In 1987 Great Plains began asking customers to pay for support, and they started pricing service contracts based on response time. It was a whole new paradigm. There's no more mandatory waiting on hold. Great Plains technicians pick up half of all incoming calls immediately, and if they don't, customers can leave a message and go about their business. Plus, there's no more switching from one technician to another, having to explain your problem repeatedly.
Customers can get to know one technician on a first-name basis.
So Burgum had found one key way to improve the lives of customers, and it paid off. Great Plains grew steadily, year after year, throughout the 1980s, selling software solutions to a growing cadre of small businesses. In June 1997 Great Plains went public. And all employees, from administrative assistants to vice presidents, were granted stock options. Which addresses the other half of the mission statement.