With apologies to John McEnroe - You can't be serious! Am I on Candid Camera?

A two bit raise is insulting. It's worse than no raise at all. If he's not worth a decent raise, then fire him and find someone who is enthusiastic about learning the trade. But first ask yourself this: Did you spend time in training him about the trade, giving him direction and motivation? Does he have a career with you, or just a job?

If he's lazy, never shows up on time, and is constantly on the internet, whose fault is it? Are you leading by example, or are you a "do what I say, not what I do" manager?

If, indeed, he is a rotten apple in the barrel, you should have thrown him out long before this. 96.9% of new hires will show their true colors within the first 90 days. He's been with you twice that long.

If good help in Cincy is hard to find, then at least as long as he can do the job, put him on piece work and sit down with him and clarify your expectations of his job performance - in writing. Let him know what he can expect if he performs well, - i.e. better compensation and recognition, and what he can expect if he does not perform up to your standards -i .e. unemployment line.

As far as compensation goes, I don't know what Cincinnati wages are like, but you can find out by going on the internet, doing a search for compensation, and finding jobs that match, along with market rates.

Good luck.