A few weeks ago, I build a set of white oak stock racks for a lady in our church which I stained cherry and put a spar finish on.  They turned out well and matched the truck to a "T".  Her brother saw the racks and decided that he also needed a set and wanted them painted black.  Couldn't believe my ears but I took the job.  Here's the before and after so I have to ask, "Is the customer always right?"

 

 

 

 

 

No accounting for taste....

Black is a nice color.

I seriously considered dying them and putting a clear coat on them.

I sincerely believe the customer is always right...that's one reason I don't do anything like this for others.

I like the black Ron. In this case I'd say he's right. This could have gone either way, I would have left them natural, but I have seen painted stake bed sides like this on trucks and they look cool. Oak is a utility lumber so that makes sense. Now if the customer had wanted to do the stakes with walnut, then paint them black, I would have asked them to consider a different species, if they insisted on Walnut, or curly Maple, then they would have been wrong. But in this case, I'd have to say, yep, he was right.

Seems like a waste of nice Oak to me.

Their always right to the point if they like and and are paying it for it they can have what they want. 

 

Not what I would do if ask, but I have done many things the way they wanted it.

Ron, I sincerely believe that if one takes on a job and is paid by someone to do that job, we have to conform to that job.  Agreed, I don't like painting such beautiful wood, BUT..............................

 

I end up spending more time talking with a prospective customer about the job than writing the job on paper.

It's about serving the customer. If the customer wants it black, then black it is.

You can, however show the customer some samples of black stained vs black painted oak and let the customer choose.

 

In the end, you're making it for the customer, not for you.

"Is the customer always right?"

No, but he's always the customer!!

Paint 'em Orange if that's what he wants. If it hurts you, rub the money on the wound

"Is the customer always right?"

No, but he's always the customer!!

Paint 'em Orange if that's what he wants. If it hurts you, rub the money on the wound

I'll have to remember that one Fred! 

YOU MIGHT HAVE TALKED HIM INTO IPE.

Sure, the customer wants what the customer wants. In this case I would have suggested poplar instead of white oak or red oak at the very least. But again, if they understand the price difference and the utility of their choices, make what they want.

Sure, the customer wants what the customer wants. In this case I would have suggested poplar instead of white oak or red oak at the very least. But again, if they understand the price difference and the utility of their choices, make what they want.

Great points Mike, and great to see you back here!

Speaking from experience with the stake-sides, oak is the material of choice, I think Poplar may be a tad too soft for that purpose. Stake-sides came with oak just up until the last decade, now stake-sides are aluminum, but not too long ago the truck companies were shipping them with oak, and they were mainly painted black.

So, how ya been Mike! What have you been up to these days?

Got the final low down from Ron during our visit with him.  Found out he finally spay-painted those boards as per the customer request.  The spray painting was done in his shop with everything well covered - except the area underneath his planer stand ! ! !  He still wonders how all that black spray paint got UNDER the stand.

 

BUT, his customer was extremely happy and that is what counts.

 

Right, Ron?

but about that saying: No the customer is no more consistently right than  - - - well  - - - no more than they can be given their knowledge about the thing.

 

Take my business.  The client always thinks they know the law.   They never do but you can't tell 'em cos they heard it from a cousin or it just makes sense to them or some other utterly unhelpful reason. But as a general proposition,  they haven't a clue.

 

Worse they think that the law is something they can say in a sentence or understand with little or now training and education.  And you can't tell 'em any  different.

 

I used to get clients who'd  leave an evidence trail a mile wide, sign two confessions and then threaten to murder and burn me  and my family in my sleep if I didn't find them that "Technicality" their buddies swear  exists and get them off.   Technicality?  Yah I'll find that technicality, some time after your 40 year sentence is up and fully served.

 

Yah sure  stop at a stop sign; wheels still - - but that's never the kind of law they end up hiring lawyers to deal with.

 

I love those weekend warriors who think they can put in a sub panel and  think bonding is something you do with your dog with a frizbee

They go to the BORG and purchase  a whole lot of  the wrong stuff. 

 

No the customer is not always right.  All to often they are dopes.  The trick is steering them right without having to let them know what  dopes they are.

 

Yes Mr Jones,  that is out the law outta work out.  Lets hope the Judge knows it as well as you do.

but about that saying: No the customer is no more consistently right than  - - - well  - - - no more than they can be given their knowledge about the thing.

 

Take my business.  The client always thinks they know the law.   They never do but you can't tell 'em cos they heard it from a cousin or it just makes sense to them or some other utterly unhelpful reason. But as a general proposition,  they haven't a clue.

 

Worse they think that the law is something they can say in a sentence or understand with little or now training and education.  And you can't tell 'em any  different.

 

I used to get clients who'd  leave an evidence trail a mile wide, sign two confessions and then threaten to murder and burn me  and my family in my sleep if I didn't find them that "Technicality" their buddies swear  exists and get them off.   Technicality?  Yah I'll find that technicality, some time after your 40 year sentence is up and fully served.

 

Yah sure  stop at a stop sign; wheels still - - but that's never the kind of law they end up hiring lawyers to deal with.

 

I love those weekend warriors who think they can put in a sub panel and  think bonding is something you do with your dog with a frizbee

They go to the BORG and purchase  a whole lot of  the wrong stuff. 

 

No the customer is not always right.  All to often they are dopes.  The trick is steering them right without having to let them know what  dopes they are.

 

Yes Mr Jones,  that is out the law outta work out.  Lets hope the Judge knows it as well as you do.

I'll tell ya what Cliff, what is that ol saying, "A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client" really holds true in the main professions I feel, such as law, medicine, engineering and etc.

Something as complicated as law, and the many specialty areas law has is completely insane and a person who wants to represent themselves in any of the many areas of law has to be insane as well. Ya I know, there are the anecdotal stories of that local town hero who successfully represented him/her self against the big bad government and other stories as such, but those are far and few in between.

Law boggles my mind, I have had the privilege of sitting in on some discussions between some older genius land surveyors who in their own right are a sort of pseudo lawyer for land but not, kind of murky actually, but to hear these guys talk about land law, and how the rights materialized for landowners by a chain of title and custody and senior rights and discussing case law from the colonial days that pertains to our land laws of today, and it was a really fun thing to sit in on and just listen.

I also enjoy watching interviews with the members of the Supreme Court, the justices and the way their mind processes and in turn opens up roads of thought I would have never traveled down if I had never watched them on television. I sat through an hour interview with Antonin Scalia and the debate he had with Steven Breyer, it was not a face to face debate, it was one of those cut away double interviews where the justices where interviewed in their own offices and asked to present their views on their belief of a living, breathing Constitution or is our Constitution more of a static document, if I am getting my language correct here. Scalia was more of a static guy, while Breyer was a changing living breathing Constitutional guy, the views were amazing from both.

My daughter wants to be a Lawyer Cliff, sometimes I don't know whether to congratulate her on her choice of career or have our priest read her her last rights! I am proud of her choice though, also knowing she could change her mind with the wind, being 17 years old and all and sometimes by the time these kids get to college and start studying law, or anything for that matter, they change their mind in the first semester. She loves politics, and wants to make a change at D.C., hmmmm, law seems to be the path most of our legislatures take.

 

If you have the time to answer this question Cliff, how did you become interested in law, and what area did you choose to practice in? By reading your comments above I am guessing it was criminal? Sorry for hijacking this topic and turning it into a law discussion, but hey, this is fun!

 

I love those weekend warriors who think they can put in a sub panel and  think bonding is something you do with your dog with a frizbee.

 

 

How about the weekend warrior that puts in their own meter socket & mast, main panel, 3 sub panels, generator panel, & wiring, then passes the first inspection?

How about the weekend warrior that puts in their own meter socket & mast, main panel, 3 sub panels, generator panel, & wiring, then passes the first inspection?

 

 

I'd say you done good!