. It's a great motivator and team builder. Much better than a disposible camera or socks (socks! socks?! WTF?!) Companies I used to be with did this all the time and I loved working for them. The last two companies I've been with don't. And the work environment is stale. Real stale.
 
When Canon was one of our major distributors we'd get so much random schwag. I have canon footballs, t-shirts, posters, pens, calendars....so forth.

Bastards don't even send us pens anymore...i see how things are.
 
I agree with having drinks with your coworkers...we used to do that, but our company is getting more corporate all the time...we even have a handscanning device for punching in now (i refuse to use it...i know who does and doesn't wash their hands around here.)

But anyway we're definitely loosing something. The company used to go out all the time for drinks and have a great time...everyone would feel great when they came in the next day or after the weekend or whatever. All the events were great, holiday parties in huge buildings overlooking san francisco with an open bar and a pleasant atmosphere.

We got a new HR lady a few years back and while i appreciate how hard she works for everyone, when she became part of the event committee, it all went downhill. She goes to seminars and comes back with ideas like: potato sack racing...wtf!? she had to goto a seminar to learn about that lame ass game?

it also has to deal with people getting older and the events being more family oriented, but it's still LAME!

back on topic, tho...our company has given us the following items: hoodies, beach towels, mini-mice (computer mice, of course), yoga mats (lame), hats, etc. most of the stuff has come in handy at some point, at least.

The coolest thing i have is a shirt from my continuous improvement team that sports a logo i made. this is not a promotional item, however, and the logo is the only cool part. some idiot picked these stupid polo shirts. :mad:
 
can't beat the disposable camera i was given before a recent business trip that was sporting our company logo.

and labeled. "best developed by march 2005"

devin
 
Got a umbrella once. I took it home and lobbed it out the kitchen window like a javelin (sp?) into the back garden, good fun for 1 sec.

Got a cooler bag from the same company. Now that is useful, holds 14 cans with a shoulder strap and side pockets for two bottles!
 
I hate lame arsed motivational gifts. I once recieved a rock (literally) that had our company name/logo on it and it says Let's Rock in 2000 on it. :rolleyes:

That was in our lean years. To kick off '08 the whole division (175 peeps from across the US) are flying into Vegas in Jan staying at the Red Rock Casino and Resort for 3 days. They'll do their daily meeting hoo-ra crap but we all get hammered as well on their dime in the eve. We'll probably do some sort of competitive thing too. Last year it was dune buggy racing in the desert. Only one guy had to go the ER :D. I work for an old school "lets drink" type of company as long as you make your numbers.
 
A few years ago one of the wholesale banks that I did business with was giving away Ipod shuffles as incentives. I think I won 4 of them in 2 months. I had just bought a 40gig ipod so all those shuffles went right on ebay. With the way the mortgage market has been going lately the only thing the wholesale banks are handing out now are pens and post-it notes...
 
I found a great little canvas satchel one time, when we were doing an event -- it was evidently a freebie for an attendee at a conference in the same room, just prior to our event. The satchel says PASS on it. I wouldn't know what that stands for any more than you. But, just underneath, and the reason I kept the satchel, it says "Pennsylvania Association of Sewerage Specialists"!
This is no lie, cracks me up! If you were a sewerage specialist, would you want to walk around with a bag that broadcasts to the world that you work with ****!?!?
 
Cheesefood said:
I used to do crap like that and, while you get a lot of free swag, most of it is junk. In the end, everyone bitches that they don't like what you picked out and that all they want is money. But no one remembers money. Money pays bills. No one looks back in a few years and says "This gas bill...my company paid part of this gas bill." Money isn't a motivator, believe it or not. There are tons of studies out there to conclude that people feel they are entitled to money, but not motivated by it. People are motivated by gratitude. Money attached to gratitude is a strong force, but more than anything people like the thought that they earned the money, not that it was just given to them.

If we were hanging out and you wanted to go to the bar, would you rather me come with and maybe take turns buying rounds, or would you feel more comfortable if I just peeled you off a $20 and walked away and didn't go out with you. Or if you said "Hey, let's go out to dinner...your turn to buy!" would you rather I just give you a couple bucks and let you go where you want, or would you prefer to wait until I could have dinner with you?

In either case, you end up making out the same, but there's no gratitude associated with it. There's no fun.

Sure, they could have given you $5.00 instead of buying a camera but is that $5.00 going to take that killer funny picture you'll always remember? Or that last picture of your father or mother? Are you going to pull out a $5.00 bill and say "Look what my company gave me! Just the thing since I forgot to bring a camera to this party!"
Click to expand...

An interesting take and I partially agree... I just felt like ranting b/c I was bored... where else? At work... Haha. I guess it's not that bad of a place if they don't block HBT!

Plus, they often do offer pretty cool stuff, but its usually to be won in drawings... sporting event tickets, big tvs, iPods, etc. I can't complain, I've won a $300 best buy card, an iPod nano, and some other cool stuff.

Plus, we still have happy hours/booze-fests frequently...

Just the camera threw me off. Similar to the socks. Everyone makes fun of those socks to this day... :fro:
 
Cheesefood said:
Money isn't a motivator, believe it or not. There are tons of studies out there to conclude that people feel they are entitled to money, but not motivated by it. People are motivated by gratitude. Money attached to gratitude is a strong force,
Click to expand...
I hadn't thought about it like that, but it does make sense to me. Monetary rewards are great and I wouldn't turn one down, but yes, it would just go in my gas tank, pay a bill, buy a sandwich, etc and I'd forget. I think I might appreciate a material object or food that I can really use. Even treating me to a fast food lunch would mean more than 6 or 7 bucks cash in my hand. With that said, I would rather give to someone else in the same way. Money is really impersonal.

A Kodak point-and-shoot would be pretty cool. I have several expensive 35mm cameras, but the disposables are still fun. :D kinda PO'ed that Kodak quit making the B&W print paper, though. Ilford is the last holdout that I know of.
 
All my Co gives me is a hard time and enough work for 3 people. I work in the waste water industry so I cant think of any related schwag.
"Heres a dip net with our logo"
 
I work for the most money-wasting company in the US - its government.

However, we don't get any cool sponsor swag - that's illegal. In fact, up until a couple of years ago, I couldn't even grab frequent flyer miles if the government paid for the ticket.
 
Virtuous said:
All my Co gives me is a hard time and enough work for 3 people. I work in the waste water industry so I cant think of any related schwag.
"Heres a dip net with our logo"
Click to expand...

Gotta ask Virtuous; what you dipping for in the waste water with that logo'd net?

:)
 
One company I worked for got a new president. At his first big meeting with the sales force, he fired everyone that was wearing a leather company jacket as they were intended for customers, not employees.
 
See how everyone remembers the stuff they've been given? No one here is talking about their bonuses, or the fact that they could have gotten a smaller raise. Because we feel that we've EARNED the money, not that it was a gift. No one here is saying "Hey, my raise could have been .15% smaller!" No matter why money is given, we feel it was earned and therefore it's not a gift as much as it is compensation for our hard work. And a $5.00 compensation is a slap in the face. But the fact that you were chosen to receive $5.00 umbrella means that you were favored over someone else.
 
david_42 said:
One company I worked for got a new president. At his first big meeting with the sales force, he fired everyone that was wearing a leather company jacket as they were intended for customers, not employees.
Click to expand...

Wow... That dude is hardcore! :rockin:
 
Cheesefood said:
See how everyone remembers the stuff they've been given? No one here is talking about their bonuses, or the fact that they could have gotten a smaller raise. Because we feel that we've EARNED the money, not that it was a gift. No one here is saying "Hey, my raise could have been .15% smaller!" No matter why money is given, we feel it was earned and therefore it's not a gift as much as it is compensation for our hard work. And a $5.00 compensation is a slap in the face. But the fact that you were chosen to receive $5.00 umbrella means that you were favored over someone else.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I definitely see what you are saying... Interesting enough today I got an email and won a company logo'd "stadium blanket". Now this is pretty cool and something I will definitely use! :ban:

As for saying money isn't a motivator at all though, I wouldn't necessarily agree 100%. Our company also gives "Encore" rewards which you can submit and receive a variety of things depending upon the value of the reward. Golf clubs, camping equipment, watches, jewelry, omaha steaks, etc. Although some people do sometimes choose the steaks, 95% of the time they choose the American Express Prepaid Gift Card option as it is most like and liquid to cash... I love getting those things more than any blanket, ipod, or disposable camera!

As for normal raises, etc. I see your point... I definitely earned the raise I got this year as I worked many, many weeks out of town (close to 5 months actually) and a few weeks worth of OT that I don't get compensated for due to being salaried...

Glad I made this post though, it makes for some interesting discussion and stories! :)

In hindsight and taking into consideration Cheese's viewpoint, I shouldn't have titled this 'waste' money as I see its not really a waste... I should have just titled it, "weirdest things you've received from work..." or something.
 
Sorry to contradict your theory, but some ********* was bragging about his bonus just last week:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=41269


Cheesefood said:
See how everyone remembers the stuff they've been given? No one here is talking about their bonuses, or the fact that they could have gotten a smaller raise. Because we feel that we've EARNED the money, not that it was a gift. No one here is saying "Hey, my raise could have been .15% smaller!" No matter why money is given, we feel it was earned and therefore it's not a gift as much as it is compensation for our hard work. And a $5.00 compensation is a slap in the face. But the fact that you were chosen to receive $5.00 umbrella means that you were favored over someone else.
Click to expand...
 
Boston said:
Sorry to contradict your theory, but some ********* was bragging about his bonus just last week:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=41269
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm proud as hell. But no one in this thread is talking bonuses or raises. I consider it part of my compensation. If my bonus is smaller next year, it means I didn't work as hard and I didn't earn as much as this year.
 
I work for a not-for-profit. Our clients are government agencies and other not-for-profits. Therefore, we rarely get anything.

One year I got a mouse pad. Another year they gave everyone an additional 2 days of paid time off (in addition to the standard 4 weeks a year).

On a few occasions I got an "award" for a several hundred dollars for contributing to some project or proposal that did well.

Other than that, nothing. Just the satisfaction that I am helping to "Improve the Human Condition" by "Turning Knowledge into Practice."

And ZERO risk of being laid-off.
 
Yeah-- there's always someone who doesn't like whatever swag they give out but the cost is nominal. I'm organizing the company Halloween party. I'm snagging a couple hundred out of the budget to buy everyone -- even people who don't show up-- a plastic cup with the logo.

Now I'm sure some will hate it but I'm counting on most folks thinking it was a nice thing to get everyone especially since we have a free soda fountain in the break room and we go through 150+ paper cups daily.

I still occasionally wear one of the tshirts I got 8 years ago when I worked for a phone company. Admittedly it's just a shirt for yardwork now, but it fits and I still use it. Frankly I looked forward to the yearly gift and used the heck out of it (except the one year they got a stupid, trendy windbreaker--- but then no one wore those).

Those cameras in the example that started this mess. Depending on your volume they probably cost all of a couple bucks each. I recently bought a bunch of kodak disposables for work and paid less than $5 each and I only bought a couple dozen. Had I purchased in lots of 100 or more the price would have dropped off rapidly. In all likelihood HR managed to land a really cheap lot (especially if they bought some expired or nearly expired ones on ebay) and decided it was a good way to get people's attention for their f-ing survey.

Personally the times I get irritated about companies spending money on useless crap its when they make everyone go through one of those 'personality assessment' courses where some 'expert' tries to teach you some overly simplistic way to pigeonhole people into neat little boxes and label them so you don't have to actually treat them like dynamic, complex beings and instead can execute a series of cookie cutter responses based on those labels.

Those frickin' personality assessment grids/continuiums/targets/quadrants/courses cost the company thousands and are nothing more than ways for incompetent managers to judge people who don't respond well to their leadership. Oh-- and they make the company selling them the 'service' a couple hundred per manager.

Every time I see one of those personality assessment things come up I want to ask them to fire the bad managers and give the remaining managers a bonus equal to the crappy course was going to cost.
 
Cheesefood said:
Yeah, I'm proud as hell. But no one in this thread is talking bonuses or raises. I consider it part of my compensation. If my bonus is smaller next year, it means I didn't work as hard and I didn't earn as much as this year.
Click to expand...

Most people don't applaud raises/bonuses because they already think they deserve it, therefore they are only 'making up for what I should already be making.'

If you're an underpaid disgruntled employee (which a lot of people are), raises and bonuses are never enough because we all think we should be making that anyway.
 

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