Seth Godin has a great post
on giving employees
discretionary money
to spend as they wish.
“At the Ritz-Carlton,
every single employee
(even the maintenance folks)
has a budget of $2,000 per guest
to make things right.
On the spot,
without asking.
Without a doubt,
the guest is blown away
by this rapid response.
A caring person who, instead of saying,
“I’ll have to ask my supervisor,”
just makes it right.”
The major beverage company
I worked for
had the same policy,
except our budget
to make-it-right
was unlimited.
When I suggested this policy
to another client,
the management team’s response was
“How can we be assured
employees won’t abuse it?”
They didn’t realize
that they were trusting their employees
with something much more important
— the value of their brand.
Trust your employees
to make-it-right for customers.
If you can’t do that,
you shouldn’t employ them.