Safety First.... Then Bukoo!

In many fields, safety is of the first and foremost concern.  Whether it's manufacturing, electrical work, building, or any other number of physically laborious industries, safe practices should be the focus to 1) Keep employees safe 2) Keep workers' comps claims under control 3) Show the employees you are concerned about their well-being.

As with all rewards and incentives programs, we recommend a gift outside of cash or gift cards due to the merit of trophy value the gift has in the workplace. Get all of your employees involved with an incentive points program. By rewarding employees with points for safe practices, you are engaging them as a team and as productive individuals.

Use an incentive points program to reward employees for:

Learning new safety regulations and implementing them
Successful quizzes on safe practices
"Catches" of unsafe measures or ideas for better and more efficient practices
Time passed without incident or injury
Reporting injury or incident

Encourage positive safe practices as well as rewarding those who report incidents. This will encourage employees to not hide incidents, and to make the workplace better overall so as to learn from the incidents and become a more productive unit.

Make the goals attainable and measurable, and the rewards desirable. If you don't know where to start in setting up a platform, be sure to check out Bukoo Gifts. Variety is the spice of life, and our gift selections are the spiciest! Your employees will find something they want to work for in our points program platforms. We can also promote safe practices through other custom reward methods and make sure you are keeping your employees excited, motivated, and safe!

4 Pieces of the Employee Recognition Puzzle: 4- On the Spot Recognition

The final piece of the employee recognition puzzle is On the Spot Recognition.

On the Spot Recognition is important, especially in the time of instant gratification and short attention spans we live in. When an employee completes an important task or additional task than usual to their workload, it is important to recognize them, and timely. If too much time passes the reward will have less of an effect. For those small occurrences that you want to encourage, an on the spot reward is a perfect way to have the task's value resonate with your employee.

Recognizing on the spot generally means recognizing someone at their desk, which often times will be in front of their peers. Being recognized in front of peers can mean more to the employee who achieved the reward, and can also be used as a motivational factor for those peers around them to try to achieve that recognition as well.

Tangible rewards are the best rewards. Giving someone a mug, card, or sticky note with words of encouragement or "thanks" will not only be positive because of immediate gratification but also because it will serve as a reminder of your appreciation and also the task or operation the employee performed to earn that reward. 

Koodos on the Spot Reward Kits by Bukoo Gifts

When you are able to hit your employees (not literally!) from all angles in recognition, you are more likely to have an effect on more people. A good mix of on-going (incentive programs), occasional loyalty (service awards), peer recognition, and on the spot recognition will ensure that you are affecting those people who regard their work as most important, those who value loyalty, and those who value respect of their peers. Regardless of the various personalities your workplace may have, they will all feel your spirit of Employee Engagement when you put together a program recognizing employees in all of these ways.

4 Pieces of the Employee Recognition Puzzle: 3- Peer to Peer Recognition

Receiving praise and adequate recognition from managers, supervisors, and directors is important, as we have discussed in the first two puzzle pieces here and here. The third element can be just as influential on the success and retention of employees in your company: Peer to Peer Recognition.

Peer Recognition is important because it's human nature to want to feel accepted. Acceptance and support from peers is vital. When a person feels support from their colleagues and recognizes that not only will their work affect others close to them on the same level, but they will be appreciated for that work, it is an additional motivation.

Give your employees the opportunity to call-out their fellow colleagues for doing something good, for accomplishments and achievements. Encourage simple gestures, because those can go a long way. To more formally implement a peer to peer recognition, hold nominations for employee of the month/quarter/year to give the staff an opportunity to recognize who they believe stands out and who makes their jobs easier or better.

When there is a good atmosphere and camaraderie amongst peers, that element of teamwork will only push the company's goals further. To encourage and appreciate when a member of the team steps up to help others, it makes the business more successful and more productive. Encourage this practice in your company and you will see results. More people getting more done= more success for your business.

A great solution is to provide simple tools for words of encouragement or small items for peers to give to each other to show their appreciation. Check out our Koodos kits and consider using these as an opportunity for employees to be able to give these to each other. Maybe have the kits on hand and encourage employees to come to managers to nominate their peer for a Koodos gift. There could be a gesture made of this employee giving their colleague a "Koodos" mug in front of the office, or in private. Either way, the gesture will build a stronger team and company loyalty.

4 Pieces of the Employee Recognition Puzzle: 2- Reward and Motivate with Incentives

Rewarding your top performers has never been more important. The economy has been through its ups and downs over the past few years, and the value put on high performance cannot be overstated. Being able to do more with less is the progress successful businesses have made. Doing more with less money, and doing more with less manpower also, of course.

Don't be shocked if your top performers are being lured away as the economy turns around. The best way to avert the crisis of losing them is to make sure they are properly compensated, rewarded, and recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the company.

While trying to do more with less, you also want to maximize the contribution from ALL of your employees. Some might be disillusioned with their positions, but not feel safe enough to try to move to another company. This is almost the worst case for your company. It hurts to have people who only do enough to get by. As a company, you might feel stuck with this person, or not even know how bad it is because you are trying to avoid the high cost of turnover in one or multiple positions, or even avert a lull in productivity it would take to train a new hire. This is where incentives can be huge.

Incentives can motivate your lower performing employees to higher production levels than they would normally try to achieve, and properly compensate the highest performing members of your team. The more they perform, the more they receive in rewards. It is in the employees' control how much in rewards they receive.

To maximize the potential of incentives for your employees, the incentives need to be 1) Desirable and 2) Attainable. As in any setting for motivation, the end goal and reward must be worth the effort. Gift desirable rewards, and the motivation will be instilled. Setting goals for incentives that have never been close to being reached is not only discouraging employees to not participate, but it can actually have even more of a negative effect than not having incentives at all.

In an incentive program, it is important to make the goals attainable and quantifiable. A "good" action cannot be a qualification for an incentive reward. Make the rewards specific, and put higher value on the actions that more directly affect the bottom line of the company.  Be careful not to neglect elements like administrative tasks, or other actions that benefit the bottom line more indirectly. To be a successful company, all parts must work together and have emphasis. Incentives are a great way to "grease the squeaky wheel", if you will and get moving in the right direction.

To view examples of reasons to reward view our company blog on Incentives.

To learn more about a customized Incentive Points Program full of desirable rewards, check out BukooGifts.com.

4 Pieces of the Employee Recognition Puzzle: 1- Award Loyalty

There are typically four pieces of recognition that fully encompass a strong employee engagement program. Over the next four posts, we want to discuss those four pieces, and make the case for putting this puzzle together in your business.

The first piece of the Employee Recognition Puzzle is:

Employee Loyalty is the easiest form of engaging and recognizing employees. Due to the ease in tracking this about your employees (know their start date- know their anniversary), it's a way to recognize them, their work, and their loyalty to your company every year. Make a bigger gesture on their milestone anniversaries, 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, so on.

Employee Loyalty is something that does not have to be a thing of the past. Thirty years ago, leaving a job was nearly unthinkable. With all of the tools at everyone's fingertips now, Monster.com, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, it's almost impossible to not be in the know about outside job opportunities. When a person stays with you for a length of time, it means they are denying their outside curiosity. Hopefully, it's because you are doing a good job of showing them you appreciate them, you engage with them, and respect their work and their loyalty. Make them think twice about opening up that "LinkedIn jobs you may be interested in", because they know what they have now is more interesting, engaging, and appreciative than what else lies out there in the unknown.

Small gestures on their anniversary- Balloons, a cupcake, or even a simple card are a great and simple way to let them know you are thankful.

Take the opportunity on a milestone anniversary to give them a gift. Give them some control over their reward and they will appreciate it. Let them choose a gift that maybe they would not get for themselves otherwise; or maybe they'll even choose an every day item they need. Either way, every time they see or use your gift, they will know they have it because of your show of appreciation and their loyalty.

To read more about recognizing years of service or the importance of recognition as the economy comes out of the recession view our white papers.

Opportunities to Gift to Your Employees

It is easy to get lost in week to week routines and not take the time to acknowledge your employees and their work. Luckily, there is a calendar of days throughout the year that make it easy for you to decide when to say "Thanks" to your employees! See the below list of dates based on job type for your gifting convenience:

April 15th-19th: Library Week- say thank you to your Library Professional and Administration
April 16th- National Stress Awareness Day- give your employees a break to reduce stress- a half day off or a relaxation type gift.
April 24th- Admin Professionals Day
April 25th- Medical Laboratory Professionals Day

May 6th-10th Nurses Week
May 7th- Teacher's Day
May 21st- Waiter and Waitress Day

June 17th-21st Nursing Assistant Week

September 27th- National Thank You Day- thank everyone you work with!

October 7th-11th- Customer Service Week
October 16th- Boss's Day
October 17th- Credit Union Day

December 5th- International Volunteer Day- Reward your volunteers for their valuable time and effort.
December 25th- Christmas

Mark your calendars down and make sure you are showing your appreciation for your co-workers! A little gesture can go a long way. Send them a Bukoo Gift or give them a Koodos Gift. Order today!

Tips for Budgeting for a Years of Service Award Program

Years of Service Awards Programs are a great way to display your appreciation of the loyalty of employees for any number of years. This day and age, when loyalty in customers is hard to keep, it’s nearly as difficult to find an employee with extensive tenure in an organization. Turnover costs are high, and grow every day, so anytime you can thank and appreciate your employees for working hard to keep their jobs and who dedicate themselves to your cause, it is a great idea.

When budgeting for a program, no budget should be considered too big or too small. However, it is important to make a gift worthwhile in the eyes of the employee. Any gesture will make an impression, but making a strong impression that lasts will resonate with other employees and make the employee feel special and perhaps will work even harder to prove the gesture was well-deserved.

Our award program that we deem the most effective is the program of choice. Allowing your employees to choose their award from a slew of worthwhile gifts will leave the lasting impression you want. When they choose a gift, they will be choosing something that they want to use or will need for possibly years to come. Whenever they look at the purse, watch, home appliance, or sports item they chose from the selection you gave them, they will remember the meaning behind that gift. It also disguises the amount you spend on them, so again, no matter what your budget they are seeing a gift, and not a number.

If you would like to learn more about budgeting for a Years of Service Award Program, other forms of recognition and incentives, or would like to re-vitalize a current program you have please contact Bukoo Gifts. We can customize a program to your budget and make your program as effective as possible! 1-866-446-1064

If you are at a loss on where to begin here is a typical budget we see for years of service awards:

1 year- $25-$50.00

3 year-$25-$75

5 year-$50-100

10 year- $50-150

15 year -$100-200

20 year- $200 +

25 year-$200 +

30 year- $250 +

Comprehensive Wellness Programs and Why they WORK

Wellness programs are a great way to increase health awareness among your employees. There are many great companies out there that can provide health assessments, life health consultations, and overall benefits management. They offer great tools that can help keep the healthy people healthy and assist the unhealthy towards moving in the right direction of health. 

A great tool to help your employees track their health is the American Heart Association's Heart360 Program. https://www.heart360.org/Default.aspx

Here your employees can track blood pressure, blood glucose, physical activity, smoking cessation, and weight management.  There are reporting capabilities here that you could instill in your employees and have them report their progress to you.  In order to encourage participation and create the most promising results, incentives are always vital to the success of a program like this. 

A great system that has worked for one of our clients is using this reporting system for their employees. Each month the employee tracks their activity and the client reports this activity to us at Bukoo to load the points into the system. The points they earned during the month turn into buying power for items on their customized rewards site.

Other options are to seek out agreements with local gyms for your employees if you do not have the budget or space to put a gym in your office or on your campus to promote physical activity.  Bring out the competitive side of your employees by holding a contest for who can lose the most percentage of their body weight over a given period of time. However you choose to implement a program, know that it is a great investment of resources and you will save in healthcare costs, and maybe even save a life. 

Pump People up with Incentives!!!

Everything that we do in life has an incentive attached to it. If we get up in the morning and go to work, we make money. Money buys things like food, a roof over our heads, and clothes among other things (iPhones?) So the incentive is to be able to have things to get up and go to work.  Once we are at work, we do our jobs. How well do we do our jobs? Some of us would say enough to not get fired.  If you are an employer, this is not something you are looking to hear from your employees. You want to hear from them, "I do my job to the best of my ability, 40 hours a week, or more! Without additional pay because I love my job so much I don't care!" This however, is highly unlikely.  For many, not all, but many people, an additional incentive is needed to achieve maximum productivity.  I'm going to tell you how you can pump up productivity with an incentive program. 

 Incentives are a great tool to encourage the behaviors that promote the most successful results for your business. Are you having trouble getting reports from your employees on time? Give an incentive for turning them in early.  Too many production errors in printing or manufacturing? Give an incentive for catches or doing a job perfectly.  Anything that you need to improve in the office, warehouse, store, etc. can be promoted through the use of incentives.  While we would all like to think that we can see the greater good of our actions, most people are very short-sighted, and selfish, in how much work they do and why. It is simply human nature.  A way to circumvent the negativity in a workplace associated with this intrinsic behavior is to give extrinsic motivation. Tie an incentive to an action that will reach into your employee and pull out productivity.  

A great way to give value to the behaviors you need from your employees is a points program.  By associating points with behaviors, your employees can watch these points build up in order to redeem them for products they want.  For instance, if you give an employee 50 points every time they turn in a report on time and they want a product that is listed at 500 points, this means that you will get AT LEAST 10 reports from them on time.  Their behavior will reflect their desire for that product which will positively impact the company's bottom line.  

This 3 element approach is very effective because the employee gets immediate recognition by acquiring hte points, short term rewards if they choose to redeem quickly and long-term awards in which they will see their hard and timely work prosper into bigger ticket items if they choose to accumulate their points.  For more information about incentive programs and the steps to implementing a process with worthwhile products go to our web page all about incentives.

Peer to Peer Recognition

In large or small companies, it is difficult for one person to see all things that go on amongst the employees, good and bad. This can be a hamper on the value of effort and service an employee puts forth in his or her position. In order to promote consistent good behaviors and curb the instances of poor service or laziness, a peer to peer recognition is invaluable. When each employee is trying to show everyone, not just the managers who may or may not be present, that they are working hard and are kind to clients, guests, and customers, this will only serve to benefit the company.

To implement peer to peer recognition, it is important to set explicit circumstances under which a peer should be able to recognize a peer.  For instance, helping a guest with something other than a purchase i.e. carrying bags out to the car, or giving directions to a client as they leave the office.  These are little things that go a long way in the eyes of the customer and should be equally noticed by the company, if only through the eyes of a fellow employee.  When an employee knows that whether a manager is around or not that they may be recognized, this is a great incentive to always do the great things that managers like to see from them.

Creating a place in the office or store that peers can publicly acknowledge others' cleanliness, friendliness, and extra effort will promote an atmosphere of camaraderie, teamwork, and pride.  Plus, being recognized by a manager is something that should inspire greatness in employees, but being recognized by one's peers can be even greater because someone who is considered an equal found their actions to be exceptional.

Consider putting a peer recognition program in place either with a board of public recognition, or by allowing points to be given in an incentive program just as you would allow a manager to do so.  By instilling a peer recognition program the culture of recognition will only flourish and influence your company for the best.

Safety Programs- Why You Can't Afford Not Having One

In Kentucky, we have many manufacturing facilities. Safety is a concern at all of these companies because without safety, accidents can, and do occur.  Safety programs can be one of the biggest assets to the pursuit of a safe work environment.  Through safety programs a company can raise awareness of safe practices, motivate workers to pursue those safe standards on a regular basis, and create an atmosphere of competition for the workers against themselves in pursuing the highest safety standards they can as a team.

Putting safety programs into place can be very simple, cost effective and rewarding. Take the cost of what a claim would be. Imagine if a worker a) does not know a safety standard and b) goes against that safety standard and becomes injured.  The company will be at fault because the safety standard was not met and the worker will need to be compensated for their injury and other damages. This claim alone could be twice as much as putting an effective safety incentive program into place.

Now imagine that the same worker from before had training incentives. For each time he practiced a safe standard he learned on the job, he received points towards gifts or a destination.  This would re-enforce the memorization of these standards, enforce the repetition of these habits, and decrease the chance of him going against a safety standard that could cause him harm and the company monetary distress.  The cost of rewarding him for keeping in line with safety would be far less than compensating him if he was injured because he did not know a safe practice.

Don't underestimate the power of incentives to enforce habits, and raise awareness.  The cost of running a safety program pales in comparison to the cost of a claim because of laziness or not knowing a safety practice.  A program like this could be the difference in thousands of dollars for your company and even the difference between life and death.

Build Your Brand with Happy Employees

I know we have all been there. We have a bad day, then we turn around and take it out on whoever comes near us or tries to have a conversation with us. It can sometimes go like this:

Friend Questions: "Hey Ashley, how are you today?"

Answer: "Oh like you care!"

Or... something like that. Imagine if your employee is having a bad day and they have a conversation similar to that with a client or customer. Now if this happens, you should ask, wonder, be concerned about, and try to help in whatever reason your employee gives you for their "case of the Mondays".

As a manager or supervisor of people, it is vital that your attitude is a good one not only towards your job and the clients, but the people you supervise. Many times I have heard this in response to a question about employee recognition:

"Why should I recognize them? They should recognize they are lucky to have a job!! HA!" (insert evil laugh)

Just kidding about the evil laugh.  

But really, if this is the attitude that one is going to take in regards to treatment of their employees, you should be prepared for a slow upward movement in the trajectory of your business, or no movement at all. People need to feel appreciated. Appreciation motivates employees to receive more praise and they will continue to do those desired actions in order to do so. No one has ever said they feel too appreciated. Have they?  

Take pride in your employees and they will take pride in their work and their attitude towards your clients and customers.  Don't let the opportunity to recognize their work go by because it could be a lost opportunity to build your business and retain a great client as well.  Be enthusiastic, appreciative, and motivating to your employees, and hopefully they will have very few cases of the "Mondays".  

Ways to Recognize Your Employees With Little Cost

I know, I know. I am supposed to be here to convince you to spend money to recognize your employees, so why would I write a blog about ways to recognize them with little cost?

Strategy.

I think that the ways that Bukoo offers to create recognition programs for your company are VITAL, but there are also ways that are just as important to show your employees you appreciate them that are free!

1) Say "thank you" to them when they finish a project or take on extra work. It's amazing how much more these words could be used and how far it will go!

2) Create a place to display photos and memos about people who managers and peers think do an excellent job.  Recognizing someone in front of others can be a huge boost!

3). Swap a task with an employee for a day- his/her choice. "Walk a mile in someone else's shoes".

4) Ask the employee to do a special assignment when they show initiative. Feeling like they are being given additional opportunities to perform will motivate them in all areas.

5) Keep board games on hand- Uno, Yahtzee, Go Fish! Anything that can be fun and can be used as a break or stress relief for your employees during a particularly busy time.

6) Give employees an extra long lunch break- just because.

7) Acknowledge employees' achievements and other events outside of the office to show you care. Give them a special small gift for buying a new home, having a baby, getting married, or finishing school.

8) Start a suggestion program- and actually try to implement the suggestions! Employees want to be acknowledged and heard and the best way to do this is by keeping yourself open to others' ideas. You can't think of everything and maybe they will come up with a great new idea that will change the office dynamic for the better.

10) Give your employees compliments. If you think they are working hard, doing a good job, or exceeding expectations, tell them. Make sure you give them this compliment on its own. Don't couple it with a criticism or suggestion. Make this the sole purpose of a conversation. It will mean much more!

All of these ways are easy to do and will mean a lot to the employees. Treat them with respect and recognize their hard work and you will see a difference in their motivation, attitude, and performance! 

Get recognizing!!!

Retirement Gifts- Make It Count

Generally when we think of retirement we think of this:

 Both = Happiness.

We should also think about ways to say "thank you" to those who have served the company for years. Many people that are starting to retire have been with the same company for upwards of 30 years. That's almost half of their lives devoted to one cause, authority, company.  Do the right thing by them and your company by making their retirement gift COUNT.

I won't sit here and tell you what to give or how to go about giving it, but please go by these few rules of thumb:

1.) No clocks. These people have been dealing with being on a schedule for their whole lives up until now, watching the clock. Now they don't have to. Don't give them a clock. Please.

2.) No money or gift cards. No need in stirring a pot of awkwardness when the retiree sees their service was only worth "x" dollars worth. Keep the price out of it!

3.) No items that say "retired" on them. It's funny for the day, but it won't be worn or used again. Ever.

Give them something to commemorate their years of service and also something that they will be able to use or experience going forward. When someone is retiring they are looking forward to the future but would also like to remember their years of service and be remembered in style.  Please consider these rules and make the retirement gift count! This person is (probably) only going to retire once!

Recognition in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is an ever-changing and booming industry that is creating, modifying, and developing positions on a daily basis. We have all heard about the need for more healthcare facilities due to the aging of the Baby Boomers, but are there enough people to fill the necessary positions?

Many businesses have started developing their plans for this situation years ago, gaining great employees along the way. It is up to the healthcare company to set themselves apart, not only to those using their services, but also to those providing the services. Engaging and recognizing the employees that do a great job, are friendly and knowledgeable will put your healthcare business head and shoulders above other companies when the job market becomes more competitive. If you think your employee is great, chances are someone else will hear how great they are too. Make it difficult for them to leave not only by providing a strong compensation plan but also a feeling that they are important, appreciated, and vital to your organization!

Step Away from the Cash

As we all know the economy is in dire straits right now.  Everyone is looking for a way to make some extra cash and people are feeling handcuffed to their homes because they can't pay for gas to go anywhere! ($3.81 average today. You know it will go up this weekend since it's a holiday and all!) That being said, as a business you may consider giving your employees bonuses or monetary incentives to motivate behaviors.  I'm here to tell you why that is a terrible idea from a business perspective.

Studies have shown that giving cash to employees in addition to their base pay or commission is an ineffective way to motivate.  Ultimately, the employee lumps it in with the rest of their money, pays a bill or goes to the grocery with it and has nothing to show for it. They are not reminded much past getting the money in their hand of what they did to get that reward.

If employees are rewarded with merchandise, say some luggage, or a set of knives, or in some sweet circumstances a car (yes, please), then they will forever be reminded when they use these items or see these items of how they did awesome in a sales contest, or lost the most weight in the company competition, or how they went 1 month, 2 months, etc. without an injury on the job. When they know why they got it before, those behaviors and motivation will be instilled for them much longer, having a stronger effect on your business practices.

There is also the fact of being able to show your peers your trophy. When people get bonuses they don't typically walk around the office holding up their check or showing the envelope of cash. Most people would see that as tacky in a lot of situations. However, it is much less of a faux pas to walk around the office showing off your new iPad or tell people about the awesome camping gear you won and are going to use this weekend.  This not only encourages the person who received it to keep earning that item with strong work ethic and good behaviors because they see that reward continuously, but it also encourages the other employees to say "hey I want what he's got".

Be sure to consider what's best for the employee and for the business when discussing recognition and rewards. Get them something they may not normally treat themselves to, and treat your business to longer lasting motivation in your employees! It will go a long way.

Hey Man Did You Get an Award?- Recognition Can Go A Long Way

Ok, that's dramatic, but Michael Scott may be on to something... 

Recently I have come across an article discussing a study by the American Psychological Association conducted by Harris Interactive between January 31 and February 8, 2011. The survey found some quite interesting results regarding the overall morale and attitude of employees across the country in our current economic state. 

Stagnant job growth and lack of salary raises are factors in the poor attitude of workers, but employees also cited heavy workload (43 percent), unrealistic job expectations (40 percent) and long hours (39 percent) as significant sources of stress. "Additionally, less than half of employees (43 percent) said they receive adequate non-monetary rewards and recognition for their contributions at work and only 57 percent reported being satisfied with their employer's work-life practices. Just 52 percent of employees said they feel valued on the job, only two thirds reported being motivated to do their best at work and almost a third (32 percent) indicated that they intend to seek employment elsewhere within the next year."

Think about the last statistic. One-third of your current employees may have the intention of seeking employment elsewhere within the next year. Is that something your business can handle? With expectations of the economy bouncing back soon, the last thing an organization needs is for their employeess to bounce at the first sign of sunshine because they have been over-stressed and undervalued during these tough times. Employees are the center of your business. They are the ones who have most of the contact with your clients and customers, and to keep your employees happy is a great step in the direction of keeping your business partners happy.  When the economy bounces back make sure you will be able to keep those employees around that have done a great job. Show them how important they are to you now by recognizing their achievements! By taking these steps you will achieve the loyalty of those employees that have stuck around this long, and you may be surprised how far a little recognition can go. 

Vera Bradley Spring and Summer Patterns

So with the season changes, I get excited because this means the very important VERA BRADLEY NEW PATTERNS!!! It's the little things in life. . .

My personal favorites from the new lines are:

Deco Daisy

Viva La Vera! (fun name too)

 Folkloric

There are more to love but these are at the top of my list! Vera Bradley is top of the line in quilted luggage and handbags and we have their products at Bukoo Gifts Let the women in your life decide their gift or reward. I bet there's a good chance they'll find something they like! ;)