PSA: A client in Tacoma made me rewire their entire office because they didn't like the color of the ethernet cables.

Last week I finished a clean install at a small law firm, everything tested perfect. The owner walks in, points at the blue Cat6 runs along the wall, and says 'I wanted gray to match the trim.' I had to pull and replace over 300 feet of cable, which took a full day. Has anyone else had a job completely derailed by an aesthetic choice after the tech work was done?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_walker5719d ago

Oh man, that's brutal. Did they at least agree to pay for the extra day of labor and all the new cable? (I mean, I hope you charged them a ton for that change order.) It's wild how some clients don't mention the one thing they actually care about until after you're done.

alice_singh6619d ago

Wait, they made you rewire the whole office just for the cable color? That's insane. I'm with nora_walker57, you better have charged them a huge change fee for that full day of extra work. In my experience, clients who care that much about looks usually say something before you start pulling cable.

lunar2118d ago

Honestly, I used to think change fees were just a cash grab. But after a client made us swap out 500 feet of gray cable for white, I get it now. That kind of rework eats up a whole crew's day for free if you don't charge.