Performance review....

Although I am generally happy and enjoying my time off, I've avoided posting on my blog. The reason? Fear it might turn into solely a bitch blog. I'm posting this anyway. Beware.

Today I had my performance review for work. I was hired in October, only one-point-five weeks shy of 6 months, the review period for our particular brand of corporation. Yes, our CORPORATION. Two or three months into the job I heard rumors of being promoted. Then the rumors stopped. Overstaffed, I thought. Eh, whatever, no big deal. I finally got my training courses in coffee and tea 5 months into the job, after I had helped teach a barista training course, and before I was certified as a barista myself (I am still uncertified, as apparently corporate doesn't have enough time to adhere to their own standards).

These details, though related, aren't so important. What is important then? The ratings on my review. And the raise I got. My first raise ever.

We are rated on a scale of 1-5, where 3 is "meets expectations", a very high standard in and of itself, my manager explained. I prepared myself for 3's or lower across the board. Instead my review paper showed 4's and 5's. The summary comments read:

"Melissa has quickly established herself as an anchor of our morning team. She has mastered our service expectations by maintaining quality standards... while contributing to the warm sense of community in our store..."

The summary goes on, but I'll leave you with that. You get the idea. After explaining my ratings and the summary, she started into a personal disclaimer...

"Unfortunately, the ratings don't mean much to corporate. We have nothing to do with corporate's decisions on raises and hours our store is allowed to hire out. You were just shy of being here for the full review period, so they've pro-rated your raise.

Then the amazing news:

The base raise for the first 6-month period is $00.24 an hour. Your raise is $00.22 an hour."

Yes folks, I will now make an extra $1.10 a day, which on average will add up to about an extra $14 a month before taxes. My base wage? $9.00/hour.