That Tuesday in Santa Fe where everything went wrong and then I got a bonus check

Had a job in Santa Fe where I stretched a 12ft seam wrong and had to rip out 40 yards of carpet on a Friday afternoon. Customer walked in as I was cutting it up and just said "don't worry, my last guy did worse" and tipped me $200. Has anyone else had a customer save your bacon like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_kelly91mo ago

Hell yeah, I've seen that happen before. A buddy of mine was doing a bathroom remodel and accidentally punched a hole through the drywall with his knee. The homeowner walked in right as he was panicking, and instead of getting mad, the guy just laughed and said he was planning to redo the drywall anyway. Told my buddy to take his time and finished up with a $150 bonus. Some people are just built different.

spencer7821mo ago

You said the customer walked in as you were cutting it up, but I think you probably mean they walked in after you already started cutting it, right? That's a big difference, because if they saw you actively destroying the carpet they'd probably stop you. I've had a few jobs where I messed something up and the homeowner walked in at just the wrong time, and let me tell you it's never a good feeling. That $200 tip you got was pure luck, but the real takeaway is that you shouldn't be ripping stuff out until you're sure there's no way to save it. Next time, call the customer before you start cutting, even if it's just to say "hey, I ran into a problem." It saves everybody a headache...

angela_harris1mo ago

Ngl, "it saves everybody a headache" is the real lesson here. A quick text or call beats fixing a mess afterward every time.