Dear Anita

Thanks for your message. I hope you had some time to sleep during the day!

Actually if it is too much for you, I am happy for both of us to take a break and come back to this later!

I’m sure I’ll have some updates for you! Haha. Hopefully not too much to read.. I know it can be a pain!

Dear Anita

Just a quick thought: I know someone in our company about same age as me, who has worked here for about 3 years before she got promoted to one level higher, where she can have more “power” in implementing the strategies to increase sales.

I think if I stay here for long enough, I will have a chance to do the same. Today an hour before we closed, the amount of sales I made were 3 times more than average.

Lots of low value sales, so the overall result wasn’t as good as I expected. But it was alright.

Sorry it is a bit too much to read.

I have listed a few strategies that I think we definitely need at this point in time, which I don’t think will be adopted by the manager, but could be useful if someday I become a store manager myself:

1) Right now, our duties are “task-based”, and inconsistent. What I mean is that one person is allocate to a task, and after a while once she has gone off to do something else, a similar task will be allocated by someone else to be completed. So it is a lot of swapping around. And the manager only tells one person at a time about what the instructions are. From my perspective, this is an efficient management style however, this has also contributed to some of the issues that we’re facing at the moment. So whenever there is a swap over, the second person can only guess what has been happening, and we have to spend a significant amount of time catching up with the othe person, who has no idea what was going on, and everyone basically has a different approach to how to do the same tasks.

This is especially true when the second team has established a clear approach to most of the tasks (they were not making as much profit before, so our new policies have superceded whatever that happened before that wasn’t profitable). Now everyone has a different opinion, and when things happened, the easy way to go is to blame someone else, as often the last person who was on it was the one to blame, yet it could be that the person before was the one causing the problem. So I realize it is a common phenomenon where there is a lot of finger pointing with no realistic problem solving. And I seem to find myself in a rut, by using the same logic as everyone else to solve problems, which is not helpful. The inter-team and inter-personal conflicts, in my opinion, are due to a lack of cohesion, and a clear vision of what we’re trying to achieve as a team. The atmosphere promotes individualism, which is a good thing, but also it does not point out the things that need to be worked on, and how we should solve the problems consistently so that there is no confusion.

It is only my opinion. I think it could be useful later on in my career.

For me, I prefer having a team meeting at least once every 2-3 days, even it is only for 5-10 minutes. A good time will be in the morning before everyone starts. So we discuss the plans of what we’re going to do over the next few days, and instead of allocating one task to 4-5 people to be performed one after the next, so the message doesn’t get to the end, there should be a “project-based” approach where we are going to have a common goal, which is to, for example, work on a particular area of the shop, and the main focus will be XXX. Customer service is still our priority, however, whenever someone is available, they will be working on completion of those mini-projects that aim to be completed within the specified timeframe.

The expectations have to be clear, for example, for me, visual merchandising is important, as it significantly contributes to sales (you would buy the same thing for more if it looks appealing, as opposed to certain areas in our store that I would describe as a **** hole basically that is all it is. The same stock that has been here for over 6 months has barely been touched and is looking disgusting.

Now to do that, for example, at least we need a plan, which can be in the form of a simple map, which clearly states what goes into where. For me, it is pretty easy to understand, if the tops are classified into camis, tanks, t shirts, shirts (short and long sleeves), cardigans, jackets, and a separate work clothes section, also bikinis, and lounge wear in separate sections if we have enough space. I don’t know what the d is happening, and all I see is all of the above mixed up like “scrambled eggs”. This is how I describe it, when I try not to cuss in front of everyone.

So if we have a “map”, and narrow down our objective to “cardigans” and “jackets”, all of which to be placed on one rack, and the rest stays where they are, it can be a common goal that can be clearly achieved by the team in 1-2 days considering all other trivial things that have to be done as well, mostly serving customers, and organizing the stock.

We can have a few objectives like that, another one could be pricing the dinnerware (such as bowls, plates, cutlery, glasses) with a clear pricing plan. So at the moment, we’re pricing the stock using our own discretion, and I would say about half of the complaints that we get from the customers is inconsistent pricing. How come similar items are priced differently? Of course there will be customers that take advantage of the situation and ask for a lower price anyways. But then we have to do our job by ensuring that all of the NEW items coming in, for example, all of the dinner plates should be priced at about $XX each, or $XX for a set. Or we can feature one item that is to be priced differently, and who is responsible for that.

There should be strict criteria as to how much leeway can be given to items depending on whether the items are slightly, moderately or severely damaged in terms of percentage, so that at least we have a guide to what is happening.

Especially if we have the whole team working on the same objective over 2-3 days, so it is easy to cross check, instead of going by your intuition. The same thing that looks expensive to me might look much cheaper to you.

We can keep the existing practice of one person doing one thing at a time, but then I believe we also need to work more cohesively by performing the same or at least comparable tasks at about the same time, which I suggest to be a few days up to a week, depending on what we’re trying to achieve, and we really need to have a catch up meeting in the morning and debrief before we close (if not possible, then we should still do it every other day), even for a 5 minute get together, which I think is good for team spirit as well.

We also take feedback from each other, and identify things that need to be worked on.

Right now, even how much time we have for lunch is controversial. I don’t even know why it could be a problem.

Again, this issue can be easily resolved by all of us standing in a circle, and clearly stating what the policy is, so that we’re all on the same page.

It is my opinion. I don’t think 1 on 1 chats have the same effectiveness as team discussions where we all know what is happening, with much less margin for error when it comes to communicating the messages to all of the team members.

With regard to cash handling, I do not understand why there could possibly be so many issues as it is a simple procedure. For me, I would suggest using only 1 or 2 tills for cash, and all others will be credit cards only (where I am from, about 80% of the transactions are through debit or credit cards).

So instead of checking all of the registers, which is really a pain, especially if something goes wrong and it takes forever to work out WHERE it went wrong (it is different from what I’ve said above. This has to be performed INDEPENDENTLY as you cannot have everyone standing here to count the cash together, we all count at different speeds, and it is impossible to see what the othe person is counting. You can try to do it with a friend. Unless you’re a synchronized swimmer and all of you are good at numbers and are literate (I will tell you now, some people will write a 2 when the other person says 5, so the amount will not match, and it is NOT a team effort. It is like if you do 12+56, you cannot solve this equation by team effort, you do it with your brain. It is not something to be discussed. Having some maths idiots to make suggestions on how to do this when it is completely wrong and insists that the answer is 87 is causing everyone to go OVERTIME), I will have one person with reasonable numeracy skills to do this task, or at most have one assistant to facilitate the process, which will greatly enhance the efficiency of this process, and also increase the accuracy of our cash ups.

2) Not sure if it is relevant. I think I find it difficult to keep all of the opinions to myself. I think they are really good ideas which, if implemented, can be beneficial to the team as a whole. But also, I try to bite my tongue, as I do not want to be this “dibi daba” that always has an opinion about how things should work. But I also find it hard to not express myself.

If I am completely honest with myself, I would rather go back to being self employed. So I don’t have to worry about what others think of me. I like what I do ow, it also works better for me and my partner, as we can now spend more time together.

It is the tension that makes me feel really weird. I don’t know it is going to get better with time. Or it is the way it is.

Dear Anita

I’m on my lunch break now, so I’ll quickly reply to you. I would love to have Cinnamon knock on my door. It is almost like Winnie the Pooh from the woods!

Thank you for using the meerkat as a metaphor, it makes perfect sense to me, and I believe you’re absolutely correct in your analysis. I guess you’re in saying that I’m self selected to protect the tribe, when it is not always what the group assigns me to do, also I’m dealing with people inside of the tribe, not someone else, so in this sense, it will be an awkward situation, even though it is my nature to look out for danger and offer protection to the ones around me.

Yes, as a meerkat, I have sharp teeth, and I can digest poisonous animals too! It is a good thing for me think about. I guess you’re right, no matter what the situation is, ultimately, it is up to me, to deal with the issues that I’m facing.

Also you’re right about that, I think I’ve carried the traumas with me, even though I’m physically and emotionally distanced from the ones who have hurt me.

I think one of the solutions for the problems that you have listed in your response is that I will have to find my tribe.

The reason why I have not been functioning well in the environment that I’m in is that I’m possibly the only meerkat in a pack of wolves, so we’re not the same.

If I find the meerkats, who can function well together, and each person plays the role that they’re meant to me, I can make good use of my talents and skills.

Also sometimes I will have to take a leap of faith. I do not trust most people, as the ones that were closest to me (i.e. family) were the ones that did the most damage to me. But as you said, not everyone is going to blame me for whatever that is going on, and it doesn’t mean that I will always be a failure. I guess it takes the right time, space and people to help me realize my potential.

Just an update: (I do not want to talk too much about my situation, as I have already mentioned a lot of details, and I don’t want to reveal my identity.) One of my close relatives has recently passed, and I happened to share it with my coworkers (as I was talking about how stressful on the day when I was the only one on the second team, and there have been problems that I couldn’t solve all by myself). To my surprise, my coworkers on the main team are actually really supportive, and they mentioned how they would keep an eye on me so that I wouldn’t strain myself too much.

Also I was really surprised the manager actually knew what was going on with the teams. The main team was the ones that she hand picked by herself, to support her operations. The second team consisted of mainly the ones that were managed by someone else before. So the atmosphere was completely different, and how things were done before were actually completely the opposite of what we’re doing now. I am beginning to trust my manager. The store that she has managed was the number one in our retail chain. So despite a little bit of inconsistencies, if I focus on the big picture, our main team has actually made a lot of contributions towards the overall performance of our store which has improved significantly since we joined the company.

Also she has been negotiating with the big boss to see if it is possible at all for the two teams to not mix up in the roster, as it is hard for her to manage the old team (i.e. second team) as well. Even though most of them are casuals, (I believe it is to do with their age, in my opinion, I might have been the same. They’re only about 20 years old, maybe not even, and their egos are getting in the way of actually getting things done), they are able to argue with the big boss about why the new manager is not making sense.

The fact that the manager addressed the issue openly with the new team, and told me that she values both Bear and me, and believes that we will work seamlessly as a team is something that I didn’t expect. She is a good manager. And I do believe that we can work cohesively. She has given us the new roster (still a few adjustments have to be made), that clearly shows the divide between the two teams with little to no overlapping, and the main team is there 6 out of 7 days a week.

I’m so relieved that I’m not alone, and the fact that I might have the other meerkats now, makes me feel that I have not wasted my time. With that, I am happy to not delve into what happened with the money that is gone.

With the new team dynamics I can start a completely new chapter (not only a page), and I believe together we can achieve success.

I think the new team is going to be here for the long term. Or hopefully. Yes.

Dear Anita

No worries. Have a wonderful day, enjoy your walk and I look forward to hearing from you.

Also I am really sensitive to others emotions and I can easily see through their facade so I can quite easily sense that there is a problem somewhere before everyone does.

So I am also more prone to crashing as you said.

Because I already know if things are going to work in my favour, and I see how things could potentially be done better (I bring my visions to life, I go an extra mile to make things happen that drive sales that is increasing the overall team performance in addition to fulfilling all of the basic duties, for example, I work with the volunteers at the charity organization and I am able to coordinate with them to redo the merchandise for almost a quarter of the shop floor, and as a result of that, the sales for that particular area have improved dramatically. It was hours and hours of hard work). But I also see who is not happy with that.

Dear Anita

Thanks for your comments.

Regarding the last point: No you haven’t understood me correctly. Or I haven’t explained it clearly enough for you to understand. What I mean is not the get excessive praise from others, but I want others to recognise and acknowledge the fact that I am content with my position in sales, I do not need to go higher up to become a doctor, accountant, or teacher etc. I need this validation as I have always been told that I should have done something better. Because my goal is not to go further up to sit in the office, say for example, to become the retail operations manager or finance manager, then I don’t want people to misund stand that that is my goal given that I’m performing well. I feel underachieved, because I have not found others that share the same values with me, who also think that it is indeed a good idea to be sales compared to medicine, I have realized that it is a cycle of negative thoughts and I need to break this cycle as well. I do not need to be praised, I know what I have achieved and I am content with what I have done, however I don’t want my achievements to be used against me due to jealousy. To me “recognition” and “achievement” are related to my ultimate goal, which is to find happiness, and as selfish as it might be, I hope to find others who also recognize the fact that money is not the most important thing and it is indeed possible to do something “less worthy of money” and be happy with where we are (and not be jealous of anyone, I rarely feel jealous, but a lot of people are jealous and that leads to bitterness). I hope you get what I mean as I am aware that the same words might mean different things to different people.

I guess for me, teamwork also means that we communicate and are able to work towards a common goal (or objective). Since Giraffe and I are equal in terms of our ranks then it makes sense for us to take directions from each other instead of that drama caused by them not following the manager’s instructions that would reflect poorly on me as I am only responsible for passing on the message and not doing the work for them. Again it could be something to do with my childhood experiences, but I do not want to take the fall for something that I haven’t done. I absolutely hate the fact that we have been unable to work well together. To me, teamwork is a collective effort and if someone is unable to understand that, and instead use excuses to put me down, then it is not my problem, I do not feel that I have misunderstood the word “teamwork”. I like to discuss things and I basically get along with most people at work. I simply cannot tolerate the fact that someone is blaming me, it could be due to their incompetence or them not taking responsibility for their actions. It does not mean that I have not taken the actions to examine what I have done as well, I learn from my mistakes and do better everyday. I do not like the fact that people use it as an excuse as I do value teamwork.