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Worst day of my career happened in a brand new house in Phoenix

I was installing carpet in a 5 bedroom new build and the homeowner kept coming in to check on me every 20 minutes. On my last stretch I sliced the pad with my power stretcher and it ripped a 4 foot gash right down the middle of the room. Has anyone else had a customer literally watch over their shoulder all day?
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3 Comments
iris_schmidt
That homeowner sounds like my aunt when she babysits her cat. The cat just sits in the corner staring at her, judging her whole life. At least you got a story out of it though.
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williamw75
williamw752d agoTop Commenter
@sean_barnes24 nah, I want my customers to leave me alone, not "feel included.
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sean_barnes24
Man, that's brutal. Had a similar thing happen with a kitchen remodel where the guy literally pulled up a folding chair and watched me tile his backsplash for four hours straight. What worked for me was just giving him a little heads up before I did anything that could go wrong. I'd say something like "Alright, I'm about to cut the tricky part around the window, might get a bit messy." It made him feel included without having to actually watch every move I made. After a couple times he backed off a bit and let me work. Sometimes they just need to feel like they're in the loop, you know? Maybe try that next time if you're stuck with a hoverer.
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