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Had a customer in a new build who insisted on running all the alarm wire himself before I got there
This was last month in a big subdivision going up on the west side of town. Guy was super proud, said he saved a bunch of money and ran the 22/4 for all the doors and windows himself. When I opened the panel, my heart sank. He used the wrong gauge, didn't label a single wire, and had everything twisted together in a giant bundle. I had to spend two extra hours just tracing and re-terminating. He watched me the whole time and finally said, 'I guess there's more to it than just pushing wire through a hole, huh?' I just nodded. It was a good lesson for him, but it threw my whole day off. Ever have a homeowner try to do the 'easy' part of your prep work and just make a huge mess for you to fix?
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wyatt8517mo ago
Got a guy who ran his own speaker wire once. It was all stapled right through the jacket, had to replace like half of it.
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phoenixp657mo ago
Man, the real cost there is the lost time you can't bill for. That guy paid for a clean install but bought himself a two hour detective fee instead. It's like what happened to @wyatt851, where the fix took longer than the actual job. The worst part is they never seem to factor in the sheer frustration of untangling a puzzle they created.
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torres.leo6mo ago
But isn't that detective work just part of the job sometimes? I kinda enjoy figuring out those weird puzzles, makes the day more interesting.
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