basket case

December 19, 2005 8:14 AM

Should I take the fancy gift basket that is addressed to my office?

The building management just delivered a beautiful, fancy gift basket to the office. My boss is out of town until after the new year. Does this make the basket mine? It's full of perishable yummies that would rot over the holidays.

I still feel like this is stealing. What should I do?

posted by SassHat to Work & Money (20 answers total)

There's only you two?
posted by smackfu at 8:15 AM on December 19, 2005

Do you know who it's from? Is there no-one else around who would be entitled to a share of it?
posted by benzo8 at 8:17 AM on December 19, 2005

Response by poster: smackfu: I'm working all alone this week.

benzo8: It came as a gift from our building management. I can't think of anyone else who is entitled, other than my boss. Maybe I should share it with our clients?
posted by SassHat at 8:19 AM on December 19, 2005

I guess then you need to guage your bosss reaction when the building management company asks him how he liked the gift-basket... If he'll be like "You took it home to stop it rotting - cool! Did you save me some turkish delight?" or whatever, then that's cool. If he'd be like "You thieving git, collect your papers now!" then there's your answer. And your suggestion is probably ideal middle ground: "It would have rot had I left it until you got back so I shared it with some clients - hopefully that'll increase business in 2006..."
posted by benzo8 at 8:21 AM on December 19, 2005

Share it with your co-workers. If you're the only one, then it's yours, to keep or share with clients. Letting it go bad would just be silly.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:22 AM on December 19, 2005 [1 favorite]

Email or call your boss and tell them what sort of stuff is in the basket. Ask 'em if there's anything they want saved for them. I mean, seriously, if there's only one other person involved in the transaction, is this so complicated?

Unless your clients are people who come in and out of the office every day, in which case I would put it out in the common area first and take home the leftovers.
posted by bcwinters at 8:24 AM on December 19, 2005

Eat ... freely and without burden
posted by Makebusy7 at 8:25 AM on December 19, 2005

Response by poster: bcwinters: My boss is out of town, I can't call.

is this so complicated?

Not terribly, no. But it's a really fancy basket, and I feel guilty.

Just trying to see what y'all would do in the same situation. I have the afternoon to mull it over.
posted by SassHat at 8:28 AM on December 19, 2005

I'd eat/share them. If there's any non-perishables, save them for the boss.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:31 AM on December 19, 2005

I'm just wondering what kind of boss isn't constantly available by Blackberry, even while on vacation. Maybe that's just my industry, though.

Send him/her an email and see if s/he replies.
posted by matildaben at 8:32 AM on December 19, 2005

Take a picture of it to show the boss what the building mgt sent, then write a quick thank you note to the building mgt, copy your boss on it. Share some of the gift with clients and enjoy. Merry Christmas.
posted by mumeishi at 8:33 AM on December 19, 2005

Response by poster: Matildaben: She is visiting relatives someplace where she doesn't get phone reception, or access to the internet. It may be true, or she just might want to be left alone.
posted by SassHat at 8:33 AM on December 19, 2005

As a boss myself, if I was unavailable (which I try to be often when not on the clock, to foster a sense of responsibility in my employees) I would expect it to be consumed in some manner. If there are no other employees to share it with either consumer yourself, give away, do something good with. (Oh and fuck the 'entitled' mentality. If there are other employees share the thing already)
use your best judgement, that is why you are the head of the office for this week, because he trusts you to do so.
posted by edgeways at 8:50 AM on December 19, 2005

How about taking the basket down to the local shelter for people who are homeless?
posted by Arqa at 9:00 AM on December 19, 2005

Eat away. If there's something non-perishable, save it.

Bear in mind that this is from Building Management, not Important Client or Personal Friend.

I'm just wondering what kind of boss isn't constantly available by Blackberry, even while on vacation.

This is a very sad, but true, commentary on the American workplace.
posted by mkultra at 9:02 AM on December 19, 2005

Eat/take home the perishables. Leave: the actual basket and the non-perishables for your boss to enjoy on her return.
posted by necessitas at 9:07 AM on December 19, 2005

I agree about sending an email. Even if she doesn't get it until she gets back, when she does see it, she'll know you gave sharing a shot before gobbling it all up. It can be phrased "I know you probably won't get this in time, but just in case..." At that point, she couldn't get very irked. And it seems unlikely she'll care much anyway. Just looks nice. And on the off-chance she does check her email, and decides she simply cannot do without that beef stick, she'll have the chance to let you know. If she can't get so much as an email before the food spoils, you're ok.
posted by lampoil at 9:09 AM on December 19, 2005

Best answer: If your boss left you in charge, you should behave sensibly. I'd neatly remove and enjoy the perishables that won't keep, like fruit. Share with clients and co-workers. Cheese and meat or sausage could be refrigerated or frozen. I'd write an email to the boss saying "R&P Mgmt sent a fruit basket. It seemed silly to waste the lovely fruit, so I shared w/ clients and took some pears home for the long holiday weekend as I knew they wouldn't last. " Save her the basket, the card from R&P Mgmt, and anything that will keep. A good manager would appreciate that you didn't leave a mess of rotten food on her desk.

R&P Mgmt sent the basket to make nice with management, so I think it's fair to make sure she sees how swell they are, but wasting it is foolish.
posted by theora55 at 9:13 AM on December 19, 2005

It seems that your boss has made clear her desire for solitude over getting shares of delivered goodies. (A perfectly understandable system of priorities.)
posted by Aknaton at 9:45 AM on December 19, 2005

(FYI: This same exact situation happened to me on December 23rd- I came to this thread looking for advice, too! I e-mailed my boss, who did happen to be around her computer, and said I should take some of the goodies).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:43 PM on December 25, 2005 [1 favorite]