by Tanta on 5/03/2007 08:44:00 AM

The intrepid team at the Charlotte Observer is maintaining its irritating habit of keeping its eyes on Beazer:

But among the more outrageous recent examples of the dark side of the carrot culture is this. Beazer Homes USA paid some homebuyers for good marks on a customer satisfaction survey. An article by the Observer's Binyamin Appelbaum on Sunday told of six Beazer customers who said they got letters in 2001 promising $100 if they'd rate the company highly.

Why bother? It's just a customer satisfaction survey. Scott Thorson, who signed a letter the Observer saw and is now president of Beazer's South Atlantic region, didn't return a call for comment. But he was among executives who could earn a bonus based on good survey results. It isn't clear whether Mr. Thorson got the bonus. Nor is it clear whether he was the only executive sending the letters.

It's nice to see that Beazer remains in a heap of trouble with the Charlotte Observer. Observer, please accept my deep graceful ladylike curtsey for deciding that when the carrots get rotten, the press should be the stick.