Had a customer call me out on using too much foam tape - changed my whole approach

I used to go heavy on foam tape for any fridge door seal job. Figured more was better, right? Then a guy in Denver who used to build walk-in coolers watched me work and said "you're making the door fight itself with all that tape." He showed me how the door was bowing out at the corners because of the extra thickness. I trimmed it down to just enough to seal without any squeeze-out. Now I leave a 1/8 inch gap at the corners and the doors close smooth. Cut my callback rate on those jobs by about half over the last 6 months. Anyone else ever get schooled by a customer on something you thought you had dialed?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_perez1mo agoTop Commenter

Got taught a similar lesson but with drywall mud. Had a homeowner watch me feather out joints and asked why I was making it so wide. Told him that's how you avoid seams showing. He just pointed at a spot where I'd already sanded and said "that's not a seam, that's a speed bump." Turns out I was building up too much mud trying to hide everything. Now I do a thinner first coat and let the tape do its job. Customer was a retired plasterer from the old school. He watched me mud the whole room and gave me maybe four tips total but every single one made my work better. Still think about that guy whenever I grab my taping knives.

lucas1651mo ago

I totally get the "speed bump" thing. I had a similar moment with a painter who watched me cut in a ceiling line and told me I was "painting the wall, not the ceiling." I was so focused on getting a straight line that I was laying it on thick and creating a ridge. He had me step back and see how the extra paint was actually making the line more visible, not less. It finally clicked that less really is more with that stuff. Now I do a lighter touch on the first pass and trust that the second coat will even it out. Those old timers really do know their stuff, man. They've seen every shortcut and mistake before.