Appearance is nothing.

I had my appraisal on Tuesday, and overall the feedback was fairly positive, with a few negatives. Only problem is that we disagree somewhat on the importance of the negatives.

The major bone of contention is that I am percieved to have no pride in my appearance, and to a greater extent this is true. I dont care what I look like because it is irrelevant. It is meaningless to what I do, it holds absolutely no value or effect on my ability to perform my role. Im not going to suddenly start selling more wine because now Im wearing lace up shoes instead of slip-ons. To think so is ludicrous. All these "reports" that bang on about first impressions etc are usually highly spun by fashion consultants who want you to spend huge amounts of money on smartening up your image. The reality is however that people dont care what shoes you are wearing, whether your shirt is immaculatly ironed, or if you sport two inches of cuffs on your shirts. All they care about is whether you know your product. So thats what is important to me, knowing my product, whether it be the menu, the wine-list, the wines, cognacs, whiskies, cocktails, what time the brasserie opens, where can someone buy this or that wine and many many other relevant issues. I lack a vanity gene, and I know it frustrates the hell out of Ross that I dont care what I look like, but thats who I am. I was employed to sell wine, not look good in a suit. Its not like I come in to work looking like I was dragged through a hedge backwards after all. Im usually fairly smart, just never immaculate. I have better things to do than spend two hours putting a military shine on my shoes. But I'll try and make a bit more of an effort.