Host: What should I do if I receive a business gift that I feel is inappropriate?
Nancy Mitchell: You need to react immediately. You need to return the gift as quickly as possible and you need to return it with a note which explains why you cannot accept the gift. Again, this may be something that goes against the gift giving policy of your office or the spending limit or it may be that the gift was totally inappropriate, it was too personal. It could be misconstrued by not only you or by others who might find out that you had received and accepted this gift.
So document it, you need to write the note that returns the gift. You need to keep a copy of it and I encourage people to tell someone else on the staff what has happened, show them the note you have written and let them know that you in fact have returned the gift.
This is important for a business and client relationship; you do not want something to look as if a client is trying to bribe you, if you will, to do business with them. A woman or a man may feel that a gift is too intimate, it has come from someone and it is not a business gift, it is too personal, you need to trust your instincts, you need to put pen to paper, write a note immediately and send the gift back.
Be as gracious as you can in the note, if this is a person with whom you need a continuing relationship. Do not offend them, do not embarrass them, just say because of my company policy, unfortunately I cannot accept your generous gift or if it is more clear cut that there was a truly, truly inappropriate gift because it was too personal, you need to say that in your gift note.
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