Profitability trumps personality

Q: I work in a small retail boutique with four other salespeople. One of them, "Kristen," takes advantage of the fact that she's the owner's close friend. This creates morale problems for the rest of us.

Kristen leaves without clocking out and doesn't tell anyone where she's going. She gets into phone fights with her family in front of customers.

She is bossy and selfish, and she shows no respect to her co-workers, even though we are older than she is. But around the owner, she is a dream.

Because Kristen is definitely the best salesperson, the owner calls her our "cash cow" and says Kristen can do whatever she wants in the store.

The owner even brags about Kristen to customers.

I recently volunteered to "take the bullet" for the team and tell our boss about Kristen's unprofessional behavior. We were shocked that she didn't seem concerned. She clearly prefers not to deal with this problem.

We all have considered leaving, but we seem to have more loyalty to the owner than she has to us. All she cares about are Kristen's high sales.

I really like everything else about my job, but this stress is getting to me. Should I talk to the owner again or just quit?

A: Put aside your animosity for a moment and face the facts. Your obnoxious co-worker is an outstanding salesperson. The owner values her because she brings in the bucks. To the owner, Kristen's bottom-line contribution is more important than your issues. And the owner calls the shots.

Given these realities, you need to get a grip and stop wasting so much emotional energy on this young hotshot. Instead of monitoring her bad behavior, study what she does well and use her techniques to improve your own sales.

The best revenge is to beat her numbers. If you can outsell the "cash cow," the owner will pay more attention to your concerns.

Q: I recently became the administrative assistant to our company's general manager. We communicate very well, but I have run into a problem.

Every week, I have to turn in my boss's expense report. On the last one, I noticed that he had claimed certain expenses twice. I couldn't find a nice way to say this, so I didn't tell him about it.

Now I'm afraid that he will be embarrassed if someone else finds this duplication. Should I say something?

A: If your boss expects you to check expense reports for errors, you need to tell him about this one. Otherwise, he may hold you responsible.

But if he expects you only to forward the report for payment, you can wait for someone in accounting to point out the problem.

If you're not sure what you're expected to do with these reports, you need to clarify your job duties.

In the future, don't hesitate to take such questions to your boss. As his assistant, you should feel free to ask about any work-related issue.

- Marie G. McIntyre is an Atlanta-based workplace coach. Her weekly column is syndicated by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Send questions at www.yourofficecoach.com.