From my understanding they are called monthly reviews, but my managers never do them. They should be done every month, we get ours done yearly (seriously!).

Don't worry about the needs improvement, thing. They have strict requirements. If it's on the number scale, no matter how good you do, it's highly unlikely you'll get above a 3 (out of 5). That's just the way Borders works. Don't worry, though, if your bosses are telling you you're doing great then they are and there's no need to worry.

None of us hold these reviews with any regard. They are usually in a pile on a counter and we are told to read and sign them. They are always the same, right down the middle, no deviation. Some of our newer people are taken aback by what they perceive as a poor review, until they learn that everyone gets exactly the same review. Still, it is disheartening, because everyone excels at some aspect of their job, and it is never reflected on these things. Last time, I told our assistant that 'they' should just give me a stack of blank ones, I'll sign all of them and 'they' can just put whatever they want on each one as it is needed, date it and do whatever the heck 'they' do with them. I think they just go into our personal records.

So, don't take it personally, but if, at some future time, you receive a review that acknowleges your special gifts, let us know. We'd love to hear that it is possible.:D

Hmm it's really odd that you got a review after your first month.. Maybe it's how the HR/training positions at your store like to give feedback to new hires..
Borders has just done a complete overhaul of its performance appraisal system this year too, and if you were hired anytime after the middle of last year(I think, maybe it's later), you should only be getting true performance reviews once a year. Anybody before that gets two reviews a year, one called a "milestone" which entails an automatic raise of some very small amount(generally .25 out here in VA), and your final review each year is the one that really counts. Basically each item you're rated 1-5 on has a certain "weight". Each one is multiplied by their weight, added together, then averaged out and multiplied by a certain magic number, and that results in the percentage of a raise you get.. It's almost never over $1.. even a $1 raise is extremely rare. And no, it's not unusual at all to get 3s. I've gotten three 4's now and one 5, but that's because I was fortunate enough to have spent my first year as a supervisor with one of the few great managers in the company(you know, the kind that actually rewards and encourages you when they should, and is critical when you need them to be.. instead of always critical).
So yes, 4s and 5s can happen, but it's very rare.. in the long run of things, I wouldn't worry about the review. Even if you post for a promotion they rarely consider your review.. And the raises are minimal enough even for strong performers that unless you try to climb up the ranks, it'll take forever to get a decent income from good ol' BOINC.

My experience is that it's a yearly review, not a monthly one. At least at my store, I've never even heard of a monthly review.

As for your grades, well, it seems there are a lot of rather poor GM's in the company, and the review appears to be a reflection of them instead of you. I've been under three different GM's, and only the last one was decent. A colleague transferred in from another store, where she had been lucky and had two really brilliant GM's. So it does happen. Our current GM has given us much better reviews than the previous two.

as a borders specialty retail store we are required or strongly encouraged to do monthly employee sales reviews. the fact that i heard so many neg comments about these is startling to me.
1...even if these are not seemingly important to the company, they should be important to you. when yearly reviews are done your monthly reviews are used as reminder to the manager of you performance throughout the year, your raises are based on these. These are also looked at when you are considered for a promotion because they show where you have been improving instead of just where you currently are in your numbers.
2... your review should be a combination of your numbers and your competencies. not solely one or other although you will find that they do rely on each other. an example being, if you are cust focused and you always explain BR completely, take cust to sections, suggest an additional item and you frequently revisit cust after your intial reaction you should have an excellent UPT.
3... most key results, such as BR, UPT & A$T are set up to be an average of the sales that you do when you are at the register. Whether you get 15 BR out of 100 cust or 90 BR out 600, in a week it is still a 15% for sign ups. It's all about every time with every customer.
4... if you feel that you are not getting the reviews you deserve...i.e. they are all the same no matter what changes you make or all employees receive the same scores regardless of performance...then please have a chat with your manger, maybe they dont understand that you actually want their feedback. the time devoted to these reviews are supposed to be your time, when you get to ask your questions...why did i get a needs improvement, what is a meets expectation for this competency, what can i do to achieve an exceeds expectations? this a great tool for improving your skills in the retail environment.
I know i kinda rattled on but these reviews are really important to me. i think that everyone should know where they stand because an underperformer can not improve without knowing where they stand. even a needs improvements can be positive if the next reviews show how well you can succeed...
mel