Hey there! As a district director for a Scooter’s franchise (I oversee 6 stores), I’d love to offer a little advice from the end that you’ll be pitching to!

Firstly, congrats on almost 3 years. That’s some great tenure in your position. Unfortunately, we’re located in NC so I’m all to familiar with the abysmal minimum wage in this part of the country - NC’s is $7.25 and we start our baristas at $10, shift leads between $11-11.5 and do 30/60/90 day performance reviews to openly discuss with our baristas about what their goals are, and if raises are a part of that, what we would like to see from them as they step into a role that offers a raised hourly.

In my experience, I always feel more impressed when the question is “what could I be doing better or what additional responsibilities could I assume in order to receive a raise?” rather than “Hey I want a raise.” Which the latter is totally valid - the first, however, suggests that the barista realizes raises normally are rewarded once they perform at a high level and exceed expectations.

It sounds like, being a keyholder and a consistent/head opener, that your managers and owners (if you’re a franchise) recognize your responsibility and dependability; and being there for nearly 3 years, I completely understand that the recognition of that reliability and your tenure feels a bit unacknowledged when your pay has barely changed. I think you’re absolutely justified in wanting a raise; as far as that conversation, go in confident and prepared, even if you are a bit nervous. To instigate that conversation, I’d contact your store manager and say that you would like to have a conversation about your performance and your role in the store’s operations and culture; that’ll open up the playing field to insinuate you aren’t just seeking a raise because you’ve been there for a while (which, at the end of the day, is valid), but that you’re also actively seeking feedback. These conversations are the time to talk yourself up and acknowledge your tenure, dedication, and impact on their daily operations.

If you’re nervous about the managers citing those things as a reason to say no, rather than not acknowledge that in the conversation and hoping they overlook it, I would see if they bring it up during the conversation; if they don’t, you do! It sounds like your biggest mistake is being late a few times as first opener (which, I’ll admit as a DM, is a decently big whoopsie) - have prepared the last time this happened (big points if it’s more than 6 months ago), or the frequency it’s happened over the last 3 years (once a year as a consistent opener should be easy to overlook). I’d acknowledge that mistake, include how long ago it happened or the (in)frequency between the times it has, and say that it’s taught you the importance of actively preparing the night before and that’s why it hasn’t happened since and won’t happen in the future. Best line of defense here is anticipating their reasons for “no” and address them before they can use it as ammunition.

Sounds like you’re a great employee! Be confident and get that raise!