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I work for a company that repairs electronic devices. Some receive bonuses and others do not. Is this legal to do?

The Customer Service Representatives receive a monthly commission check based on their accessory sales after someone has a device repaired. However, the technicians who are actually repairing these devices have no opportunity to receive any form of bonus because they do not work in the front of a store to sell accessories. Is the company required to offer some form of commission to the technicians who are working just as hard as those same Customer Service Representatives? The CSRs average a monthly commission bonus of almost $200, while the technicians are paid only a slightly higher hourly rate than those same CSRs, and the commission bonuses allow those Customer Service Reps to make quite a bit more than the technicians. Is the company allowed to do this?

Feb 11, 2015 by Leah in  |  Flag
4 Answers  |  5 Followers
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Hi Leah, I'm not an attorney, but I'm pretty sure it's legal for your company to do this. Many different companies have different incentive programs for their sales force. Talk to your manager if you feel slighted.

1 Comment   |  Flag   |  Feb 11, 2015 from San Diego, CA

I'm not feeling slighted... I work in the corporate offices for this company and have just been getting a lot of questions about it. I don't know how one would approach the situation, so I was curious as to what kinds of rules there are. If they offer it to one employee, aren't they supposed to give the same opportunities to other employees?
There is an incentive developed for a certain group of employees, and the others don't even get the opportunity to earn incentives like it.

Flag |  Feb 11, 2015

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Sean McClay Level 13

Leah, I would recommend if you are getting the questions in regards to this matter and do now know why it was put in place, it would be advisable for you to ask your HR department as to why this is done. I know that the policy of commissions are nothing new. Each employee should know the risks and rewards of how they are paid and if they are unsatisfied than they should mention it to the appropriate department / people. For instance if you go in to a car dealership to get your car serviced, the customer service person is paid on hourly and commission and the technician is paid just hourly, with no commission. The risk to the customer service person is that their are not a lot of cars to send back that month and their pay fluctuates where as the technician is getting paid the same whether or not there are 100 or 200 cars to work on that month. If the technician in your standpoint feels like they could make more money being on the other side then the next time one of those jobs opens up recommend that they apply for it. Remember the grass is not always greener on the other side. I hope this helps in some little way. Have a great day!

Health & Happiness,


Comment   |  Flag   |  Feb 11, 2015 from Daphne, AL

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Steve Casull Level 13

I usually dislike to "pass the buck", but in this case, to avoid your possibly being disciplined by giving incorrect information out from people NOT directly knowledgeable, I would pass those calls to HR. I wouldn't even call HR and get the answer to give out yourself. Just transfer the call. I wouldn't be surprised if they would also prefer this tact.

2 Comments   |  Flag   |  Feb 11, 2015 from South Jordan, UT

It's a small company. I'm not getting phone calls about it. Some of the people asking questions about it are simply co-workers feeling left out. I was more curious on whether or not the company is allowed to do this, or if they're required to offer some kind of incentive program to all employees and not just a portion of them. It was more to sate my curiosity, not argue with the higher-ups about their policies.

Flag |  Feb 12, 2015
Steve Casull

Leah, sales is a hard line of work, that few seek out. I didn't become a FInancial Advisor to be a salesman. Relationship building in an advisory capacity is key to any position that demands building relationships into customers. In order to get this caliber of person, companies have to compensate them higher than others. It is commonplace for the better salespeople in an organization to make more money than the President of the company. I have a question, are you good at your job? I ask because customer service is a key ingredient, and usually a stepping stone into a sales position. Why don't you go for it?

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Flag |  Feb 25, 2015 near South Jordan, UT

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I agree with all the other advisors. You should pass theses calls to HR. I will add thought that a good place to research this kind of thing is on the IRS.gov sight or Google the term "reasonable compensation". Sometimes companies do get this kind of thing wrong.

Comment   |  Flag   |  Feb 24, 2015 from Loveland, OH

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