<prompt> Human: Hey PF, Been a lurker here for awhile and figured now is the perfect time to submit my question to you all. I spoke with my manager, the CEO of my company a couple weeks ago about negotiating hiring hourly wage for that employee. DURING that conversation it was said oh and you and I will sit down to talk about your raise after this upcoming trade show next week. Well my paycheck went through today and i noticed I had a pay increase on my check stub. I heard from the accountant at the company that the CEO wanted it to be a surprise for me. Thats nice and all but, shouldnt I be given the chance to discuss the pay raise? I havent had a raise since FEB 2013 and have anxiously and patiently waiting for the day to come where i could discuss this issue. Now that its done, it feels awkward to go to her and say Hey thanks for the raise, I really appreciate it but that isnt at all what i was looking for. To be clear, the pay raise is 27 and its nothing to scoff at, but how do i go about addressing the issue without burning bridges or her getting the wrong idea and just completely shutting the conversation down? Any advice would be great since Im spending 1 on 1 time out of time with her in the next couple days.Thank you for reading the short novel :PEDIT: Hourly rate was 18.50 went to 23.50 with a month to month bonus that ends up being 25-30k at the end of the year. my HOURLY pay increase is 27 but my total yearly salary ends up being only a 12.9 increase. Sorry was only looking at the hourly percent increaseAssistant: Given that a good raise is considered 3-5, and you got a 27 windfall, I wouldnt look a gift horse in the mouth. That was a very generous move on the CEOscompanys part and a very clear sign that they value you. People that get to discuss raises dont get a 27 increase. This is far above and beyond anything that you could have achieved, unless you are very very below market value for your current title.Human: Yes i agree. I just Edited the original post. Im not on Salary and this was strictly a hourly increase.Assistant: Even with your edit, if you had gotten a jumping for joy 5 raise every year of the past 3 years, youd still have only gotten a 16 raise by now. I really dont think you understand how big of an act that was towards you.Overall all though, sounds like you arent happy. If you simply cant come to terms with this, start looking at working somewhere else? I think your employer will be just as confused as I currently am, not understanding how going above and beyond, and giving you an unheard-of pay increase was essentially the straw that broke the camels back.Human: I see your point and I will definitely think on it. Honestly it might not be about the money, it might be more about not even having the discussion of my performance and the thought process behind the value of the pay raise. this entire post makes it sound like Im ungrateful, which Im not. I am totally lucky i have landed what i have and been able to keep it up for so long.  <response>: Who says you cant have the discussion still? No, dont say you didnt appreciate it. Say, I saw the salary adjustment on my last check, I wanted to say thank you, and I was hoping we could still sit down and have that conversation about my performance and goals that we can work on going forward, and set up your next raise. 