"Operation Cleanup"

In all my years of selling, I don't think I had ever experienced a "cleanup" of my numbers...until now.  I have been having a great year and October was no different, with me exceeding quota again. Consequently I was expecting a pretty good paycheck for my commissions this month.  For those of you not in healthcare sales, the commissions are always paid well after month end, sometimes even 2 months after the month end. Naturally, I was anticipating a nice holiday shopping season.  However to my surprise, instead of a good commission check, I received a big piece of humble pie from my company, which came in the form of an email.

" Our admin team does some cleanup to make sure all orders and accounts are coded correctly, at which point commissions are calculated and resulted in the 92% attainment with the corresponding payout. Thanks. "

Thank you Mr. Spock.  92% attainment?  When will we make it to warp or even hyper drive?  Does this mean I have to attend a Comi-Con convention to get that revenue back? What the heck does that mean?  What are they cleaning up? Does this involve a mop, bleach, Lysol, or even Comet?  Naturally I had to call and ask, and the answer I received was that they had unwittingly duplicated an order.  Here was my email response. I have highlighted it in red for obvious reasons, anger being the primary one.

"I'm not clear on the technical definition of "cleanup"?  If the order was duplicated and the patient received the orders then why is it being deducted from my numbers?  Were the products returned and will there be a credit issued to the customer?"

"Not at this time.  The patient hasn't responded to our query and we can offset this duplicate with reorders in the future."

"Again, why is it being deducted if the company is not issuing a credit to the patient or the insurance company?"

"It is being deducted because technically this is a reorder and Account Manager's are not paid on reorders."

In other words, "go screw yourself."

I was shocked!  I understand the need to curb expenses but I was almost under the impression that the "cleanup" is part of a monthly routine performed to reduce costs and thereby upset the Sales Team morale. If a company wants a sure fire way to deplete morale, just start messing with employees and their money.  The company will definitely have a deep seeded morale issue.   I called several of my fellow Account Managers to see if they had ever been victimized by the late night "Cleaning Crew",  and the response was the same from all of them, but one in particular offered her professional advice.

"Oh so they finally got you too.  Sorry, but that happens a lot here."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously.  It's happened to me at least 8 times in 5 years.  Where I'm over quota and then suddenly they find something that puts me under my quota.  They're never really clear on what it is that's fallen off my numbers but they always claim it's a reorder."

" I need to get a new job.  This is messed up. Do they supply you with data to support it?"

" Of course they would get sued otherwise.  But keep in mind they control all the data going in and out.  We have no control over it."

" Geez it's like Big Brother is watching us."

" More like Big Assholes." 

" Well big assholes get screwed all the time. Let's hope it happens soon."

" Big assholes also shit on everything.  Be careful you don't end up under it."

" Good advice.  I think I need an umbrella"

" A heavy duty one.  To protect you from the cleanup."

" What I need to do is start looking for a better job opportunity."

" Amen.  I hear that. Do it now before you get complacent and stop being angry."

I took her advice and dusted off, updated,  my resume the next day.  It doesn't hurt to be looking for new opportunities, especially when you've landed in an asshole.

Well, I'm off to the Dollar Store for Christmas gifts! Have a good day selling!

-M