Boss denies manufacturer's request for a raise, manufacturer quits and business ends up down $300,000: '[You] could've just given me the 15k raise!'

This boss may have felt that his employee didn't deserve that big a raise, but he vastly underestimated the cost of saying no.

Sure, $15,000 may have seemed like too much of a salary increase in the eyes of this manufacturer's employer, but how does it sound to lose $300,000 for the entire business as an alternative? The employee in question had a feeling that he was irreplaceable, but unfortunately, his boss did not exactly see things that way… well, not at first.

After he was denied a raise, which would have been on par with other salary rates for folks in similar positions at other companies, the manufacturer opted to hand in his letter of resignation. Well, his boss didn't exactly see it coming, but he also didn't think the departure would cause as much long-term damage as it ultimately did. 

To make matters worse for the company, they lost an important client as a result of the manufacturer's expertise being underappreciated. It did not take long for that loss to spiral out of control, and the company did, in fact, end up losing approximately $300,000 just due to hiring costs and client losses alone.

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    Bearded businessman stares off as an employee stands in the background with a document, speaking to him.
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  • This major loss for the company once again demonstrates the importance of employers needing to have a strong grasp on who the most reliable employees actually are. Oftentimes, there seems to be a major disconnect in which upper management remains blindly unaware of who should be indispensable. As a result, there is always someone on the chopping block who shouldn't be and someone whose continued employment makes absolutely no sense.

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    "Me quitting my job ending up costing my old boss hundreds of thousands of dollars"

    I worked at this small manufacturing place for about 3 years. Did everything from inventory to coordinating shipments to handling vendor
    via Qwalah
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    relationships. Boss was the typical "we're a family here" type who paid me garbage while he drove a new Tesla every year.
    via Qwalah
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    I asked for a raise multiple times. Got the runaround every time. Finally had enough and put in my two weeks. Boss didn't take it seriously, thought I was bluffing.
    via Qwalah
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    Here's the thing though... I was literally the only person who knew how our systems worked. I offered to train someone or at
    via Qwalah
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    least document everything during my notice period. He said don't worry about it, they'd figure it out.
    via Qwalah
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    Bearded businessman looks at documents and plans at his desk.
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    They did not figure it out. Within a month I heard from old coworkers that they lost their biggest client because nobody could coordinate the shipments
    via Qwalah
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    properly. Then another client left because of inventory screwups. Boss had to hire three people to replace me (at higher combined salary than what I asked for) and they're still apparently struggling.
    via Qwalah
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    Could've just given me the 15k raise I asked for. Instead he's probably down 300k in lost contracts and hiring costs. Sometimes the trash takes itself out I guess.
    via Qwalah
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    Bearded businessman assesses a document as a team of employees meet behind him.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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