Sue works for you in a busy, customer focused technology support centre. Her position requires her to answer the telephone, handle face-to-face enquiries regarding technical difficulties, use her knowledge and experience to solve problems and finally to communicate solutions to customers.

Until recently you considered Sue to be very capable. You received good feedback from other staff and customers about her technical ability and customer service skills generally. Recently, however, you have received a number of complaints about her from one of your colleagues and from several customers. The complaints relate to her terse and harsh interpersonal skills and her lack of responsiveness when dealing with problems.

1. You will need to address these complaints. What performance areas will you investigate?
2. How would you approach Sue regarding these complaints?
3. If you needed to gather information from other sources, how would you address the issue of confidentiality?