'I generated over 12 million in sales, and my salary was $60,000': Employee's raise request gets denied, he quits for better job offer, boss scrambles and suddenly offers to increase his salary

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Oct 29, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Most employees understand the feeling of making far more money for their company than the amount they actually earn.

If only the scales were more balanced, but unfortunately, this is not a perfect world. Still, when the discrepancy is so high and if your hard work is continually disregarded or under-appreciated, it is time to start advocating for yourself if you haven't already. 

This sales employee was only making their starting salary of $60,000 despite generating over $12 million in sales for the company. Despite a frank conversation with their employer about this, the author's valid request for a well-deserved raise was outright denied due to "budget" constraints.

This, of course, inspired the employee to begin looking for work elsewhere that would offer salaries that better matched their hard work. Since the author started working for their current company, they have had the ability to brush up their resume in such a way that made them a far more compelling candidate than when they first entered the workforce. Naturally, that meant that a better job offer was not that difficult to find. 

Keep scrolling below to find out how their employer reacted when it was time to share the news that they were leaving…

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    A middle-aged man walking in a city street after leaving his office building with a cardboard box of personal supplies.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • As soon as the author explained the situation to their manager, all it took was a quick phone call to the CEO. Then, the author was finally given the raise they had asked for months ago. All it took was 15 minutes, and yet, that amount was still far less than what this author was able to get from a competing company. 

    The author even dared to inform their manager that if they had given that offer way back then, perhaps they would have accepted it. Now, they knew that they could do even better.

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    "My company said a raise was impossible. When I resigned, they suddenly found the money to double my salary."

    I've been working in sales at my company for about 4 years. I'm consistently one of the top performers on the team, I've built a very good client base, and my customer reviews are always excellent. All I do is focus on my work and deliver results.
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    This year alone, I generated over 12 million in sales, and my salary was $60,000. (Can you believe it?)
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    Anyway, I applied and got a new job offer from a competitor. Between the base salary, the commission structure, and the guaranteed bonuses, the total offer exceeded $110,000 a year.
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    I submitted my two weeks' notice, and my manager looked at me in shock and told me to wait a minute. He called the CEO on the phone in front of me, and
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    in less than 15 minutes, they came back with a counteroffer: an $80,000 base salary with a $30,000 bonus.
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    A middle-aged man walking in a city street after leaving his office building with a cardboard box of personal supplies.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

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    This was just 6 weeks after I asked for a raise and was told the budget was tight and that he would 'see what could be done during the annual review' which was last March.
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    The strangest part of all this? They were genuinely shocked when I rejected their offer anyway.
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    I told them, 'I appreciate the offer, but this just proves you could have paid me my actual worth from the very beginning. We wouldn't be in this situation if you had.'
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    Always know your worth. And don't let companies play games with you and your livelihood.
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    imissthor. 26m ago Good for you. I'm proud of you!!
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    jk5529977. 9m ago 100k and 50k bonus to stay. And you get to use the CEO's bathroom.
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    A middle-aged man walking in a city street after leaving his office building with a cardboard box of personal supplies.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

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employment issues workplace-stories employment-discussion toxic-workplace work satisfying quitting story workplace quitting employment toxic-work-environment
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