I will be flamed for this.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

But it still irks the hell out of me, so I’m gonna say it.

I’m paid significantly more than most people in America - yet I’m still underpaid in my opinion. This statement does not preclude my belief that most people in America are underpaid by a larger margin than me.

I make $23/hr. On my labor, my boss charges anywhere from $89 to $179, depending on what I’m doing and when I’m doing it. To increase my pay by 15% would mean a lot to me. It would mean I could pay down debt, and save for car repairs. It would reduce his profits on this one aspect of the business by less than 2%. Profits on a revenue stream that accounts for less than 10% of the company’s total income. He spends 2% to give me a 15% bump. 2% of 10%. So basically turning nothing into something. Holy shit…

He has overhead, this is acknowledged. He wants to make a profit, this too is acknowledged. But…

I lose my sympathy for him in part because my company has multiple revenue streams. New equipment sales make up the lion’s share. Residual recurring sales make up some, as do parts sales. My labor hours are just there to keep people happy in between equipment purchases. But it’s more important to note because my labor hours represent a very small fraction of the company’s total revenue.

The owner is wealthy, as he proclaims, and could allow my company to not make another penny for 20 years and still keep the doors open. This smug arrogance is one of the reasons why we all think he’s such a dick.

Therefore, my share of the profits earned through my labor are in my opinion too low, and increasing my share of those profits would not negatively impact the company. The increased motivation on my part would lead to my labor hours generating more incidental profits (because I’d suggestively sell things since I believe in my oh-so-great company) - but the boss don’t see it that way. He only sees his costs go up. Because he’s a penny pincher. A scrooge. A miser. A jew. No really, he’s a jew, and I only mention this because he touts it as one reason for his financial skills being so far above everyone else’s - though he’s probably failing at tongue in cheek humor as most rich pricks do by sounding as though he believes his words…
My capabilities exceed those of my coworkers by a large margin…ridiculously large. Yet my pay is only about 10% higher than theirs. daFUK?!? (nsfw)

Is this how the rich get richer, and the workers of the world are given just enough to keep us quiet?

How does this not ring true in their ears: “Pay me just enough to not quit, and I’ll work just enough to not get fired.”

Google pays above industry average. As do many other laughably profitable companies. Paying above industry average takes the money discussion off the table - it removes “perception of pay fairness” as an impediment to increased productivity.
MIRight?

So…flame away. First world problems. You’d kill to be paid that much. Stop whining. The man has a right to make as much money as he wants. :rolleyes: Still makes him a plutocratic douchenozzle.

Guess I’ll have to leverage my only asset. My time. Gotta start diversifying my portfolio…this bugger’s got a monopoly on me right now. If the returns on my investment don’t improve, I’m shuffling my cards. Protip - if you use the same language rich people use it makes you sound like you’re not “quitting over pay”; you’re “reallocating your most profitable resources”.

2

You don’t say what it is you do. From what you’re saying, your boss is making a business out of selling your services. So is there a reason why you don’t cut out your boss and sell your services directly to the customers for them?

3

I repair recycling equipment.

The boss owns the truck, which transports the heavy and expensive tools that he also owns. I own about half of the tools. But that’s like owning half of a car. Can’t get far on just wheels and a frame.

If I was paid enough, I’d buy my own tools and truck. But then I’d have to find customers who aren’t already contractually bound to my employer, or his competitors, or who aren’t loyal to one or the other. I believe this is called the “Good Ol’ Boy” system.

My boss makes a business out of selling recycling equipment. He keeps his customers happy by providing maintenance and repairs for this equipment between purchases. He gains new customers by showing them how well his company can fix their current pieces of crap, and then they’re more likely to buy from us next time around.

What I do plays a very important role in this company’s image. If I do poorly, the company looks bad; even though my labor charge represents a small fraction of the company’s revenue, it has the most potential to swing the overall cashflow from negative to positive, or vice versa.

I gotta find a way to communicate this to him in a non-inflammatory way.

4

I make a little less than you make. I have no debt besides a very steadily shrinking mortgage, and I put 20% (before tax) into retirement savings. What’s wrong with you that you can’t live on $46K/yr?

StG

5

Are there others who will step in to take your job at your current pay level when you leave? If so, what is your boss’ incentive to pay you more?

6

You assume my cost of living to be the same as yours. You also assume that I can’t live on what I earn.

I can, I do. It doesn’t change the inequity. And I have just as much right as any other capitalist to maximize my profits. If my employer can “overcharge” for the services he provides, why can’t I? I don’t believe that I would be, but it’s a point worth making.

I hope you are being scarcastic. If not, you would do well to keep your ideas to yourself; they do not work for everyone and assuming that they do will likely (and maybe has) get you into heated arguments.

7

No. He may believe that to be the case, but in fact, no, there is nobody who will step in and fill my shoes. There are people who will fill my position, but will not do what I do.

I’m not bragging, just stating facts. Not many people can/will program PLCs and repair hydraulics and weld and rewire electrical cabinets and work in a trash dump.

It’s usually one or another of those things. Not all of them. I’m the “magic bullet” that gets sent to “problem machines” so they get fixed with one visit. By one tech. Instead of 3 or 4. Lower costs and all that.

I know my company will still make money after I leave. I don’t believe I’m irreplaceable. But the cost of replacing me would be higher than the cost of making me happy, that’s for sure.

8

Maybe one day your boss will remove that firearm he has aimed at your head that is thus far forcing you to work for him.
mmm

9

Your boss pays you what he values you services at. He thinks he can get someone to do the job just as well or better for the same money, and/or that he can get some who doesn’t do the job well but will be paid less. That’s life. Convince him that you’re worth more, or find someone who thinks you are worth more. People are lucky when they find a job where they’re more than a line item cost.

10

$23/hour is significantly more than most people in America? I doubt that.

11

Reading and understanding all of an OP allows one to respond to the entire subject. Plus, coherence in your reply will be more likely.

Or you could do what you did.

I get your point really I do. I just don’t think you get mine.

It really comes down to my wondering why company owners pay their people just enough to not quit. I think it’s because they’re too lazy to do the additional work that would come from being more successful. Or they’re too short sighted to see that increased pay makes people work harder, and those few lazy bums who take advantage are easy to spot and even easier to replace in such an amenable work environment.

There…have I crystalized my thoughts properly yet? I’m notoriously bad at drowning a perfectly good point in too many words.

12

If your skill set merits higher pay, why aren’t you getting paid more somewhere else?

Your boss is paying you what he thinks you’re worth, or maybe a bit less. If you left could he find a replacement for the same or even a lower wage than what you make?

Maybe send out resumes and only entertain offers that meet your wage requirements.

Do you anticipate flaming because people might see this as a humblebrag, or what?

13

According to most statistics being bandied about in popular news media, yes, it is.

No cite, MPSIMS.

Perhaps not more than most, but more than the next largest segment of the population.

14

No, for the reasons I sarcastically alluded to at the end of my OP.

First world problems, I’d kill to be paid that, your boss can do what he wants, quit whining, etc.

I hate unions with a passion, because I believe they encourage laziness and stifle productivity, but I also understand completely why they come about.

15

So that I don’t seem redundant, post 7 was the last one there before I replied.

16

My last reply before going to bed:

Did nobody see the end…where I said in a very circuitous way that I’m going to look for a new job if I don’t get paid what I feel is fair?

… Because that’s what most of these responses are basically telling me to do. What I already said I was going to do.

17

Because that;s what you should do. Should we tell you to do something you shouldn’t do?

18

Uh, good for you then. Are you often prone to tantrums?

19

That’s kind of the point of being your own boss. You can charge what you think you’re worth, but you have to invest in all the equipment you need, find customers, convince them that you’re better, then convince them to actually pay you what you think you’re worth, and then find new customers when the old ones go out of business or decide to use someone else.

I’m not flaming you, but I know many, many highly skilled employees who can’t make the jump to either supervisor or independent business owner. I count myself as one of those people.

That’s the crux of your problem. Your boss’s business is selling equipment. Maintenance and repairs is one of the baits he uses. Seriously, I think your best option is to tell your boss your ambition is to be more than just the best repair person in the area. If he’s as good a businessman as he thinks he is, he’ll recognize your potential. Alternatively, if he’s as cheap as you think he is, he’ll turn you down flat and you can go to his competitors and try the same speech on them.

20

Why don’t you ask for a raise? Lay out your case ahead of time, make a list with bullet points if you have to. There’s nothing wrong or impolite about making a reasoned, logical, emotionally restrained case for a raise.