Already issued many thousands of $$ throughout the year in unannounced bonuses for jobs well done. I prefer unannounced, on-the-spot vs Christmas for many reasons but primarily to encourage specific positive actions.
Here's a good example. Team Member Chris was cleaning carpets for a customer a couple of months ago and noticed unusually heavy filtration staining. He inquired if the customer had a fire and she said no. He didn't give up and asked if she ever had her furnace checked. "Yep, about a month ago." He then asked if she had a fireplace and the customer said yes.
He asked to look at it and sure enough the damper was closed, which caused soot to not only create heavy filtration soiling, but also medium soot deposits on the walls and contents on all 3 levels of the home. (wasn't easy to see due to the color of the walls and the location he was cleaning was on another level pretty far away from the source.) Since the customer lives on a dirt road, she just assumed it was dust. (older couple, can't see very well, etc)
Team Member Chris took it upon himself to escalate the conversation to discover the source, which turned into a $25,000 soot cleanup job. (structure-only) Team Member Chris walked the customer through the claims filing process and acted as 2nd Project Manager on the job.
Team Member Chris earned a nice bonus after the job was completed for his professionalism, dedication to customer satisfaction, and attention to detail. Other crew members earned a smaller bonus on the job because they wrapped it up in only 43 total manhours and the customer was ecstatic with our company and bragged us up to her insurance adjuster and agent.
This was one bonus of several issued so far this year to date.
Since I'm such a generous and kind boss, I also give a Christmas Bonus; but I'm not as keen on the Christmas Bonus as I am for the type I outlined above. Bonuses should not be expected, IMHO. It makes them that much more appreciated.
Scott