Please note that most of these remarks are limited to one particular branch, others may be much better. Manager is rather mediocre at best. Weak, ineffectual and lacking in people skills. Manager does not set the example, does not lead from the front. Does not really listen to suggestions because they know best and is very condescending about it. It's all about the bottom line and looks at everything in black and white. Is this an expense we can do without? Can we cheap out on supplies somewhere? Does not EVER take into consideration our time and how inefficient cheaping out on something can be. Yes this is a business and we do have to maintain a reasonable budget. I'm not stupid, if I want to get paid a decent wage then we have to make money. But by using only the balance sheet for making decisions is ridiculous. It’s more than just numbers. You can’t just look at the numbers and say you will be saving this much by getting rid of a service. There is a big picture involved and you have to figure out how your decision is going to affect ALL aspects of the business, not just how much money you are saving on paper. Our time is worth something and spending an extra 5-10 minutes a day on a task that could be more automated just to save $50 a month is not smart business. How much is my time worth?
Lacking in customer service. There is absolutely no concern whatsoever about customer service. Phone calls go directly to voicemail to maybe be answered in a day or two. By that time the customer has called back at least once if not two more times. Surveys have been done, customers are not happy. Unfortunately the manager doesn't think it is our branch that has the problem and that the surveys didn't ask the right questions or didn't go to the right people. Always says "it's not our branch, our customers love us". Never once did it occur to the manager that there is a problem here. Will not even look objectively at an issue and dig deeper to see if there is genuinely a problem. I know that eventually we'll have centralized customer service but frankly I don't see how that will be an improvement.
Communication. I can't say there is a lack of it, but what is passed on and discussed is irrelevant and many times not supportive of corporate. Manager often tells team members exactly what corporate is doing wrong and what they should be doing. Openly complains about corporate shortcomings. Is basically undermining corporate authority and instills bitterness towards corporate.
Manager is very quick to point out how good they are and quick to give themselves pats on the back. Manager says "I, I, I" way too much. It doesn't do much for morale.
Review process needs major revamping. Not sure if this is a corporate policy or just laziness. Reviews are only done once a year. At a minimum they should be quarterly. How can a team member really know how they are doing and how they are improving during the year? Quarterly reviews are an excellent way to sit down and discuss with a team member their progress. Right now we receive the review at the end of the year, told how good or bad we are and what we need to work on for next year. But then nothing is ever said about it until a year later. It's too easy to forget all of the things an individual accomplished during the year unless you sit down and discuss it a few times during the year.
It should also be a two way street. The review should not be submitted to the corporate office until both parties have discussed each item. If the team member has anything to add then the reviewer should include this in the final review. So far I've received two reviews. Both at the end of the year and were already final and had been submitted to HR for approval, all it needed was my signature. Anything we discussed during the review was not included at all, so now there isn't any proof that we discussed certain items. Not to mention the absolute drivel that is written. It's like they didn't even take time to think about anything substantial to say. They only wrote vague and generic "good work ethic" type of remarks for each section. Totally useless for anything other than scrap paper. Also, just sitting there and reading the review to me just doesn't make sense. I can read, how about a two way conversation, that is of more benefit. Conducting and writing reviews should be something a competent manager knows how to do. Like I said, not sure if this is corporate-wide or simply laziness on the part of my manager. I know the corporate office is working on different management classes. I just don't think this particular manager will pay attention to any of the information provided, they already think they know it all and think they are a great manager.
