That homeowner who asked me to dig post holes by hand instead of using my auger

Job out in Springfield last month. Lady insisted I use a manual post hole digger because she was worried about underground pipes. I told her my auger has a depth stop and I've got a utility locate ticket. She didn't budge. Took me 3 hours to dig 6 holes in clay soil. My back was wrecked for two days. Has anyone else had a customer micromanage your tools like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretj404d ago

Old neighbor of mine had a customer refuse to let him use a pressure washer on a deck... insisted he hand scrub the whole thing with a scrub brush. Took him all day and his hands were raw for a week. @hill.david you're spot on about them wanting to feel involved, but it's rough when they won't let pros do their job.

morgan5124d ago

Yeah, and then they watch you struggle and go "see, that's how it's done" like you're the one who insisted on the butter knife! I had a guy once make me use a putty knife to scrape paint off his window frames 'cause he saw a video of some guy doing it with a credit card. My hand was cramping by lunch and the paint was still everywhere. I wanted to just say "I don't think your credit card trick is gonna work here, Mike," but instead I smiled and kept scraping. Sometimes I wonder if they just wanna feel like they're in charge, even if it means we look like fools.

hill.david4d ago

Man, I once had a guy ask me to caulk his bathtub with a butter knife because he "didn't trust the caulk gun to not make a mess." Said he saw it on a YouTube DIY video. It's like, buddy, I've been doing this since before you had internet. I spent 45 minutes trying to get a clean bead with a butter knife while he watched over my shoulder. It looked terrible and we both knew it. Finally I just said "look, let me use my gun or you can call someone else." He caved. Sometimes I think customers just want to feel like they're part of the process, you know? Except when it costs me two days of ibuprofen and back stretches.