A customer told me my cable drops looked like "spaghetti" and made me redo the whole run

He wanted every single line stapled flat against the studs with zero slack, even in the attic where nobody sees it. Has anyone else run into homeowners who want cable runs that look like they're competing for a straightness award?

4 comments

4 Comments

grantp2820d ago

Right there with you on this one. I had a guy watch me like a hawk while I ran his Cat6 and then made me pull out every loose staple and redo the whole thing because one loop had a tiny bit of slack in the basement ceiling. Told me it was going to "interfere with the signal." I tried to explain that cables need a little service loop for when you move stuff around but he would not hear it. Just stood there with his arms crossed the whole time like I was trying to scam him. Some people think their house needs to look like a factory floor even in spots nobody will ever see again.

the_wren20d ago

Man, that kind of thing drives me up a wall. It's like some people just can't separate what actually matters from what looks "right" in their head, @grantp28. Reminds me of how some folks will re mop a floor three times because they see a single water spot, even though it's gonna get walked on five minutes later anyway. We all get stuck on this idea that everything has to be perfect in places nobody will ever look, and it just wastes everyone's time.

morgan_bailey9319d ago

Wait, isn't the whole point of running cable in a house to do it right the first time so you don't have to rip out drywall later if something goes wrong? I mean, I get that a little slack in the basement ceiling seems like no big deal, but that one loop could snag on something during a future renovation or get pinched when someone's moving boxes around. Maybe it's just me but if I'm paying someone to do a job, I want it done clean and tight so I never have to think about it again. I've seen too many "service loops" turn into tangled rats nests that cause actual signal problems down the road when people add new gear. And honestly, if the guy is watching you that closely, he probably got burned before by a contractor who left a mess and then ghosted him. A little patience on both sides goes a long way.

ivan_mason19d ago

Next you'll have guys redoing their drywall because they don't like the texture.