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Get this, my boss (the owner) calls me and tells me about an existing client that wants to upgrade thier duplicator. He states he wants to give to me since I am the most knowledgable in our office about duplicators. It is a church account and there is competition, I get the deal and make $300 in commissions, plus the $200 spiff from Ricoh. Not bad....I was happy with the outcome.

Now a month later I get an email from him saying that it is his account and he is taking the $200 spiff from Ricoh out of my pay! WHOA! If he would have mentioned before that he wanted this we could have worked something out, however to do this after the fact when everything has been paid is low.

This is why sales people do not last long in the business or at one company. If I was an owner, which I was at one time, I would never do this to one of my people.

Downright $%$#&*^, wish my wife would move, cause I'd pick up my toys and go elsewhere!

Art
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That was just wrong.
But who is to say the next guy wouldnt do the same thing. I have heard similar things from our salesmen about our boss. And from other techs in other companys.
Like changing the commission after the sale, or changing the compensation after the deal.
I am sure not everyone is like that but with about 5-6 employers under my belt, I can safely say it is not uncommon.
Art, too bad don't think about what's right instead of what's best for them. I got this quote over the weekend and thought it appropriate.
“The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.”

– Norman Schwarzkopf, US Army general
I totally agree, making changes after-the-fact is just WRONG!!!

I guess every salesperson struggles with situations like this with at least one of their employers. All we can do is voice our opinion and try to change the situation. If we can't, like you said, we have two choices -- put up with it or go somewhere else.

Either way, if we let it affect our attitude, it can dull our edge, and we can miss a sale -- losing even more money due to the same situation.
Sorry to hear that Art. I have had an experience similar to yours and it definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth for awhile.
It really doesn't come down to the spiff so much as him having the gaul to even think he would deserve it when he asked for your expertise, you bested the competion and closed the sale to boot.
Your a better man than this guy and there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be gained from knowing that.
John
""he'd let me have my way""
How denegrating. Obviously he knows, you know he tried to f you.
As had been previously stated, don't let it affect your day. Sending the email was a good way to get it out in the open. Now forget it and go on or get a new job. You are too good a salesman to let this
cloud your mind.
I fully agree. Like John said earlier, he used your expertise and professionalism to close the deal. You deserved the commission AND the spiff.

One thing I have observed through the years: When people make degrading comments, they are trying to bring you down to their level. His lashing out like that only proves he knew that what he was doing WAS NOT RIGHT!
Holy cow! I better quit griping about my car allowance being so low. When it comes to commissions, unless it is my mistake I get everything...even on "house accounts".
My boss has never cheated me on any $$ He even overpaid me $156.00 one and was in shock that I pointed it to him that he let me keep it.

PS. Art How did you like PB County? I am looking for reps!! LOL
I hate to revive a 3 year old post, but a similar situation just happened to my sister (she sells Supplies and I sell Machines, because she works for a competitor I dont know the amounts of her bonuses) she had won a state bid that she had been working on for several months, and in that bid there was approximately $100,000 worth of 3M products alone. 3M was doing a spiff for hitting certain sales targets, so when she won the bid and placed the order, she asked her sales manager if the state bid would qaulify for the spiff, her sales manager didnt know, so she called her rep at 3M who said not only did she win the spiff but she would also be recieving extra compensation for selling such a high volume. well her sales manager recieved a call the next day from the 3M rep telling her about the extra compensation, and the sales manager had the audacity to tell my sister that that money was supposed to be going back to the company via a commission deduct because 3M wasnt supposed to pay her on that. So my sister called the 3M rep to find out how much her spiff was going to be and the rep told her 2 prices, one for the initial spiff, and one for the extra amount. when she asked the rep how much was going to the company and the rep didnt know what she was talking about, she talked to the GM who knew nothing about it. she later found out that the sales manager (who still has the same job after this BS) was trying to steal her bonus from her.

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