Customer yelled at me for leaving a slack loop and I still think she was wrong

Lady in Oak Park last month went ballistic because I left a 12 inch service loop behind her modem. Said it looked unprofessional. I get it, some people want it clean. But I've been doing this 8 years and I've had to come back to too many jobs where the next guy has zero slack to work with. She made me cut it off and it bugged me the whole drive home. Anyone else deal with customers who don't understand why we leave slack?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_anthony15d ago

Devil's advocate here. The customer is paying for a finished look, not for the next tech's convenience. Leaving 12 inches of extra cable flopping around behind her modem in her living room is your choice, not hers. She's looking at that every single day, and it's her space, not yours. You're thinking about your next return visit, but she's thinking about how her house looks right now. Maybe figure out a way to hide the slack better or coil it neatly, because "the next guy might need it" isn't her problem.

the_emma15d ago

12 inches IS way too much to leave loose, @the_anthony. I take a piece of velcro and coil it tight against the wall, or tuck it behind the baseboard if there's room. Makes it neat but still workable for later.