I am really at a loss as to what to do with people who habitually leave price tags on their gifts. Not that there are not options, there are, but I just can never decide what the right option is. And I am not talking about a one off mistake, everyone can make that, it is the ones who ALWAYS leave the tags on.
What are the options and the objections to them? Well I have a list.....
1) Don't say anything, keep giving them gifts with price tags removed, and hope that they get the message. ----- well, they don't. Lord I have tried.
2) Start giving them gifts with price tags on. --- too tacky, cannot do that. Besides how does that make me any different from them and knowing these people they might just call me up on it, and then i cannot say that hey! you do that too. :(
3) Gently complain about someonelse who leaves tags on. --- I tried that. most of these people who leave tags on join me and start abusing the other people who leave tags on and never get it that I am cribbing about them. What is worse, they keep doing it. grrr....
4) Tell them oh my god the gift was so expensive, quote the exact value of it, and hope it embarrasses them enough to not do it the next time. --- this one person I did this to, and you have to know i was desperate, she keeps doing it, well, she actually turned to me and said ohhhh, don't worry about that, so what if it is expensive? umm.... what ? @#&*$#($
5) Hold on to their gift and find some way of giving it back to them. --- I have not yet tried this one, but, well, its ripe with possibilities of backfiring so... not that lucritive.
6) Say pointblank, oh you left the tag on, I haven't seen it yet, do you want to take it off? --- They do apologise then, and take it off, but it has absolutely no deterrent value for most of these people, they are beyond that. I find that they still keep doing it next time. :( though it does make them doubt if you really did not see the price, and bugs them becuase obviously they wanted you to see the price, so you washed away their plans :P small satisfaction.
So seriously I have no idea what to do with these people. I don't want to become like them and I do not want to stay on the recieving end of this complety rude behaviour. Tell me what you do? Is it working?
4 comments:
I totally understand what you go through.
But then, why don't you just ignore it. Some people like to show their affection through the literal value of the gifts they give. If you ask, is that rude or wrong, IMO, No.
But if someone is doing it to just make a point that you too some day return a gift of similar worth, then you are better off asking them str8 up abt the tag.
In my experience, I have not come across anyone who 'consistently' ensures the tag remains on their gifts. Those people really need to be told :)
diplay their gifts with huge price tags on them next time they visit?
just kidding, but good one.It is just one of life's deep unanswered puzzles! Accept it!
@confused yuppie: hahaha, okay i hate to admit this, but for the longest time i saved this set of towels that an aunt(-in-law) gave me with the tags on, hoping to give them to her when she came over to stay, as it is, with those tags on. But the thing is that when she did visit me, it just felt like such a crass thing to do that i could not bring myself to it. On the other hand I don't feel like using those towels either, so those poor things have been sitting in limbo in my linen closet forever.
@Doc: re: those people need to be told. i think you are right. it is bigger relationship problem with those people. they have just been pushing my buttons waiting for me to react and then use that as ammo for further stuff. and i have been keeping quiet in the hope that they will stop doing this eventually. But putting up never works with bullies does it. :)
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