Had a guy yell at me about pattern matching - changed my whole method

I was putting in some berber in a living room in Austin last month and the homeowner pointed out I wasn't matching the pattern across the seams. He was right and it looked terrible once I stepped back. Now I always lay out three rolls side by side and shift them until the repeat lines up before cutting anything. Anyone else deal with homeowners who actually know what they're looking at?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_coleman178d ago

Man that homeowner calling you out mid job is rough. Reminds me of the time a client watched me like a hawk and pointed out I was half an inch off on a seam in some patterned tile. I just laughed it off and said "guess I'm learning today." Now I triple check every pattern before I cut anything, even if it takes longer.

elliotw378d ago

Bring up that exact attitude in other parts of life and it works the same way... like when I started cooking and messed up a sauce, I just told my wife "looks like I'm learning to season better today." @christopher_coleman17 you got it right though. It's that whole thing where you turn being called out into a free lesson instead of getting defensive. Same with fixing my bike chain the first time, had a buddy point out my mistake and I just took the tip and moved on. Makes everything stick better when you own it like that.