American Home Shield Expands $1.2 Million Quality Bonus Program for Contractors for 2011

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- While awaiting the official release of the 2010 Contractor Quality Bonus standings, thousands of contractors in the American Home Shield network can get a jumpstart on earning their share of the $1.2 million available in bonuses for quality performance in 2011.

American Home Shield, a leading national provider of home warranties, recently announced the expansion of its Contractor Quality Bonus program for 2011. The program was launched in 2010, with scores based on customer feedback received during a six-month period; this year, contractors will have the entire year to compete for top earnings.

The Contractor Quality Bonus program is a unique program within the home warranty industry, and designed to reward top performers in the company's contractor network for providing quality service to its customers.

"While the program is relatively new, our commitment to quality is not," said Dave Crawford, president and chief operating officer of American Home Shield. "Our associates and our contractors live this commitment each day, as they have throughout our 40 years in the home warranty business."

"American Home Shield responded to nearly 3 million service requests for our customers last year, and it was only possible through the 11,000 contractors in our network," said Dave Quandt, senior vice president of field operations. "Our contractors are essentially the face of American Home Shield to our customers, and this program is our way of recognizing and rewarding the quality experience they provide customers day in and day out."

As a part of the program, the top performer in each of American Home Shield's six service categories (appliances, electrical, garage doors, HVAC, plumbing and pool/spa) will earn a $25,000 bonus to be paid in early 2012. In addition, up to 180 top-performing contractors will earn bonuses of up to $15,000, depending on their trade and number of work orders. Contractors began earning points for the 2011 program Jan. 1 and have until Dec. 31 to make their final place in the standings.

American Home Shield contractor Hancock A/C and Heating of Tulare, California, is determined to finish atop the ranks. The company is currently in the running to achieve a 2010 bonus in the HVAC category and its owner says his team has no intentions of letting up.

"This contest really motivated our team last year. It's a fantastic program and a great motivational tool for those in the service industry. Where we stand in the running is a great testimony to how we treat our customers – it's apparent from our results that, at our core, we're a customer service company," says Craig Hancock, owner of Hancock A/C and Heating. "Our technicians always strive to ensure the customer's overall experience is a positive one by being professional, polite and respectful."

Quandt also stressed that the bonus program reflects the company's continued emphasis on the value of customer feedback.

"It's the customer's feedback that best measures the quality of our services, and determines a contractor's ranking," Quandt adds. "When they tell us they would feel comfortable recommending a contractor to their friends and family, then we know we've hit the mark."

For the latest information about the American Home Shield Contractor Quality Bonus program or to learn how to become part of the company's independent contractor network, visit AHSBigScore.com.

About American Home Shield

American Home Shield helped found the home warranty industry in 1971 and remains an industry leader, servicing 1.4 million customers across 49 states. The Memphis-based company operates three customer service centers, employs over 1,700 employees and over 11,000 approved independently insured contractors nationwide. American Home Shield is part of the ServiceMaster family of brands, one of the world's largest and most versatile service networks. The company's brands include TruGreen, TruGreen LandCare, Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec.

About ServiceMaster

With a network of more than 5,100 company-owned and franchise locations, Memphis-based ServiceMaster is one of the world's largest residential and commercial service networks. The company's high profile brands are TruGreen, TruGreen LandCare, Terminix, American Home Shield, ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic and AmeriSpec. Through approximately 27,000 corporate employees and a franchise network that independently employs over 31,000 additional people, the ServiceMaster family of brands serve more than 8.5 million customers every year and hold market-leading positions in residential and commercial lawn care and landscape maintenance, termite and pest control, home service contracts, furniture repair, home inspections, residential and commercial cleaning and disaster restoration. More information about ServiceMaster can be found at www.servicemaster.com.

SOURCE American Home Shield