Wanted to tell a friend his new kitchen floor was laid wrong

My buddy Mike just redid his kitchen with these nice wide-plank hickory boards. I walked in and immediately saw two rows that weren't staggered properly, maybe a 6 foot gap where they lined up. I bit my tongue so hard because he was so proud of doing it himself over 3 weekends. Has anyone else had to pretend not to notice a clear mistake in someone's home project just to keep the peace?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_thomas15d ago

Did you say anything about the gap or just pretend it looked great?

eric_murray2615d ago

Wait, you think honesty is always the right call here? Because I've seen plenty of situations where telling someone their groom looks off just makes them defensive and ruins the whole mood. @parker_thomas, sometimes people just want to hear that their dog looks good and move on with their day. If they notice the gap themselves and ask about it, then yeah sure you go into detail. But volunteering criticism out of nowhere? That's just bad social skills. Most customers can't even see the little things we notice anyway. So playing dumb about it keeps everyone happier in the long run.

ryanh5614d ago

Most customers can't even see the little things we notice anyway." That's exactly it. People are walking around with blinders on half the time. It's not just grooming either. I see it everywhere now. Someone will have a stain on their shirt or their zipper is down and nobody says a word because they don't want to be "that guy." But then later that person finds out on their own and feels embarrassed nobody told them. So you're basically choosing between a small awkward moment now or a bigger awkward moment later. I'd rather be the guy who points out the small stuff and moves on. If they get defensive that's on them not me.