- 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?