- KNOCK, KNOCK.
- OH, HI, PATRICIA.
- I THOUGHT I'D COME IN FOR THAT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
- OKAY.
YOU'RE 10 MINUTES EARLY.
- AH, JUST...
SOON AS WE GET IT OVER WITH, YOU KNOW,
GET MY "ATTAGIRLS" AND GET BACK TO IT.
- OKAY, SURE... ABSOLUTELY.
AND THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS,
POSITIVE THINGS, FOR US TO TALK ABOUT.
- I LIKE POSITIVE.
- BUT THERE ARE ALSO IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE.
I HAVE GOTTEN SOME COMPLAINTS.
- COMPLAINTS... WHAT KIND OF COMPLAINTS?
- ABOUT YOUR ATTITUDE.
- WHAT ABOUT IT?
- THAT YOU CAN SOMETIMES BE... DEFENSIVE.
- DEFENSIVE?
- YES.
- I'M NOT DEFENSIVE.
SURE, I'M A STRAIGHT SHOOTER,
BUT THAT'S WHAT MY CUSTOMERS LIKE ABOUT ME.
- WELL, APPARENTLY, NOT EVERYONE.
BUT DO YOU HAVE ITEMS ALONG THOSE LINES WITH YOU,
THANK-YOU NOTES, LETTERS, EMAILS...
SHOWING POSITIVE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK?
- LETTERS AND NOTES AND SUCH...
I DON'T HAVE ANY.
- WELL, I DID ASK YOU AHEAD OF TIME
TO SEND THINGS ALONG TO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR EVALUATION,
OR AT LEAST TO HAVE THEM WITH YOU TODAY.
- WELL, I DIDN'T EXPECT TO COME IN HERE
AND BE ACCUSED OF BEING DEFENSIVE, WHICH I'M NOT.
ANYWAY, IS THAT IT?
- WELL, THEY ALSO SAY YOU CAN BE CONFRONTATIONAL.
- WHO SAID THAT?
I BEND OVER BACKWARDS FOR THOSE DANG CUSTOMERS.
- IT'S NOT JUST THEM. CO-WORKERS SAY IT TOO.
- WHY WON'T THEY JUST SAY IT TO MY FACE?
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH ALL THIS SNEAKING AROUND?
- PATRICIA, JUST TAKE IT EASY.
- I AM TAKING IT EASY.
WHY WOULD YOU TELL ME TO TAKE IT EASY WHEN I AM?
NEXT YOU'LL BE TELLING ME TO STOP BEING DEFENSIVE,
WHICH I'M NOT.
- LOOK, IT'S JUST THAT AT THE LEAST LITTLE CRITICISM,
OR PERCEIVED CRITICISM,
YOU SEEM READY TO PUNCH SOMEBODY IN THE NOSE.
- WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FROM? HAVE I HIT ANYBODY?
BECAUSE YOU'D KNOW IT, BELIEVE ME,
PEOPLE WOULD REMEMBER THAT.
STOP ACCUSING ME.
- PATRICIA, THE POINT OF THIS EVALUATION IS FOR YOU
TO GROW AS AN EMPLOYEE AND AS A PERSON.
NONE OF US ARE PERFECT.
BUT IF YOU THINK ANY OF THIS IS UNFAIR,
YOU CAN CERTAINLY WRITE UP YOUR THOUGHTS
AND I'LL PUT THEM IN YOUR FILE,
WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
- YOU BET I WILL.
- HI, KAREN.
IS NOW STILL A GOOD TIME FOR MY EVALUATION?
- SURE HOPE SO.
I MEAN, OF COURSE, REGINA. PLEASE, SIT DOWN.
- THANKS.
- I GOT THE DOCUMENTS
YOU SENT TO BE INCLUDED IN YOUR EVALUATION. THANKS.
CLEARLY, YOUR CUSTOMERS LIKE YOU AND CO-WORKERS DO AS WELL.
BUT THERE IS A NEGATIVE
THAT I'D LIKE TO TACKLE RIGHT UP FRONT.
ALTHOUGH, AFTER THIS MORNING,
I'M WHAT YOU MIGHT CALL A TAD HESITANT.
- WELL, IF IT'S ALL THE SAME TO YOU,
I'D LIKE TO GET IT CLEARED UP RIGHT AWAY.
- OKAY, HERE GOES.
AGAIN, CLEARLY, YOUR CUSTOMERS LOVE YOU,
EXCEPT ONE, WHO CLAIMS YOU'RE A LITTLE SLOW
GETTING BACK TO HER WITH ANSWERS.
- MADELINE, FROM ALLIED CONSTRUCTION.
- MM-HMM.
- WELL, ON THREE OCCASIONS,
SHE REQUESTED DETAILED QUOTES ON FAIRLY ELABORATE ORDERS.
- MM-HMM.
- WHICH I PROVIDED NEXT DAY,
WHICH YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE PRINTED EMAILS.
SHE HAS A HABIT OF OPENING HER EMAILS ON HER BLACKBERRY,
BUT IF THE ATTACHMENT'S TOO BIG, SHE'LL SAVE IT FOR LATER.
- AND THEN SHE FORGETS.
- EXACTLY.
BUT SHE'S NOT THE SORT TO ADMIT A MISTAKE,
SO WHEN HER BOSS WANTED TO KNOW WHY THE QUOTES WERE LATE...
- SHE THREW YOU UNDER THE BUS.
- WELL, TWO BUSES, COUNTING YOU.
- OH, I USED TO LOVE CLIENTS LIKE THAT.
WELL, NOW THERE'S ONLY ONE OTHER AREA OF CONCERN.
A CO-WORKER HAS ACCUSED YOU, ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS,
OF ACCUSING HER OF BEING DEFENSIVE.
- IT WAS TWICE AND SHE IS DEFENSIVE.
BUT I CAN DO BETTER.
I'LL WORK ON IT.
- OKAY. NOW, LET'S MOVE ON.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SEVERAL CRITERIA THAT WE EVALUATE ON...
- WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE PATRICIA
REGARDING HER BEHAVIOR AND CONVERSATION WITH KAREN?
WHAT CAN PATRICIA DO IN THE FUTURE
TO IMPROVE HER PERFORMANCE?
DID KAREN HANDLE THE SITUATION APPROPRIATELY?
WHY OR WHY NOT?
- WAS REGINA'S RESPONSE APPROPRIATE?
WHY OR WHY NOT?