Christmas is a big deal in the Philippines, and almost all companies/groups/departments have their own exchange gift. Even friends tend to do this as well. Since I grew up with this tradition, I don't really mind it. The most common gift is usually Starbucks tumblers. I think it can be annoying, but it can also foster some camaraderie between coworkers.
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I like the gift giving thing as I think I made clear in this post although I think many workplaces make it awkward and unenjoyable - I speak for here in Australia as I don't know what happens in non-Australian workplaces.
There must be a lot of Starbucks tumblers around over there. Thankfully the franchise is is only located in three Australian States and not my own, it's not very good coffee...but I hear their tumblers are popular. 😂
Oh there are a lot of styles available. You can have a look-see yourself:
https://starbucks.ph/merchandise
Coffee is very popular in the Philippines. Coffee shops are like the unofficial hang out place of the youth/yuppies. Starbucks is the most popular, and I think there's at least 5 branches every city, maybe 1 in every 30km radius. Then you have other coffee shops like Seattle's best, Figaro, Bo's, etc, each with their own set of tumblers. And have I talked about the planners? People are literally going to Starbucks almost everyday just to collect stickers to redeem the Christmas planners, which they barely use. It is insane.
As I said, we have Starbucks here but it was so unpopular that they closed most of their stores and pulled back to only a handful on the Eastern seaboard. The sell coffee pods here also, in supermarkets but I'm not sure how well they go, or ow badly.
Starbucks have to use stickers to entice customers there? The coffee should be doing that job.
That is the complete opposite here. They are very popular and most malls or hang out places have a store each. I don't drink coffee much so I don't care about their coffee as well.
For the stickers, I did a bit of research, and they actually have a separate website for the Christmas tumblers and planner for sticker redemption. I don't know when this started but here is the site if you want to check how it works.
https://starbuckstraditions.ph/#collection
The coffee/ambiance/hang out place already pull a lot of customers to them, but this sticker+planner combo makes them rake in the cash. People like the challenge, and have a reason to hang out there. When they do get the planner, it is a sense of accomplishment for them.
I think I have to disclose that I do not work for Starbucks, I am not sponsored by them, I do not endorse them, and I don't usually drink their coffee. haha
You're Mr. Starbucks! Although you don't work for them, I hope they see this and offer you...well, at least some stickers!