WINNIPEG — Santa came early for one office in Winnipeg as staff were given thousands of dollars from their boss, a gift they never expected since many had only worked at the business for less than a year.
Al Smaczylo owns Standard Insurance on Mountain Avenue and Monday surprised his five staff members with Christmas bonuses as high as $10,000 for one broker.
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“I can’t believe it,” Will Proctor said. “I can get my mom that command start she wanted.”
Proctor started working at Standard Insurance in February so he was shocked to find out he’d be getting $5,000 from his boss.
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“I expected a little something but not this much,” Proctor said. “Al’s a good guy he treats us well.”
“I’ve been putting money aside since the summer and I didn’t give myself a raise in July,” said Smaczylo who has owned the business for 13 years. “After getting all new staff in February, we’re just a big family now and I wanted to thank them for their hard work.”
Many staff were so shocked they say it didn’t seem real.
One woman has two sons and planned to help pay for their schooling and a car. Another young woman who was in school was going to pay off her college loans and another planned to pay off debt and donate some to a charity.
Smaczylo says business has picked up since hiring all new staff and wanted to give them an incentive to keep up the good work.
“It’s hard to find good employees these days,” said Smaczylo, “so if you want to keep them, you’ve got to treat them well.”
Smaczylo is also giving out $50 to single parents down on their luck just before Christmas.
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