Taking care of those who take care of our customers is something we believe in. So much so that I don’t know how other companies who pay minimum wage and nothing else can expect anything other than a mediocre product. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
Susie Drenik, a 35 year Miller’s veteran who manages the Mpix shipping department, shared a story with me about her early days. Susie was 17 years old and the dreaded Christmas layoff date was approaching. On one particular day my grandfather and our founder, Bill Miller, approached her carrying an envelope. She was certain this envelope contained some type of “pink slip.” He sat down and told her what a great job she had done and handed her the envelope. He then said “aren’t you going to open it?” She said she would if he wanted her to. When she did she was surprised to find a $185 bonus check. Keep in mind that she was making $1.65 per hour at the time.
These days we hand out profit sharing checks every month. In 2006 these checks amounted to 55.91% of each participant’s base pay, or another way of looking at it, the equivalent of more than 6 months additional pay. During our busiest months the amount of the check will exceed what a given team member earned in base pay for the entire month. In addition, each year we deposit approximately 15% of each person’s base pay in their individual retirement trust account.
We invest as much in our employee profit sharing plan as we do in new equipment most years. Why? Easy, because people like Susie have been contributing for far longer to our success than any piece of equipment we have in the building. While they may not be listed on our balance sheet, they are the real assets.