What would you do if you received a client gift (shipped by the seller, not the sender) and the price tag was still on the item? Would you tell the sender? Or is that like telling a stranger that he has toilet paper hanging from his backside?


Well, that happened to me. I received a lovely gourmet food jar delivered by Neiman Marcus - and it happened to have a $38 price tag on its side. Now, that can be embarrassing for the sender, but only if someone tells her.
So, since it's the holidays, and I didn't want to make her feel badly, I decided to do what she would likely have done. I called the toll-free number on the packing slip and asked for a supervisor. When I told the supervisor about the price tag, she was very apologetic, and yes, she did thank me for calling to bring it to their attention. So, that should be that. Now it's up to Neiman Marcus to check their shipping production line.
This resolution doesn't give the store a chance to "make it right" with the sender, who likely sent dozens of these gifts to clients this year. In fact, she sends holiday gifts to clients from Neiman Marcus every year, so she's an important customer.
So, did I do right by not upsetting the gift sender? What would you do if you received a client gift and something was wrong with it - even more than leaving a price tag on the item? Does the sender have a right to know?