Client buying dinners? Is this legal?

We just finished our consulting project at business school. Client wanted to buy us dinner during mid-project but we declined because some of us were not free + we did not want to have to feel obliged to 'any extra requests' that might crop up during the 'free lunch'.

Now they want to buy us dinner (since everything is finished).

Consultants/Bankers, what are your views on this?

Have you experienced a similar predicament?

7 Comments
 

Theres no problem...If anything I think this falls under gift giving, and usually there is a corporate price cap to the $ amount of gifts you can recieve, and dinner falls well below that.

You give me a gift? *BAM* Thank you note! You invite me somewhere? *POW* RSVP! You do me a favor? *WHAM* Favor returned! Do not test my politeness.
 

Cap is $100 for gift giving, but taking clients out to dinner is a regular occurrence while doing business together. I've been taken out to dinner by accountants dozens of times. Sometimes I pick up the tab. Same thing with bankers. This is normal.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

If clients buying you dinner was illegal 95% of the street would be in jail

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

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