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Here's one way to get employees to focus on customer service: set specific, measurable goals, with rewards for achieving them. That's what Ed Loke did, and he's not only reduced his company's shipping errors by 75%, he's also improved employee morale.

Last August, Loke instituted a "No Surprises Guarantee Program" at Trelltex Inc., a $5-million, Houston-based industrial rubber products wholesaler. In a written statement to customers, he promised that Trelltex would ship goods within 24 hours, notify them of back-ordered items prior to shipping, ship the correct goods, and make no pricing errors. "If we fail you in these areas," he pledged, "we will mail you a check for $25 to help compensate for the inconvenience of our error." To cover the guarantee, Loke set aside $250 a month. "We told our order-handling people that if we made fewer than 10 errors, we would give them the balance of the $250 in cash."

The result: Trelltex went from making 10 shipping errors a month -- each costing about $200, according to Loke -- to a mere 2 or 3. "It has saved us a fortune," he says. Meanwhile, Trelltex has fewer dissatisfied customers, and more employees who are committed to customer service.