Customer in Dayton let me have it over a crooked gate hinge last spring

Guy named Mike spent 20 minutes showing me how a 1/4 inch gap at the top throws off the whole gate latch. He had me adjust each hinge one turn at a time with a socket wrench right there in his yard. Said he learned it from his dad who built fences for 40 years. Has anyone else run into customers who school you on something basic but dead useful?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_barnes13d ago

Respect the know-how, but I see it a little different. That guy Mike sounds like a good customer who wanted things done right, not someone trying to put you down. Most folks who take the time to show you a trick like that are just proud of what they know, not trying to make you feel small. I think there's a big difference between someone schooling you and someone sharing something they learned. If he was polite about it and let you do the work, that's just a customer who cares about his gate and respects your time.

sean78213d ago

Man that's a good point actually. I used to get all defensive when a customer would start explaining something to me, like they were telling me how to do my job. But a couple years ago this old guy showed me how to fix a sagging wooden gate by loosening the top hinge and using a shim behind the bottom hinge plate. I was about to just replace the whole thing and he saved me an hour of work. Totally changed how I look at that stuff now. You ever had someone show you a trick that turned out to be way better than your usual method?

terryk1013d ago

My buddy Jake had a plumber's apprentice show him once how to unclog a stubborn kitchen sink drain by using a shop vac to pull the blockage out instead of snaking it. Said it saved him from having to cut into the pipe under the cabinet and made the job like ten minutes instead of an hour. Never would have thought of it myself but now that's his go-to move for certain clogs.