Employees Get Good Reviews–from Themselves

At least 12 employees of Southern California Edison apparently rigged a customer-service poll done by the firm, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The surveys, according to the Times, “helped persuade state regulators to grant the utility $28 million in special service awards between 1997 and 2000.” Edison is investigating whether the employees unfairly got bonuses as well. Edison is also planning on giving customers back any money the company unfairly received.

Employees may have given the phone numbers of their family and friends to a polling firm, rather than customer numbers. Employees may also have entered invalid phone numbers when customers were unhappy, rather than having the polling firm find out about the problems.