Customer complaint about a seam gap changed my whole method

About 6 months ago I had this customer in Portland who called me back 2 days after I finished her living room. She pointed to this seam that I thought looked fine, but she said she could feel it with her bare feet. I was defensive at first but then I actually knelt down and ran my hand over it. She was right, there was a tiny ridge I couldn't see but you could definitely feel. Now I always use a heavier duty seaming iron and I take the extra 5 minutes to double roll every seam with a hand roller instead of just the power stretcher. Has anyone else had a customer point out something that made you change a basic step?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerrobinson15d ago

chen.adam, you mentioned taking your shoes off and walking across it barefoot. That's actually a really smart move I never thought of. Did you start doing that every time now on every job, or just when a customer has a concern? Because I feel like my hands catch things my feet might not, but maybe the opposite is true too with some surfaces. Just curious how often you actually strip down to bare feet on an install. Seems like it would be a hassle but maybe worth it if it catches problems early.

chen.adam25d ago

Man, that's exactly how I learned to stop trusting my eyes on certain installs. Had a guy point out a tiny hump I swore wasn't there until I actually took my shoes off and walked across it barefoot.

davis.adam25d ago

Kneeling down and running your hand along the floor while looking at it from the side catches those tiny bumps every time. Your eyes play tricks on you when you're standing over it, but your palm won't lie about a subtle rise. I started doing that after missing a spot that was barely a quarter inch high but made a cabinet rock like a chair with a short leg.