Behavior Issues at Work - How Management Should Handle

“My boss is out to get me! Once again I have been denied a promotion that I rightfully deserve.” These words sum up Geraldine Potter’s outlook towards her current position. For over fifteen years, Geraldine has watched employees receive numerous promotions and other accolades while she has been forced to sit back and observe. It is clear that Geraldine believes that the reason for her current predicament is that her boss has a vendetta against her, but third party observation provides a different reason.

Geraldine Potter has been employed with Livingston Bank and Trust for over fifteen years. The first seven years were spent as a teller before she received her one and only promotion.

Through the years there have been several complaints of poor customer service against Geraldine. One incident in particular occurred when a customer was upset about having received an insufficient funds charge. Geraldine informed the customer that had he been more diligent with balancing his check book this would not have been an issue. This was not the proper response, and the customer promptly submitted a complaint to Geraldine’s branch manager, who felt obligated to apologize and waive the insufficient funds charge as compensation for the customer’s experience. As a result of this incident, Livingston Bank and Trust lost $39 in revenue and quite possibly a customer. Had Geraldine used active listening, this situation could have been avoided. The branch manager immediately requested a meeting with Geraldine to discuss what transpired. The explanation that Geraldine gave was a very different version from what actually occurred. According to her, the customer stormed into the branch, screamed at her, and demanded that the fee be waived at once. She said she was only attempting to calm the belligerent customer. She complained that the situation stressed her out, causing her blood pressure to spike, and she needed to go home to lie down, which the branch manager allowed her...