That one customer who wanted me to fix rust with duct tape

Honestly, I still think about this guy who came into my shop in Detroit about 8 months ago. He had this old Chevy pickup with a hole in the quarter panel the size of a dinner plate, and he wanted me to just patch it with duct tape and spray paint over it. I told him that wouldn't hold and it'd rust out worse in a month. He got real mad, said I was just trying to upsell him on a $600 panel replacement. I ended up turning the job down because I didn't want my name on that hack job. Has anyone else had a customer ask for something that was just a liability waiting to happen?

2 comments

2 Comments

zara5721mo ago

72 year old Larry from down the street tried to get me to duct tape his muffler last winter because he saw it on some DIY youtube video. I told him he'd be better off burning his cash in a trash can because at least that gives you heat for 30 seconds. Now he asks me to check his oil every month and I charge him double just for the convenience fee.

wyatt_green311mo ago

Wait @zara572, is that duct tape repair still holding up? I mean idk, maybe it's just me but youtube tutorials are like a box of chocolates for old dudes - you never know if you're gonna get a life hack or a fire hazard. Larry sounds like he's got more trust in tape than most people have in their own insurance policies. At least you're making that convenience fee pay for his next questionable DIY project.