How do you guys handle it when a relatively good employee asks for an outrageous raise? I just had a guy who is being paid $18/hour ask me to be paid $28/hour. He’s a decent worker, but really not particularly skilled at anything. I have much more skilled employees that make less than what he’s asking for. This person does mostly odd jobs throughout the business. He said he came up with that number because represents a 10% raise for each year he has been here, though the math clearly doesn’t work on that; he would be at less than $24/hour even if I had given him a 10% raise each year.
I agree he deserves a raise, but that amount is crazy. I can hire much more skilled and competent people at that rate. I’m somewhat indifferent to whether he stays or goes, but I don’t see him really quitting as he and my office manager are a couple, and they like to commute to work together. I can handle things if both of them quit. Life would be less fun for a bit, it’s not the end of the world. I don’t see any real scenario where they will be otherwise able to work together like they do now.
Kind of sounds like he is mediocre at best. And what he feels he’s worth and what the books say he is worth are two very different things. So the business owner should just “give the guy $23 to $25 and change his life for the better?” I don’t think you have ever owned a business and were required to meet not only a payroll but all the additional overhead. You can’t just “give the guy…” That’s what the government is so good at doing but just doesn’t work as well for a business trying to stay afloat.