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Receiving cigars as gifts

havanaalhavanaal Posts: 155 ✭✭
in Cigar 101
I manage a medium sized office (20-22 staff, mostly female) Every birthday or Christmas time, they are thoughtful enough to take up a collection and buy me what they know I’ll like--cigars. But they never seem to get it right. For example, this year the designated buyer was a secretary who claimed to know cigars, because she buys them for her boyfriend, who’s a real cigar connisseur. (His favorite? Garcia y Vega!). So I ended up with a box of low end cigars that I mostly smoked on the golf course. How does one handle this situation? or should I just shut up and be grateful for whatever I can get? After all, beggars can’t be choosers.
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Comments

  • Rob1110Rob1110 Posts: 1,577 ✭✭✭
    Hire someone who actually knows cigars for next year. Or leave a box of really nice cigars on your desk for all to see. Maybe someone will notice and take the hint.
  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
    Drop a subtle hint, females are all tuned in on that kinda stuff. Then be grateful for whatever you get.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249 ✭
    You have a few options:


    1. Each year, the person who is in charge, (and who gets you bad cigars) just fire them. In this economy, quality replacements are abound.


    2. Use rob's ideas. Hiring a BOTL would be a great idea; you could smoke outside together, and he/she can be in charge of your gift.


    3. Fake your own death. Leave a 'coroners report" on your desk. Have you cause of death listed as 'bad cigars, specifically ___________." A day later 'rise from the dead.' Attribute it to smoking an Opus, or whatever you want.


    4. (My real advice.) You can never have too many sticks, and even the low-end ones can be passed on to friends who smoke casually. Be happy, be healthy, brother.

  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947 ✭
    Buy a cigar jar humi to keep on your desk and only put in it what you would like to have. This should be sufficient provided they are smart enough to hold down a job and get there every day on their own ...
  • rwheelwrightrwheelwright Posts: 3,296 ✭
    I agree with every suggestion here!
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Or you could mail it back with a note....
  • Matt MarvelMatt Marvel Posts: 930 ✭
    A real connoisseur who's favorite stick is a Garcia y Vega? Your first order of business is to set this guy down and have a chat. One thing you could do is mention smoking a (insert favorite smoke here) and say how good it was, the next time your smoking cigars comes up or something. Also, putting a cigar jar on your desk filled with some good sticks would be a good idea.
  • FourtotheflushFourtotheflush Posts: 2,555 ✭
    Your best bet is to give the "cigar Coneseur" a stick out of your stash, convert him and you will receive a better bounty.
    And be thankful that you get something.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    ask for nothing or ask for a non cigar related gift.
    Kuzi's Forum Links Page
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Fourtotheflush:
    Your best bet is to give the "cigar Coneseur" a stick out of your stash, convert him and you will receive a better bounty.
    And be thankful that you get something.
    there ya go. I would be hesitant to put a humi with good cigars on your desk, pens have legs, staplers have legs, as do paper clips, I bed cigars would have jet engines...
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    wear a camacho shirt every day.
    Kuzi's Forum Links Page
  • jihiggsjihiggs Posts: 469 ✭✭
    get a few of your fav cigar bands, put them on your pen cup or somthing. say your kid/niece made it for you using bands from your fav cigars and show it off to a few of the women.
  • samijxsamijx Posts: 6
    Ask for a cigar.com gift card next year.
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947 ✭
    That is a good idea ...especially with their prices and deals
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Or you could show up to work smoking a favorite and sit down in your desk...
  • undulacundulac Posts: 1,129 ✭
    Regift them as their Christmas Bonus. Maybe they'll get the point.
  • zoom6zoomzoom6zoom Posts: 1,214 ✭
    Just leave a few CCOM catalogs sitting on your desk and in the break room. Anything they order will be better than G&V's! You could also leave certain items circled and such. I think the gift cards work best!
  • havanaalhavanaal Posts: 155 ✭✭
    Many great ideas here. So, Garcia y Vega boy came by to pick up his girlfriend yesterday, and I said “I hear Kim likes to buy you Garcia y Vegas. Do you ever smoke a real cigar?” He says, “Like what? I had a Macanudo once. I didn’t like it.” I said “I’ll bring you one of my Gurkhas to try, you may never go back to those cheap ones.” So what does he say? “Hey, my cigars aren’t cheap man. I’m spending over $1 a piece!!!!!” Beyond hope. I give up. And now I have to waste a Gurkha on him to boot.
  • zoom6zoomzoom6zoom Posts: 1,214 ✭
    Even a 5V Classic or Gold would probably rock his world. Tell him, "I was gonna bring you a Ghurka but since you've been smoking those things I'd better start you off slow". His pride won't let him not try it.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249 ✭
    Or pull a Black Band Project on his ass.
  • nsezellnsezell Posts: 294
    I'm intrigued...whats a black band project?
  • Garen BGaren B Posts: 977
    Google it for the entire rundown, but in a nutshell, it's a project by Camacho to get people to try new cigars, the three stereotypes they show are the guy who only smokes highly rated sticks in cigar magazines, the guy who only smokes cubans and the guy who smokes whatever in front of him because he thinks cigars make him look cool.

    To get people to try a new cigar and using their tastes (instead of their preconceptions) to see if they like the stick, they are sending out 3 unbanded cigars to everyone who signed up for the project. Basically what beta is saying is have Al give this guy an unbanded cigar and have him smoke it, see how he likes it and have him compare it to his Garcia y Vegas.
  • Smoky the BearSmoky the Bear Posts: 51
    Al, I agree with Zoom. I'm all for converting the uneducated, hell I'm one of them most of the time, but don't waste a primo stick on this guy. He sounds like one of those guys who gets their cologne in bar bathrooms and buys his girlfriend plastic jewelry (no offense meant if anyone in the forum does that). I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
  • DanWyskochilDanWyskochil Posts: 4
    The easiest solution is to invite kaspera79 over for a BBQ on your birthday. He shows up with around 15 or so sticks for you and has a beer with you on the patio. Awesome.
  • havanaalhavanaal Posts: 155 ✭✭
    I had to update this thread. The best suggestion was dropping C.com catalogues around the office. People would look at them and it would start a discussion, like "My husband would love some of these, what do you recommend?" or "I never realized there were so many different brands of cigars. What's the difference?" Anyway it worked. For my birthday this year I got a pair of Opus X's and a pair of Padron 1926 Anniversaries. (compared to last year, when I got a box of low end crap) I knew going to this forum would pay off!
  • HaysHays Posts: 2,337 ✭✭✭
    havanaal:
    Anyway it worked. For my birthday this year I got a pair of Opus X's and a pair of Padron 1926 Anniversaries.
    Hell freakin yeah man!
    ¨The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea¨ - Isak Dinesen

    ¨Only two people walk around in this world beardless - boys and women - and I am neither one.¨
  • ejenne87ejenne87 Posts: 1,925 ✭✭
    Hays:
    havanaal:
    Anyway it worked. For my birthday this year I got a pair of Opus X's and a pair of Padron 1926 Anniversaries.
    Hell freakin yeah man!
    It doesn't get much better than that! Nice score bro!
  • clearlysuspectclearlysuspect Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭✭
    This has been one of the best threads I've read here lately.
  • JZJZ Posts: 827 ✭
    Are they hot? If so, I would take the low end cigars with a smile!
  • havanaalhavanaal Posts: 155 ✭✭
    Come on JZ, one always takes a cigar gift with a smile, even if the giver is overweight, 72 years old, and toothless! Right?
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