yet another dilemma

[Bella_Vixen]

Last night, a coworker and I found out what all our other coworkers make.

Bo-makes the least, and he's been there the longest.
K-makes the same as Bo.
Br and A-make more then K and Bo, with NO expereince.
J-makes more then anyone, even me.

I am the AM. There are only two people who should be making more then me: the manager and Bo (since he's been there since Creation).

I make a mere 75 cents an hour more the Br and A.

My dilemma is this: how do I ask (demand?) a raise based on what I know, when I shouldn't know what others make? I am the AM and am expected to be on call 24/7, etc.

It's frustating. And I feel even worse for Bo, because he's worked there for 8 years, maybe more.

[blas]

Depends on what kind of store you work at. If its a mom and pop store like the gas station I worked at, you practically have to threaten to quit if you want a raise. A lot of those family stores are cheapskates.

Since you're the one who always comes in when people call in, I'd imagine they'd give you a raise or else they'd have to risk hiring someone else or *gasp* having to come in themselves.

[Andara Bledin]

I can't remember where I came across this, but I believe that while it may be against company policy to reveal to your coworkers what you are paid, it's not legally enforceable that you don't. So if you all get together and compare notes, they can't actually do anything to you about it. Of course, if you're in an at will state, it wouldn't really matter why they fired you so much as why they said they did. Of course, even then you could probably win a lawsuit against them.

One thing I noticed about wages while I was working at Medieval Times was that the basic starting wage actually went up faster than the annual pay increase did so that those who had been there longer were invariably making less than the new hires. Every time they would adjust the starting rate, they would fail to make any adjustments to the people who already worked there.

What you might consider doing is find some way to research what the average waeg is for your position, factoring in the fact that you are on call, and use that as leverage for getting a better wage.

[disclaimer] I'm not in any legal position, so don't take anything I say on faith. [/disclaimer]

^-.-^

[TNT]

I am the AM. There are only two people who should be making more then me: the manager and Bo (since he's been there since Creation).

I make a mere 75 cents an hour more the Br and A.

My dilemma is this: how do I ask (demand?) a raise based on what I know, when I shouldn't know what others make? I am the AM and am expected to be on call 24/7, etc.

It's frustating. And I feel even worse for Bo, because he's worked there for 8 years, maybe more.

I generally find that comparing pay is trouble looking for a place to happen. All things being equal (that is, management isn't giving out pay raises based on non-work factors), there's usually good reasons why some make more than others. For better or worse, those reasons are often complex and better left unexplained to other employees.

Personally, I think longevity in a job is probably the least important factor when it comes to money. People who've been in a job 10 years and do the minimum shouldn't expect to make more than someone who's been in a job six months and exceeds expectations in every way. But that's just me.

Where I work, supervisor is a huge step up that comes with a large pay raise. At another place where I worked, I once said to a supervisor, "That's why you make the big bucks." He said, "Believe this or not, I make a whopping $1.00 an hour more than you do."

Anyhow, I think if you're going to ask for a raise, you should do it on your own merits. "This is the job I do, this is what I think it should pay"... and work from there.

But at the very bottom line, my experience has always been this: the easiest way to get a raise or a promotion is to get a new job. I'm lucky these days because I can transfer internally faster than I can find new jobs. Still, if another company came along and offered a better deal (and not strictly in terms of money), I'd start tomorrow. My labor is what I have to sell, and I'm selling it to the highest bidder.

[NightAngel]

This is exactly why I don't discuss my pay with anyone nor do I ask anyone else what they make. It's no one's business but mine how much I make. Second, I think it's very unprofessional to tell others (especially co-workers) how much I make. If any of my co-workers try and tell me how much they make they get the Red Dwarf response, "Black card situation- end of conversation."

Personally, I wouldn't give you a raise just because you found out how much your co-workers make.
Now if you want to go in and demand a raise based on your own merits that's a whole different issue.

We're dealing with a guy at work right now who has been there for about 8 years. I don't know how much he makes (don't care) but I can tell you that he doesn't know the job nearly as well as some of our CSR's who've been there for a month. If pay was fair they'd make more than him but I'm pretty sure they don't.

[Bella_Vixen]

And just for the record, I would never demand a raise based on the knowledge of what others make. I shouldn't have said it, but I was frustrated at the time. I know I'm not supposed to know what everyone else makes. I didn't WANT to know what everyone else makes.

I do more then any 2 other employess combined--including the manager, but excluding Bo. Everyone else does the bare minimum (and some don't even do that). The only expectation my boss has for ANYONE is that they show up on time and stay for thier entire shift. That's it. No cleaning, no stocking, nothing.

I do everything that's expected of me, and more. Like I said, I am on call 24/7. I'm expected to work miracles and figure out why $36 of instant lottery is missing, but the manager refuses to watch the tapes to see if, in fact, a certain employee DID steal them. (I'm not saying that they were stolen, but after we went trough every alternative, that's the only one that wasn't cleared.) I clean. I stock. I order. I check expiration dates. I rearrange the cooler and the back room, so that things are able to be stocked.

Bo is my savior. If something needs to be done, he'll do his damndest to do it (he's handicapped, so things are tough sometimes). If there's a question even I can't answer, he can. If I can't cover a shift, he more then likely will.

My boss doesn't follow company protocol correctly. We're supposed to scan in every order. He doesn't. We're supposed to scan out the magazines with the correct costs. He makes up a number and finagles the magazines so it comes out to his number. We get audited every month, and this is going to come back and get him sooner or later. We are supposed to physically check in everything with our candy/cig order (they've tried to screw us over before). He doesn't, and then tries to sell whatever mistakes came up (example: we don't sell hot dogs or lunch meats. We were mistakenly sent some. We are NOT allowed to sell these, as they are not approvedfor our store. They are still sitting in the cooler, for sale.) I tried to tell him this, but he won't listen.

[Becks]

If I may offer a suggestion...

Start looking for another job.

Yeah, I know, easier said than done.

[sbandliz]

...My dilemma is this: how do I ask (demand?) ...

A word of advise - be prepared to look for another job in case you don't like your boss' reply to your demand.

I made this mistake 6 years ago. I felt the latest pay review wasn't fair. I was doing a lot more than the other sales coordinators - doing unpaid overtime when one of the others go on leave, preparing reports the other cannot do, had a much better understanding of the product we were selling, even answering staff queries (when they have been with the company much longer than I have).

I decided to talk to my boss about it. I asked whether there were aspects of my work performance he wasn't happy with, and whether there were areas where he would like me to work on. He said he was very happy with my work. So I told him that I was not happy with the pay review for the year.

This was his reply: If the company pays us too well, we will not be challenged to look for something better.

My mistake was that I was 6 month pregnant at the time, so was in no condition to change job! His reply stuck in my mind for a long time. Everyone told me that even the most incompetent manager will not phrase it like that.

Returning to the job after 8 month unpaid maternity leave, I decided to check out the job market. After 6 weeks, I was rewarded with finding another job that paid much better.

When I handed in my resignation, the manager used the guilt trip card - the company has been so good to you blah blah blah... - and guess what ? It didn't work on me. Not when I had to do unpaid overtime as soon as I came back from leave because the others were too incompetent with the new system and allowed weeks of backlog to accumulate. Had to work on weekends instead of being at home with my baby.

Have to admit - his comment 6 years ago is still stuck on my mind, but I am doing my best to use it to spur myself on.

[NightAngel]

Okay, so you're the AM? Does that mean you're the Assistant Store Manager?

It is entirely unfair for any one person to have to do all the work. Period.
Delegate tasks to these jokers and write them up if they don't complete them every time- on time. If they aren't doing anything and they refuse to work they don't need to be there.

Go to the next higher manager over your Store Manager and tell him/her what is going on with the work load, the inventory, missing lotto- everything. Make it clear that you want to get things cleaned up/running smoothly and that you feel that the SM needs a fire lit under his ass.

[Andara Bledin]

Either start looking for something where you might get a manager who isn't incompetant (good luck with that).

Or, as an alternative, let corporate know about the things he's doing that he's not supposed to be doing. If you want to keep yourself at a distance, then have a friend make a complaint about soemthing you have witnessed him doing wrong.

^-.-^

[wagegoth]

Legally, coworkers are allowed to discuss their pay. They are not allowed to bully someone into this discussion, and another coworker can refuse and/or leave the discussion.

Bella, This company has been taking advantage of your good nature and willingness to go above and beyond. There's another job at another company that is waiting for you. This other company will treat you much better. You deserve it.

[nhollywood]

Sounds like the 80/20 rule applies. "Eighty percent of the work is done by 20% of the people."

[Bella_Vixen]

I'm thinking about looking for a job at another gas station, but most of our managers and front office types came from SA already, which doesn't instill me with confidence.

My manager...I'm starting to really dislike him, and I can't help but feel that it is mutual. He never calls me to help with problems (ex.: the other night, the 3rd shifter locked himself out of the store. I am the ONLY one who has a key to get into the store. Did anyone call me? NO! They pried open the door with a crowbar). He schedules me for 3rd shift, even knowing I don't feel safe working that shift. He doesn't like the fact that all of us who worked there before he came all like each other and get along great.

I need another vacation.