Do You Get Compliments From Your Job?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just started a job almost three weeks ago. I’m a cashier for a large chain store and have enjoyed the job so far.

With two days of training, they put me out on my own. I’ve had many questions and seem to get annoyance from management when I ask them. I’d rather do them correctly and learn the right way, than just do whatever I think is right. I don’t want to cost the company money because of a mistake.

I’ve worked customer service my whole adult life so I’m friendly and try to provide quick service. My customers have been nothing but kind, which has been a blessing. I’ve received such positive feedback that it makes me want to come back to work every day.

My only issue: I never receive feedback from my management. Good or bad. I assume I’m doing well, but I really don’t know. Is this common in other professions? Could it be because the company is so large that I go unnoticed?

2

One potential explanation, based on the LAB (Language and Behaviour) profiling system:

If you ask people “How do you know you’ve done a good job?”, about 50% would answer “When people tell me.”
The other 50% would say “I just know it.”

The first category loves to give and receive feedback, the second one doesn’t.

You seem to be in the first category and your management seems to be in the second one.

No right or wrong, just different way of processing information. By the way, it’s not one way or the other, it is a scale and in different context, we might have different responses, but in the same context, they tend to stay pretty much the same.

3

I worked my office job for four and a half years and never received a single word of feedback, good or bad.

That’s my data point.

4

I worked tech repair for a while. People’s faces would light up in delight when I walked in. I was the most popular guy in the building. I fixed things. I love getting (and giving) feedback, and mine was nearly all good.

It struck me that it was kind of artificial. Suppose I was a bill collector, or process server, or some other job people don’t welcome? I’d still be doing just as good a job…but who’s gonna say, “Great job, my friend?”

So…it depends on the situation, right?

5

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Perhaps I need some validation because I’m new…it would be nice to know where I stand. Although upon contemplation, I guess they would cut hours or place me on a slower shift if I was horrible.

And Trinopus, you’re right. My husband was a debt collector, but he often received positive responses because he wasn’t out for blood- if people couldn’t pay, he’d ask if he could call them back and see if anything changed. The situation is dependent on the occupation, but being friendly, understanding and providing a pleasant experience plays into things as well.

6

Oops; I didn’t actually answer the question. (Old-timer’s moment.) You might have to ask your manager for feedback. “So, boss, I’ve been here three weeks now… How am I doing? Anything I need to know?”

At some point, there will almost certainly be a “performance review.” If possible, you’d like to know what to do to improve the outcome. If your boss is sensible and wise, he/she will give you useful advice.

An awful lot of performance reviews are unfair. They’ll assign you “benchmarks” and grade you on how well you fulfilled them. But your job situation won’t always empower you to fulfill them!

My sister worked at an airline ticket counter, for example, and damn if they didn’t have keyboard keystroke monitoring software, to measure how many keyclicks she made per hour. She was graded down when long periods went by and she wasn’t entering data. But…hello? Customers will come when they come! The ticket clerk doesn’t have any control! It might be just a slow hour, or slow day!

So…brace yourself for unfairness…and try to get feedback from your supervisor. If he/she is at least a halfway decent manager, he’ll help set you up for success.

I’ve had that kind of manager…and also the other kind. Good luck!

ETA: total agreement. Basic etiquette and courtesy go a long, long way. Only rarely will you encounter people who just have a big nasty hate on, and there isn’t anything you can do about them. Haters gonna hate. Most people just want to pay and go!

7

At my pizza job, I never receive feedback, good or bad, but I do get more hours, the hours I want, and am less hassled than my peers. So if they haven’t fired me… :stuck_out_tongue:

It seems to suck for the poor performers, who get their hours slashed, but are never told why. They’re just suddenly working half the hours.

At my library job, I’m constantly getting feedback from everyone. It’s definitely the preferable situation.

8

I usually get a compliment or two in my performance evaluation. Something generic like, “monstro is an asset around here.”

On a regular basis, the closest approximation to a compliment that I might from my boss is, “This is great. Thanks.” And I appreciate it. But isn’t it a courtesy to say that? I say it sometimes when I don’t actually mean it.

9

I get them all the time now that I am retired. :smiley:

10

I get little notes and cards in my box telling me what a valuable member of the team I am, chocolates tied with ribbons, and this week it was a cheesecake.

It makes me feel special and empowered, until I open up the IN box of my coworkers and see that everyone got the same thing. It is like being on a little league soccer team, everybody gets a trophy just for showing up.

Makes me feel like I am 10 years old, and not in a good way. But then again, I like the free cake.

11

Learn to read body language. When you call for help do people walk towards you with a smile (or a neutral facial expression) or do they come towards you looking like they’re saying “WTF does she want now” and acting like they’re were arguing over who had to go take care of you this time. This, by the way, is coming from someone that trains cashiers.

I have no problem with my cashiers asking me questions. I want them to do things right, in fact, I NEED them to do it right because I’m the one that has to sort out all the dumbass (no offense) mistakes that they make. So, if asking me “What do you want me to do with all these fives, they told me how to do a cash drop when I have a stack of twenties, can I do that with fives too?” means I don’t have to have a ‘chat’ with you the next day about how your drawer had $745 in it when it should hover around $100-$200…aces.

OTOH, if they’re looking annoyed, you might need to find another way to get your questions answered. Can you ask another cashier? Can you write them down and ask a manager all your questions at once so they don’t feel like you’re nagging them or asking them something every time they walk past you?

Just be careful that they don’t think you’re just not picking up on everything and don’t nag them with hundreds of questions about hypothetical questions that aren’t going to happen on any kind of a regular basis (ummm, what should I do if, say, a customer’s total is $44.93 and they give me a $50 and I open the drawer, but then they want to use a credit card instead, so they run out to their car, but there’s a big line and then…then call me and I’ll deal with it).

Now, for the reality check part: I’ve been training cashiers for a long time. Best idea, don’t stand out. Or at least don’t stand out in a bad way. Remember, 3 weeks is kind of no mans land. Plus, school just let out, there’s tons of high school kids looking for summer (cashier) jobs and it’s pretty common in retail to hire on a handful a few too many people in early June and see who’s still there in July. If that’s the case where you are, it might be best, at least for now, to keep your nose down and just keep working. Also, like I said, if the seem to be getting annoyed when you ask them questions, ask other employees/cashiers. Also, if no one has come up to you and said Staysea, we really need you to…, you’re probably okay. But then, I come from small businesses and don’t know that much about large chains, maybe they keep mum until it’s time to do a review.

12

I find awkward when they do. I want to show up and do what I do the best I can do it, and ultimately nothing says thank you like money.

13

I’ve had bosses who occasionally said “good job”. I had one who once threatened with getting me fired due to an unacceptable inability to read his mind - yet who also fought tooth and nail (well, whine and nail) to keep me because I did and did well every “bureaucratic” task he loathed. I’ve had others whose only feedback has been “damn, I’ll miss you” when I was leaving, and one who thought it was her duty to make everybody hate her guts (this one asked “what, aren’t you crying?” as she handed me my pink slip - right before I went to my car and brought several trays of minicakes for my now-ex-coworkers).

As JoeyP said, learn to read body language. And when asking questions (whether they are specific or generic) be as quick and clear as you possibly can. I had a coworker who could turn “this goes here? point” into what seemed like a lifetime…

14

I get a lot of good feedback (which they are happy to give in lieu of $$, which they are not so happy to give). But I think **Trinopus **made a good point, it may be smart for you to ASK for feedback because it makes you look like you really care about performing well – which may not be something they encounter frequently.