Thorne 'Czap'-ing employees' gas bills

SANDPOINT — A month after giving each of his nearly 140 employees a free tank of gasoline, Thorne Research CEO Al Czap is again shooting for the title of “Word’s Greatest Boss” by taking them all back to the pump today for another free tank.

Czap came up with the idea of offering his employees a “thank you gift,” as he called it, when he thought of the daily commute that many of his workers make to his Dover-based nutritional research company.

The first gas offering took place in late May and went so well that Czap decided he would do it twice more this summer. After some consideration, Czap settled on the week before the Fourth of July and the week before Labor Day as the ideal times to offer the gift.

“I figure that if people are going to have a weekend when they go out and burn gas, then I’d like to give them the opportunity to go somewhere instead of being stuck at home,” Czap said.

The first giveaway cost Czap $6,500 — well under his estimates — because employees had short notice and many came to the station with nearly full tanks. This time Czap informed them two weeks in advance, so he expects to spend at least $13,000 filling dozens of bone-dry tanks.

From the outside, these gifts could appear extravagant and overly generous, but Czap said helping employees should be the mission of every business owner.

“They’re the people that get you there,” Czap said of his employees. “You’ve got to take care of them.”

In fact, Czap would like to see his gesture pick up steam and become standard procedure for all businesses.

“If their employees are making them money, then they should do something. This is the time to do it,” He said. “Why don’t we make this a challenge — challenge other employers to do this?”

Czap said employee response to the gift was 100 percent enthusiastic, and with the success of the events and the enjoyment he receives by helping his workers, Czap is considering making it an annual event.

“I’ll probably do it again next year and until this situation gets corrected with the gas prices and the economy. The economy’s hurting right now,” Czap said. “ Either that or I’ll buy them all bicycles. It might be cheaper.”