I just started this job 3 weeks ago with a top shelf remodeling outfit here in Atlanta, GA. In that time, the boss has accepted a job in Las Vegas which will keep him and our only other experienced hand out of town for the next six weeks. He’s leaving his operation in my hands. We’ll be in daily contact via cell and e-mail but for all intents and purposes, I’m running the Atlanta end of things while they’re gone. I started at a rate I was comfortable with as a lead man but this is going to take some more work on my part to handle smoothly. I have an idea what I’m going to ask for but am curious what kind of pay would be justified in this scenario? Once they’re back, I’ll be running my own crew while the boss runs another so the level of my responsibility will get back to normal (I know, I know, what’s that?). What would you expect to pay or be paid to handle this situation?
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What additional duties are you taking on while he's gone? Scheduling jobs, meeting with new customers, payroll, hiring & firing, material ordering, ... ? If you're just being left alone to run your own projects, then just a token increase, if any. But if you are responsible for keeping the business open, it's a different story.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
I wouldn't ask for a three week raise, but I would tell him that when he gets back he owes me a bonus.
Then, I'ld make darn sure I deserved one.
All the paperwork done. Sales calls made. All client calls returned. Office clean.
50-60 hour weeks. Whatever it took.
On the clock.
SamT
I think his bonus will be keeping the boss's wife happy for six weeks.
Steve-o,
This is great. This is why this forum is so great, with wits like you. Just make sure you put it on the timecard...
~Peter
Thanks everyone for the perspective... something I'm a little lean on after working 60 hours this past week. This is a great place thanks to the generosity and insights of all who take the time to contribute.
I've got a good feeling about my new boss and genuinely enjoy working beside him every day. I also respect him in countless ways compared to my previous employer doing decks. The work is what I've been looking for and the clients are all interested in quality results so I feel I've landed in a solid position with this outfit. Again, the advice I've received here is worth its weight in gold so I'm just going to keep my nose to the grindstone and keep track of all the hours I put in doing what I have to in order to keep things running smoothly. I can handle the faith thing about getting compensated for now at a later time when we talk money again. In the meantime, work beckons... Thanks again everyone. Jerry
What would you expect to pay or be paid to handle this situation?"
Homewrite,
Three weeks on the job?
I wouldn't EXPECT and single dime more. But that's just me. Employee/employer relationships should be long term IMO. If your boss hasn't properly compensated you over the long term, (minimum 6 months) bring it up.
Just because you get paid by the hour???? doesn't mean that's what you're worth. You may be worth more or less, but after 3 weeks of employment.....Nah, I think that's treading down a slippery slope.
Jon
A boss doesn't pay for potential.........if you suck it up for the short six weeks and prove yourself...remember your still a new employee.....then it will be that much easier to get that deserved raise when the time comes.
Luca
hey, homey... i think you're in the catbird's seat....
so , if you're working for an hourly rate.. you'll be compensated anyway...
make sure you and the boss understand each other... you'll put in all of the time required to keep things on an even keel.. but you'll put in all of the hours on your paysheet..
if you do a good job, the boss will relie on you in the future..
when i go off tramping around , i always leave the job in my guy's hands with one in charge....they do things as needed.. i stay in touch.. and even call subs that need some coaching..
when i get back , the guys are glad to see me ... glad they don't have to do my jobs anymore..
so ... i see your situation as an opportunity to cement your future with the company... and if it don't work out.. well.. seems like 10 weeks or so is pretty short time to get a handle on the operation...
make the best of it... but i wouldn't ask for any more moneyMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Let's pretend that I am he.
I am trusting you with a lot while i go off for awhile. I don't know you vwery well, but my instincts tell me you can handle it. I'll have to trust to that and find out how things go. when I get back, if you have performed well, I will know how good you are and raise your pay accordingly.
Conversely, if you start talking raise in pay before I go, you will make me question my decision and trust in you.
from your POV, you will have to purt in extra hours to do this extra work, so you will make more money. Just make sure that all those evening phone calls are loggged for time worked.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
These guys are right on the money. Don't ask for a raise. Use this opportunity to show him your true value, and if he's as sharp as you think he is, he'll do the right thing."We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world,
and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend."
....Robert Louis StevensonAllen in Santa Cruz
Edited 2/19/2005 11:57 am ET by moondance
Another vote for no raise right now. I've been on both sides of that equation. I especially don't like it when I send a strong mid-level guy to do a few weeks' work on a small job by himself, and he hits me up for foreman's pay. It doesn't make sense to me because then what... I bust him back down in a few weeks when he's back under a lead guy?
If you like the company and the owner, buck up and do the 6 weeks... do a great job. A few months or a few years down the road, maybe you want to become the production manager, start making a percentage... something like that. That's when you make your play, and that's when your solid performance becomes your high card.
It all depends on your perception of this company as a long term home.
I say listen to Mike Smith. Your gonna leave a bad taste if you start wanting money after only three weeks on the job.
Who Dares Wins.
And besides, I thought we all agreed that he did you a favor when he didn't make you choose between going to Las Vegas to do that job or hitting the road.
You should look at this as an oppurtunity to show off your skills, not a hardship that you need to be compensated for. In the overall scheme of things if you pull this off successfully any reasonable boss would throw you a bone. If he doesnt then you will know you're working for the wrong guy.
For now and while he's gone let him think things are running on auto-pilot. Don't bother him with all the little problems. If he asks just say its all taken care of.
If you look at it from his perspective he's got a lot more riding on you then you do on him.
Homedude,
If I were payed extra for all the times my boss were absent(mentally and physically) over the last 20+ years. I could retire a wealthy man.
Good luck dude.
do the deeds, keep track of time, when he comes back if he doesn't offer a raise then ask for one(after expressing your dissappointment).
don't give him anything for nothing or he will expect it all the time.
He is able to take time away because of you not inspite of you.
Can you tell I've become a little jaded...
Mr T
I can't afford to be affordable anymore