By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady
Can an employee do his or her job too well? It shouldn’t be so, if our story by Andy Andrews “Goodbye, Mr. Foster” is any indicator. When we reran the story on a supposedly “slow news day” (January 2), it still garnered a number of passionate responses.
Who was Mr. Foster? He was an airport restaurant worker who went above and beyond and impressed Andy Andrews (go here to see original story). Mr. Foster was told to pull back and slow down like the rest of the workers, and he was ultimately fired when he didn’t.
Here are some of the responses to this column that we received:
“Horrendous decision by management”
“I cannot imagine a job description that limits the degrees of high customer service. If the story is true to content, then this was a horrendous decision by management. Requiring Mr. Foster to fall ‘in line with the rest of the staff,’ is the dumbing of America.”
“I would be ashamed …”
“Absolutely amazing. Wouldn’t you want an outstanding representative of your company to capture attention!? We are absolutely service poor in this country!
“That man should have been asked to participate in training the slackers who stood idly by. I would absolutely be ashamed to be known as the company that rewards poor service and punishes the super stars!”
“There’s something drastically wrong with this picture.”
“Those who don’t do a good job and throw their weight around get away with everything. Reprimand after reprimand never goes anywhere. It’s like the management doesn’t know how to deal with that person, and is afraid of him … it’s a great way to loose good people in any workplace.”
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“The HR department should have their heads examined …”
“It is very rare in this day and age to find employees who are willing to become engaged with your clients or customers. When you find one that goes above and beyond, the above-average business owner should make this individual the shining example for peers to emulate.”
“Whittled down to the level of ‘uniform mediocrity’’’
“The airline industry is not that different from other industries, where employee performance is intentionally whittled down to the level of ‘uniform mediocrity.’ In such environments, pride in one’s performance is neither valued nor rewarded. Does management (HR, in particular!) not see the very large, cleated footprints that ‘mediocrity’ inevitably leaves on the back of the corporate sacred cow—The Bottom Line?”
“I know a ‘Mr. Foster.’ I am married to one.”
“He watches others in the company sit on their duffs, not do their jobs, come in late, call in sick, and lose contracts.
“He does not. He is on the job by five or six in the morning and comes home ‘when the job is done.’ He doesn’t know what ‘job description’ is. He will do whatever it takes. He will do manual labor, organize contracts, manage subcontractors, sweep floors, sit in on upper management meetings, mediate municipalities, and sometimes, but rarely, eat lunch.
“By the way, he has two herniated discs, bad knees, and a stent in his heart.”
“I paid a heavy price—I lost my job.”
“As human beings we tend to be content with the status quo and all too often we react to a story—like I am doing. People management is as much about recognizing people like Mr. Foster as it is about managing ‘idlers.’
“I have personally stuck my neck out for people, and I paid a heavy price—I lost my job.”
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“I got fed up working for a lot of idiots”
“What springs to mind is do 100 good things and make one mistake and you’ll be remembered for the one mistake—amazing!
“Anyway, in this Doom & Gloom time, we received this story and we thought that we would share it. Even if it just makes people pause and reflect for a few minutes, it might be worth it.”
“I hope Mr. Foster is now … truly appreciated.”
“My heart goes out to Mr. Foster, who demonstrated such high-quality customer service that he ‘stood out’ amongst his peers. As HR professionals, we should appreciate these internally motivated and dedicated people who do not need to be guided, directed and pushed to do a good job for the business. What a shame that his particular company did not recognize what a gem they had.”
How are the “Mr. Fosters” treated in your organization? What do you think? Use the share your comments link below, or send us an email.
Andy Andrews, who wrote the original Mr. Foster story, can be reached at www.Andyandrews.com.
I’ve been a Mr. Foster all my life. I try to disguise it. I try to act like I don’t know as much. I try to make a few mistakes. I compliment others for being so smart and on top of it. Its part of the Peter Principle – it is the underachievers and the overachievers that get fired. I’m 55 and still have not found an employer who has enough confidence to really be happy that I know all that I do. Yesterday, a helpful co-worker told me I was too worldly, too smart, and too understanding, accepting of others, and too compassioniate. I never yelled at anybody. “That was my problem with trying to fit in here.” I’m embarrassed to be a human on a daily basis. We deserve to have low sperm counts and go extinct. I’m sorry Mr. Foster – I have no encouragement for you. Try being self-employed –