Brown Eyed Girl

by Alexandra
(Washington DC)

I am witness to blatant favoritism at my work place. I submitted a letter to my bosses explaining how I saw my position at the company and some of the things that were affecting my performance. I requested a meeting to sit down with both of them but instead I was pulled aside by one of them and basically reprimanded for writing the letter. And it happened to be the boss that has chosen a favorite out of our small team. I worked very hard here and believed all the promises made to me for compensation. But now the situation has become so demoralizing and demotivating. This was my letter to them:

M and R,

Recent events at work are pressing me to write this letter to you both, letting you know how I feel about my position here with -----.

In my initial interviews with you, it was put to me very clearly that there was room for advancement and that I would be encouraged to grow and succeed. I was told that there was ample opportunity to earn a good commission and that in time my salary requirements would be reviewed some months in after working here. I was told my position would eventually change to manager.

These promises were repeated when I started employment here with you. I dedicated myself to my job, studied our products and have been working hard to generate interest from clients in our furniture collections. I have successfully closed many sales, some very lucrative, because I worked hard on them.

After working at ----- for over a year in September 2008, at the beginning of the Floor Sample Sale, it was announced that there would be a commission compensation based on successful sales. Which was later declared not possible because of the slow traffic and not enough sales. I was offered an item from the sample sale instead of monetary commission. I accepted this with appreciation and understanding. A few months later at Christmas a Christmas bonus was promised which I never received and 10 days later I was informed there would be none. As you can understand, having this information before Christmas would have helped me to budget more carefully.

A month ago you arranged a meeting with me to talk about the changes occurring with ----- and to inquire of my feelings towards my job. I was asked if I was still happy in my job and I was very direct on the issues that were affecting me, my performance and possibly the success of the company. I expressed that I was no longer certain of my role within the company. On one hand I have a good amount of responsibility, which I take on with enthusiasm and on the other hand I don’t feel supported when I assume those responsibilities.

Despite the disappointments I have encountered, I continued to work hard at sales and concentrate my efforts on making sure the showroom was being maintained and managed well. One of those responsibilities I was tasked with was making sure Que was performing to her best. I worked with Q and trained her on showroom standards and tasks that need to be kept up on in order for things to operate smoothly. I provided guidance to Q in many aspects of product knowledge, support and client relations.

I even voiced my concerns to you during my last meeting with you about her progress and lack of commitment. I felt very strongly that these issues should be dealt with early in her hiring. However, these issues have been allowed to go on unaddressed and when I do suggest action I am told to overlook these performance matters. Not only has this reinforced poor performance, but undermined my ability to assume a leadership role in this office. Performance challenges such as her tardiness, where she will show up 30-40 minutes late without a phone call on days that you are both not in the showroom. With due concern I have addressed these issues along with my observation that despite having been trained on the many tasks that need attention she continues to waste a lot of time typing lists and browsing the internet. And I am told that this is to be expected and accepted. Metaphorically phrased to me by R, that soldiers are known to not be as hard workers as Generals.

Additionally, after our last meeting I was advised that times are tight at the moment and that we all need to work harder and make some sacrifices. Now, a month later after this meeting I accidentally come to find out that Q is offered an increase in salary for coming in on her day off not to do any specific assigned tasks. Not only is she effectively being rewarded for poor performance through the additional compensation, but I am being denied compensation for my sales efforts. To add salt to the wounds, when this came to light on Tuesday, R addressed me when Q left the showroom and told me that this was a temporary solution for Q because her boyfriend lost his job and this would revert back once he found a new job. Shortly afterwards I discovered on Wednesday that that her boyfriend is working and he changed jobs a week ago and once again I am left wondering what is my role, why have I not received the compensation I was promised and deserve and how it is an employee performing below standard continues to be rewarded.

I am very interested in sitting with you both for clarification of my role and expectations in this organization in a hope to find some reassurance that I am valued as a member of this team.

Response from Carl: Thanks for your detailed submission, Alexandra. There seem to be two things going on here:

1. The promises made to you that weren't kept.
2. The apparent favoritism being displayed to your coworker.


I'm unsure as to how you can proceed given that you have already approached your bosses and it seems far from getting a satisfactory response, you actually received the opposite namely a reprimand.

When you're made promises like the ones you mentioned and these are not followed through on I can understand why you're upset especially since they affect your income. It also seems that the promises date back over one year in time so clearly you've been patient and still haven't received what you were promised.

Not knowing your exact business but given that we're moving into the traditionally busy period of the year for retailers as Christmas approaches, I wonder what you alternatives if any for alternate employment? Given the state of the economy too, perhaps this isn't an option but at least something to think about if you find you have exhausted your options and patience with your current employer.

The only thing I can think of asking your current boss is getting them to tell you what you need to do to get the promised incentives. Perhaps their response or lack thereof will give you the answer you need to figure out what to do next and moving forward.

Carl