Appropriate/business gift for office lady

[supergeil]

I am buying a condo off plan and the company’s interior architect has done some mockups for me for installing a sound system, however, she is overcharging me significantly for the equipment, wants a management fee (15% now down to 10%), and I don’t think she really understands what I want.

 

So after five emails from her sent over two months (each with an “update”) I’m going to tell her to just drop the entire thing and have a third party handle this assignment.

 

Since I will likely have to deal with her regarding other issues, and she might have to cooperate with the third party (technical plans wrt. cabling) I want to handle the “thanks, but no thanks” gracefully.

 

In the west it would be customary to give her a bottle of wine or similar for her “work” so far, but I don’t think Thais drink/appreciate wine, and given her gender and title, I also think a bottle of whisky is rather inappropriate, so what would a good parting gift be?

 

[petermik]

Tell her straight her marketing skills are somewhat lacking...........hence your not needing her services anymore...........maybe it will save her next customer some earache

[supergeil]

The idea was to signal that I appreciate the time she spent on this, despite not going with her in the end, as I may need her services (indirectly) in other stages of the project, as she is the developer’s interior architect, so some desired changes may need to go through her, plus, as said above, she may need to help with technical drawings for my unit for the guy who will end up installing the sound system, plus coordinate the other cabling that needs to be done (TV/internet).

[supergeil]

Plus she is one member of a larger team that I want to be on friendly terms with (i.e. sales manager, the real architect, project manager, etc.)

 

I don’t want her to go tell the others how I am kee-niaw, wasted her time, or make her lose face (by basically hiring an external guy to do her job)…

[southsidebruce]

give her a footlong (and then some)...

 

 

I gave two doctors that helped me through a recent medical ailment at Bangkok Pattaya Hospital bottles of wine... my Thai girlfriend thought that wasn't appropriate, but I figured, what the fuque - bottles of wine are always appreciated, and if not, can be re-gifted... only problem is that wine is expensive in Thailand (compared to the States) and I don't know of any good wine/liquor stores like the ones in the States where they have professional alcoholics working there that know a shitTONNE about the various wines, etc, etc... But the wine was well received - one of the doctors (EP cardiologist) told me that he added it to his wine collection... I picked out both bottles by their labels (my criteria for buying bottles of wine was something that tastes good/is easy to drink/smooth, and has interesting wine labels, and my goTo alcoholic salesman in the wine/liquor store in the States would always find bottles of wine that exactly met my specs)...