Let me give some context first. I was hired as a shop manager for a local gas station/auto repair shop. It started me out at $13 an hour because I was fresh and just stepping in, but it would increase as I was told. Well every year we get a 1–2% raise and I got a dollar raise after a month of being there. So up until Friday I was making $15 an hour running the whole place, managing inventory, answering phone calls, keeping a schedule, operating full service, helping with repairs in the shop as needed, and running the whole facility whenever the owner wasn’t there (most of the time, a lot or all of these coincide at once).
Well all of us in the shop started noticing that none of us were really making a whole lot of money for all of the work we did and for covering for the positions that haven’t been filled yet. On top of that, the owner takes several trips a year. Well we all kind of got fed up with it and decided to take action, one has found work elsewhere and another is getting ready to leave as well. Me on the other hand, I do like to talk things out first and then take action from there. But I went to an interview first because I was offered a position locally at a dealership.
Well the owner found out and said that we needed to have a talk and say some things that have not been said and then promised a raise. Well Friday I noticed that there was a slight increase on my check and he came and found me and asked me if I was OK with that. Well I dug in my heels and said “no this is not. I appreciate the gesture but we need to talk about this. “ I told him for the amount of work that I do on a daily basis, it was not worth the $16 an hour he was paying me. When prompted I informed him that this job should be starting at $18 an hour minimum (I didn’t want to shell shock him with something higher incase he decided to dismiss the discussion). He asked me what he was going to get for $18 an hour, I politely informed him of every thing I currently have my hand in the shop and how long I’m there every day from 7 AM to 6 PM and can never be home during the week to see my children longer than two hours before they go to bed. We all do a lot but I do an incredible amount here and I give 100% of what I can. I can’t give more than my hundred percent and right now my hundred percent is not worth $16 an hour.
He took a long pause and then said he would look it over and get back with me. For me that felt like a victory that I was actually heard an appoint was made. I hope it comes through because if not I’m gonna have to go on and I really didn’t want to quit that job.