At a glance
Clogbusters is a family-run drain cleaning and repair company in Des Moines, Iowa, with 10 trucks on the road and a team that sees every number.
At Clogbusters, techs control their own paycheck. Every tech has a guaranteed minimum for slow weeks, but the real earning power comes from performance: commission on revenue, a bonus for every five-star Google review, and a little extra when the review includes photos.
“Money motivates everybody. Our technicians are in control of their own paycheck.”
Owner Jarod Smith wants a team full of people who want to win, and he pays them that way. The plan worked. Running it by hand was another story.
A full day of payroll, every week
As the company set out to double in size, the admin piled up. Chris calculated every commission, review bonus, and photo spiff by hand. Payroll took all of Monday and sometimes spilled into Tuesday.
“Jarod had tasked me with finding an automated solution for our performance pay. He was asking me if I could build a spreadsheet. I was like, 'There's got to be a program out there.'”
Chris kept seeing ShareWillow ads on social media and booked a demo. He had the owner upstairs before it ended.
“Within five minutes, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is 100% what we needed.' I went downstairs and said, 'Give me 10 minutes. Come up, watch this demo.' We got started that day.”
Payroll in under an hour
ShareWillow now runs the whole plan. Revenue commissions calculate on their own, and reviews, photo uploads, and memberships flow in as spiffs. Techs see the same numbers Chris sees, so payday comes without disputes.
“Ours is a pretty complex calculation type. But now that we've got everything worked out, it's a breeze. Payroll is not such a dreaded 'oh, it's payroll time' anymore.”
A leaderboard the team runs on its own
Clogbusters posts every number for the whole team: revenue, reviews, all of it. Techs screenshot new reviews and post wins in the team chat all day, and one review sets off the next.
“Nobody wants to see their name at the bottom of the list. You don't have to say much. If they see it, I guarantee they won't be there next week.”
The results
- Weekly payroll dropped from a full day to under an hour.
- The average sale rose 14%, from $1,119 to $1,274.
- The callback rate holds under 2%.
- Techs trust the numbers, so pay disputes stopped.
Chris also has founder Ryan Shank's cell number, and he uses it.
“There's not many companies where you can text the owner. It's been a great relationship.”
