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> You are correct if one only buys for one person.
Actually, I was talking about treating everyone like they were
human, not just one person.
>Certainly there is no downside if not
> overdone. I have even said, with a smile and loud voice, "this is a
> bribe, make sure you don't lose my bills." Everyone takes it as a joke
> and I have never seen anyone offended, including top management. The
> thought of an ice cream bribe is so ludicrous that my comment has never
> been taken seriously, but it does help cement relations.
My point is that consistent treatment does more than an
occasional gesture. Ask clerical workers what they think about a
rose on Secretary's Day, and almost all of them will say that
they'd rather have a raise in pay or increase benefits than a
token gesture. I think the same goes for bringing in food.
Too often, I've seen such gestures done in a very calculated way
- as a cheap way to buy acceptance, the personal equivalent of a
donation from MacDonald's to a local charity. In these cases, the
calculation destroys any good will that might otherwise come from
the gesture. People will happily stuff themselves with free
donuts - with free anything, almost - but they notice the
calculation, too.
That's not to say that truly generous gestures aren't
appreciated. But it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that
swing. You can't just talk the talk; you've got to walk the walk.
It's got to come from the heart if you want it to work. In other
words, all paraphrases aside, it's got to be sincere.
If anyone really thinks otherwise, then the chances are very good
that they despise or look down on those they are trying to bribe.
If so, then their attitude will come through and spoil the
gesture that they're trying to make.
--
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com | Tel: 604.421.7189
"Soon you'll achieve the stability you strive for,
In the only way that it's granted:
In a place among the fossils of our time."
-Jefferson Airplane (after John Wyndham)
