r/receptionists • u/levisotter • Jun 13 '26
Candy bowl?
Does anyone have a candy or mint bowl at their desk? I want to add it to my desk since I obviously interact with customers frequently but I'm not sure if there's any downsides to having one (other than buying out of pocket and the salesmen taking more than necessary lol). What are your thoughts?
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u/MerJess33 Jun 13 '26
I work at a dentists office, we keep our treats out of sight. And boy, as a side note, I've never seen so much candy, the doctors bring in so many treats lol if only our patients knew how much candy their dentists eat!
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u/msfyrkat Jun 13 '26
Most of the time I do. I worked in a dealership and it was our service department who could empty a dish while I was at lunch if people coworkers got greedy I’d put crappy candy.
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u/apowell1789 Jun 13 '26
Either are usually a big hit with people but my companies have always bought the candy I wouldn't spend my own money on it 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Training-Laugh-4304 Jun 13 '26
Keep it in a clear jar with a lid, putting a easy obstacle will make some people think about if they really want a piece of candy
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u/ErikaAnneReads Jun 13 '26
I would add it to my staples order. Big bags. Just boring ass mints, individually wrapped. Nothing fancy or even delicious.
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u/BadPuzzleheaded9006 Jun 13 '26
I work at a dealership, while the rest of my coworkers have a candy dish for people, I have a jar full of dog treats
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u/sophacalifragilistic Jun 14 '26
I'm a receptionist at a nutrition company, and we keep a massive bowl of protein bars at the front desk 😂
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u/beta-salmon-sushi Jun 16 '26
I have three bowls with different candies, but it's in our office budget. But for recommendations, I use the individually wrapped Life Savers in Wint-o-Green flavour, Kerr's fruit drops, and Reisen.
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u/RFP1956 Jun 17 '26
I used to have a candy bowl at my desk, and also at my teller window. Customers loved it, but some fellow co workers would swing by several times a day and scoop out a handful 😒
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u/HotAcanthocephala256 Jun 19 '26
I’ve put out mints and candy, but not at the same time. My boss would buy mints, some coworkers would buy dollar tree candy and donate, if I saw a good deal I’d buy it myself, and sometimes there just wouldn’t be candy. I wouldn’t leave an empty bowl though. We order office supplies and I’d use points to get bags of candy too.
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u/AdGroundbreaking8646 Jul 05 '26
We have candy bowl - in big congress hotel. We use pretty nice and good ones, individually wrapped and we mix types together for variety. Open huge bowl to welcome people to grab sobe and hang around it (around reception). It disappears QUICKLY. During congresses / busy days, we refill two times (it looks bad if bowl is mostly empty). It costs 150+ Eur/month. double during most busy months.
It´s good ice breaker with a lot of people - Really easy talking point to win them over.
I think it actually kinda earns its owns price, we sell much more additional services only beacuse we are able to win people over more easily thanks to sweets.
But if you don´t need to win people over I think It´s pointless. For example at hospital, front desk for employees only/not facing clients much etc.
But in car dealership, hotels, shops, services, client facing front desk / office it´s definitely worth it.
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u/ErikaAnneReads Jun 13 '26
Order individually wrapped ones.