The door opens and the boss motions her to come in and sit down. “Good morning, Malee,” he says. “We’re a little bit rushed for time, so I’ll just go through this evaluation form with you—er—Malee. Read it over, won’t you? Then we’ll talk.”
Malee glances through the ratings: Average, Average, Average, Needs improvement. Well, she has to admit she still has trouble opening wine bottles and sometimes breaks the cork. Average, Average, Average.
She sighs, hands the form back to her boss, sits back in her chair, folds her hands tightly, and looks down at them.
“Well, what do you think, Malee? Do you agree? We need to make a plan for your improvement on wine service. I know you sometimes ask Somsak to open your bottles and that’s not really what good customer service is all about. Why don’t you get Somsak to give you some tips on what you’re doing wrong? Then maybe next time you’ll get a better rating. Now, do you have any comments or questions?”
“What’s average?” Malee asks.
“Well, I guess it means no better and no worse than anyone else. Actually, it means you are doing okay, you’re just not as good as people like Manee and Somsak. But you certainly don’t need to worry about losing your job or anything like that—you’re all set here! Anything else?”
“Well,” Malee begins, gathering up her courage, “I thought I was really above average in customer service—people ask for me and they tip me a lot, so I must be--“
“But don’t forget the time you dropped the dishes, Malee! I do think you’re doing very well in deed now, but we’re talking about the whole evaluation period! Now, if you’ll just sign this…”