Got chewed out by a homeowner 8 years ago and it totally changed my cutting technique

Ngl, I used to do all my door undercuts with a regular jigsaw and just eyeball it. Well, a lady in Denver caught me when I was maybe 3 years into the trade and made me stop mid-job. She said my cuts looked like a beaver did them and told me to get a proper door jamb saw. Honestly, I was mad at first but she was right. Bought a Zircon tool that same week and now I never freehand door frames anymore. Has anyone else had a customer call them out on something that actually made you better?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_zara15d ago

Yeah the "looked like a beaver did them" part got me. I used to be one of those guys who thought a jigsaw was good enough for everything, you know? Like if you had a steady hand and didn't rush, it was fine. But then I had a homeowner point out a spot where my cut was wavy near the hinge side and I starting actually looking at my own work and cringing. It's weird how one person calling you out can make you realize you've been doing something wrong for years and never even noticed.

reesemoore15d ago

Hold on, are we acting like a slightly wavy cut on a hinge side is the end of the world? I've seen homeowners freak out over stuff that you literally can't see unless you're on your hands and knees with a magnifying glass. If the door opens and closes fine and the gap is even, I'm moving on to the next thing. I get wanting to be better, but there's a difference between a real problem and just beating yourself up over something only you would notice.