Dollars for Kudos

Giving and taking away monetary incentives for customer compliments and complaints.

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OCTOBER 1990

"We want this to be a customer-service-driven organization," says Bill Wheeler, president and general manager of Cellular One, of Indianapolis. So he got his six phone installers to approve a simple bonus plan that accounts for more than 10% of their pay.

As part of the plan, each time a customer commends an employee's work -- in a letter, in a survey, or to Wheeler in person -- that employee receives $10. Each time a customer complains about an employee, $10 is deducted, and $20 is deducted every time a customer's vehicle is damaged.

"Installers really go out of their way for customers now," says Wheeler, who estimates damages to customers' vehicles have plummeted 70%, compliments have tripled, and sales have grown by 613% since the program was started three years ago.

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