K E Y P S I I A

Ford fired a $200,000-a-year employee over a $1.95 cookie he paid for. Kurt Kromm, 11 years at the Kentucky Truck Plant, felt his blood sugar drop at 3:30 a.m. He's diabetic. The kiosk flashed red on his card, so he paid at the second machine, ate the cookie, went back to building trucks. A week later security walked him out. Wouldn't even let him take his tools. Then he pulled up his bank statement. The $1.95 charge was sitting right there. Ford checked with the kiosk company, confirmed he paid, cut him $28,000 in back pay, and begged him to come back. He said no. Took a job closer to home with a raise. So the final scorecard: Ford spent $28,000, lost an 11-year veteran, and took a national PR beating to recover a cookie that was never stolen. The cookie cost $1.95. Firing the guy who bought it cost 14,000 cookies.