I briefly worked for a wholly owned subsidiary of Dupont, the gigantic multinational chemical company. There was definitely branded clothing you could buy or be given somehow. Company guidance was to not wear it when travelling to certain third world countries because it made you kidnap or murder bait. They only sent me to Japan, Taiwan and China so I would have presumably been safe.
Was it actually worse than the wine you usually got?
The only one I remember was at Sun, where I got a bag with a cooler and a pair of mediocre binoculars. The called it “Executive Outing KIt.”
The one I got after that was an American Express gift card of enough value so I could buy my wife something nice.
I think so; but this was close to fifty years ago and I don’t remember for sure. t
For the company’s special anniversary, they put the company logo on a normal locomotive which was already in service. There are quite a few companies in Switzerland which have done this, so it’s not all that unusual. The logo stayed in place for one year, and it was quite cool to see it out in the wild. It was (is?) possible to buy a model version of the same locomotive, either powered or passive (cheaper). I know quite a few coworkers bought one. As far as I know, it is not limited to employees, or former employees, but I doubt most people would be interested in a model with that logo.
There is a catalog and any employee can order company logo items, but some are restricted for customers.
Just a small nitpick FTR. When Sony first introduced the Trinitron tube, the only size that was available was 12". But it was considered revolutionary in terms of picture quality, so it would not have been a bad gift for the time. I had one, and loved it.
But maybe kinda a cheap gift for 2005, for sure! That was decades later! I don’t think Sony ever made a 13", but it may have been a 15".
I can’t remember the exact size (I was guessing at 13"), but either way, it wasn’t a big screen.
The college I worked at gave you a chair after 25 years. It’s actually a good one (over $200 if you buy it in their store) and comes engraved with your name. They also gave used to give gifts after 5, 10, 15, and 20 years, but switched to giving gift certificates because people wanted to choose something they needed.
For my 25th anniversary with the company I picked out a Chelsea shipstrike clock/barometer. I’m pretty sure the company didn’t pay retail price for them, but they’re not inexpensive.
My wife had similiar options when she had her 20 years with her employer. Their catalog had lots of jewelry, which she doesn’t wear, and logo branded knicknacks. She said that I could pick, so I chose a Replogle gem globe.
I can see both of these items as I am sitting here in our living room.
The “gifts” we were offered in our anniversary booklet were mostly junk. Even if the items were something I generally might want, the style or quality wasn’t to my taste. But mostly it was a lot of crap like golf balls, big honking belt buckles (???), boring jewelry, and lame suitcases. For a few years, the woman in charge of running the program signed up with Tiffany. Sadly, I didn’t have an anniversary in that small window of time. I’d have loved a gift certificate, but they never gave them when I was working. I can’t even remember what I chose as my retirement gift. I only remember those I received from particular work friends and from my work group.
For about ten years, I worked as a full-time contractor for a booming company that was always building or renovating. I provided design/management services for a small but essential part of every project, so I was on every project team. It was traditional that the team would have a celebratory dinner after the completion of each project and we would always receive some memento of the project. This meant I got as many as five or six items every year. The project managers actually had a catalog from which they could select these items, and the items would always be custom printed or engraved to reflect the project. The items we received varied widely, but they were always good quality.
For one project, I got a golf umbrella. It was custom printed with the project name and dates. Really? An umbrella?
I got a few desk clocks, often with integrated thermometers and hygrometers. I have at least two on desks in my house right now.
I have many, many jackets and raincoats, including slickers, fleece-lined coats, and sleeveless vests. They are all embroidered with the logo and a project name. Nice quality and name brand.
The most unusual one I have is a fleece jacket with a big vulture on the back. (Think turkey vulture…and pretty detailed at that.) The in-joke is that the building was located near a swampy area and the vultures used to roost there in the dead trees while we were building. They would watch the construction in sort of a creepy way. When I wear it, I get all sorts of questions. Is it a club thing? Is it a TV character? Where can I get one?
For one big project, the team all got Palm Pilots. That was getting serious.
I have chosen:
a tool set (not high quality, but not horrible either)
Kitchen appliances (I still use the mini food processor – there was also an electric kettle and a blender – those are still in box)
For my 15th, there was no longer a catalog, but a gift card (which is WAY more flexible)
I got a bird feeder with it – there was more but I have forgotten
Brian
From a catalog but chosen as a reward for good service rather than years of service: a laptop bag.
It was actually presented to a colleague, who didn’t have a use for anything in the meager catalog; she chose it and gave it to me.
Not as many as you but I got a few of those. I’d politely put them on my desk or somewhere in my cube and leave them behind when I left the company. I’m very clutter averse and didn’t want to bring them home.
Trying to remember the exact sequence…
5 years - a nice pen (which is probably sitting in a pen cup or junk drawer somewhere)
10 years - a wooden mantle clock
15 years - a kitchen knife set, which turned out to be really crappy low-quality knives that I rarely use but still keep in the kitchen.
At 20 and 25 years the new parent company sent out these engraved crystal blocks. Totally useless* but they look nice sitting on the desk.
For my 30 years this year they were back to the gift catalog, from which I selected a mini fridge for my office.
* Well, not totally useless – apparently building maintenance used one of them once to prop a door open.
And they were usually clear resin and not actually crystal.
Those kind of things are common in the investment banking and finance communities, to mark the conclusion of an acquisition or financial offering. They may be called financial tombstones.
Currently, strictly Dollar Store stuff, just 3-D insults really. 2X “binoculars.” Brittle plastic measuring cups in garish colors. They won’t leave you alone about it, either, you have to pick out a “gift” on your service anniversary. Then the mailroom harasses you to come pick up your package; I’ve had some success convincing the mail people to just throw it out for me.
At my last company, for my 10-year anniversary I got one of those atomic clocks, rated for outdoor use, in super-giant size, it’s like 3 feet across. It has worked perfectly without even a battery change, outdoors where I can easily see it, for over 15 years. You lose some, you win some.
Not if it was 2015…
;o)
One year at my job they brought out a giant book of various charities and told us we could pick one and the company would make a $100 charitable donation to said charity in our name. You can guess just how many people said “Wait why don’t you just give us the $100 instead?”
I think I poured over the book for 20 minutes (you could take as long as you want) and found the most obscure one I could think of, it was something like “The Hispanic Online Professional Gaming League” or something to give college scholarships to high school gamers back 8 years ago when that first started taking off.