do i have a gripe or am i just over reacting?

The Growery

Active Member
I've been working at an upholsterer shop on and off for the last 15 years. recently i started working there again. in past years I was paid $15/hour. This time I started at 13/hr. I've been working there for about 4 months now and am faster and better than I was before when I was working for him in years past. I asked the boss for a raise back to 15/hr and he said okay. This was on last wednesday. As a way to show my appreciation I offered free labor on Saturday if he was willing to buy some pegboard and tool clips so that I could organize all the work benches, about 5 hours of work. Yesterday, as I'm at home depot getting the peg board and supplies, the boss writes out this week's check.

He waits until the very possible last second before he leaves for the day and hands me my check and says the raise will start next week, while I'm working for him off the clock for free unloading pegboard and taking down all the tools hanging on the walls (about 1000+, it's a a big shop). Isn't that kind of shitty of him to do that knowing that I was about to give him 5-6 hours of free labor and a much needed revamping of the tool organization systems? or should I just be grateful that I even got the raise? well in any case lesson learned, I will never offer him free labor again and when he wants me to drop off a small item at a customer's home on my way home from work, instead of not charging him for the time, I'm going to charge him for every minute now.
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
wait til next week and see how it goes. you should be able to talk to the guy, man to man after 15 years!
 

buster8813

Active Member
That is a bit of a kick in the bag but most raises do start on a fresh pay cycle and you were doing that work unpaid anyways... Though you shouldn't have started at anything less than you were previously making.
If you are unhappy, do what every unhappy employee does... Slow your pace down a step and smoke a nice one after each day.
 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
I've been working at an upholsterer shop on and off for the last 15 years. recently i started working there again. in past years I was paid $15/hour. This time I started at 13/hr. I've been working there for about 4 months now and am faster and better than I was before when I was working for him in years past. I asked the boss for a raise back to 15/hr and he said okay. This was on last wednesday. As a way to show my appreciation I offered free labor on Saturday if he was willing to buy some pegboard and tool clips so that I could organize all the work benches, about 5 hours of work. Yesterday, as I'm at home depot getting the peg board and supplies, the boss writes out this week's check.

He waits until the very possible last second before he leaves for the day and hands me my check and says the raise will start next week, while I'm working for him off the clock for free unloading pegboard and taking down all the tools hanging on the walls (about 1000+, it's a a big shop). Isn't that kind of shitty of him to do that knowing that I was about to give him 5-6 hours of free labor and a much needed revamping of the tool organization systems? or should I just be grateful that I even got the raise? well in any case lesson learned, I will never offer him free labor again and when he wants me to drop off a small item at a customer's home on my way home from work, instead of not charging him for the time, I'm going to charge him for every minute now.
If you do not treat your professional skills with the respect they deserve no one else will.
 

jamboss

Well-Known Member
Nevermind that, in the long run you'll be rewarded. There's nothing wrong with paying foward a little, when your next check comes it'll be like early christmas and i'm sure you'll be saying im glad i got the money now than before. i guarantee.
 

lahadaextranjera

Well-Known Member
I had a dispute over wages once due to lack of communication. The boss said to me it was 80% his fault so I said, "Ok, I'll give you a 20% discount".
 
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