ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > August > 19 > Entry
Business lunches can make or break career
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A recent ajcjobs cover story talked about the strategic importance and best use of the business lunch (or breakfast or other meal). Experts said that, even with tighter budgets, companies shouldn’t be too hasty to ban the business meal, which can be a great way to build relationships with clients and improve trust and loyalty.
Of course, food-and-beverage situations always can lead to mishaps. What if you invite the client to lunch and then spill red wine on his or her tan suit? What if you get spinach stuck in your teeth, and you don’t discover that until long after the lunch is over?
There also could be etiquette issues. One person interviewed for the article described a business lunch to which she was invited. Someone working at the company where she used to work invited her to lunch so that he or she could “pick her brain”. After two hours of picking her brain, this person said “thanks for lunch” and took off, leaving the invited guest to foot the bill!
Have you ever been a part of a business meal that had unexpected results? Tell us what happened and if you ended up landing the client or the job.
Comments
By Becky
August 19, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Our company meals come out of a snack machine..
By Yvette
August 19, 2008 9:22 AM | Link to this
Who drinks alcohol at a business lunch? That screams alcoholic if you can’t even get through a business lunch without ordering an adult beverage.
By Huh?
August 19, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this
If you are on a business lunch, you shouldn’t be ordering red wine anyway!
By Fran
August 25, 2008 8:44 AM | Link to this
I believe the blogger said lunch or another meal earlier and yes, business people do order adult beverages at business dinners.
More to the point than “you shouldn’t” is how do you handle it — especially in an interview situation? You are supposed to follow the boss’s lead, but what if he’s eating steak and you’re a vegetarian, or he’s drinking scotch and you don’t drink. Knowing how to differ graciously is worth learning.
By Uncomfortable
September 4, 2008 7:13 PM | Link to this
I am real uncomfortable being taken to lunch by the bosses on “Hallmark” days - birthdays, etc. but I can’t get out of it. I’m a picky eater and am kind of shy and it’s scary to sit there with bosses at a fancy place that intimidates me or that I don’t care for. And if they talk shop talk, even worse. It is an ordeal for me that I just dread. For the extroverts who are not ill at ease around the boss and for those who love to eat, it’s easier, but not for me.