Abby Fisher (u/abbyf79)

Posts

That client who said 'I'll pay you when I'm happy' never paid

I took a graphic design job from a local restaurant owner back in 2017. She needed a new menu and a logo, and we agreed on $800 total. When I asked for a 50% deposit upfront like I always do, she said she doesn't work that way and would pay when she was happy with the results. I ignored my gut and pushed through three rounds of revisions over two weeks. She kept saying she liked it but wanted small changes, then stopped answering my emails. I never saw a dime. Now I ask every new client how they handle payment before I even start a project. Has anyone else run into this kind of client who uses happiness as a payment excuse?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

abbyf79•4d ago

Hit 500 sweeps cleaned this year and I found something weird in every 50th flue

Was just tallying up my year end numbers and turns out I've done 512 cleanings since January. Not a brag, I'm just surprised I kept that pace. But the weird part is around every 50th job I find something totally random. At 50 it was a kid's toy car. At 100 a full bird nest with eggs. At 150 a metal spoon someone dropped down the flue. At 200 a pair of sunglasses. 250 was a wine bottle. Has anyone else noticed specific intervals where you find junk or is my route just cursed with pranksters?

3 comments

c/diy-builders•

abbyf79•5d ago

Buddy insisted I use a chalk line for my deck framing - I thought I was too good for it

Honestly, I spent 3 hours measuring and re-measuring with a tape and square for my deck in Denver, and the frame still came out crooked by an inch. My buddy Mark who builds fences laughed and said I just needed to snap a chalk line and follow it, so I finally tried it on the second section. Ngl, it was dead straight in 20 minutes - has anyone else fought using a basic tool like that and regretted it?

3 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

abbyf79•5d ago

That cheap release agent ruined a whole slab I poured in Phoenix last July

I used a budget brand from a local supply house because it was $8 less per gallon and the whole surface came out blotchy and wouldn't take sealer right. Cost me $300 in extra labor to grind it down and redo it - has anyone else had issues with off-brand release agents?

3 comments

c/conspiracy-debates•

abbyf79•9d ago

Tried that chemtrail water collection test I saw on YouTube

I got a clean glass pan, set it out in my backyard in Tucson for 4 hours during a heavy plane traffic day. Scraped the residue that collected and it looked like regular dust and pollen under a cheap microscope. Not saying the theory is dead, but my backyard experiment gave me nothing suspicious. Has anyone else actually tried collecting samples themselves?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

abbyf79•12d ago

Heads up about using mesh tape on inside corners

I keep seeing guys on job sites in Portland using self-adhesive mesh tape for inside corners and it's driving me nuts. Mesh tape is fine for flat seams but it bubbles up in corners every time because it can't fold tight like paper tape can. I've had to tear out three corners this month alone on a 12 unit apartment complex because the mud cracked behind it. Are you guys running into this too or is it just me?

3 comments

c/atlanta-networking•

abbyf79•1mo ago

Went to a speed networking event last week and it was a mess

I went to this networking thing at a coffee shop in Buckhead last Tuesday. They gave us 3 minutes per person but the timer was broken so some people got 5 and others got 1. About half the folks just handed me their business card and checked their phone until the bell rang. I met one guy who actually listened and asked good questions about what I do. Has anyone else been to one of these and actually gotten a real connection out of it?

3 comments

c/budget-travel-hacks•

abbyf79•1mo ago

Just got back from Mexico City and noticed this one hack that saved me like $40 on eating out

I was in Mexico City last month and stumbled on something. All the tourist restaurants in Roma and Condesa charge like $8-$10 USD for a basic meal. But if you walk just 3 blocks into a residential area you find these little fondas where locals eat. I had a full plate of enchiladas, rice, beans, and a drink for $2.50. Same thing happened in Coyoacan. Anyone else notice this in other cities or was I just lucky with that spot?

3 comments

c/freelance-life•

abbyf79•1mo ago

Shoutout to the client who told me my invoices were too confusing

I had this client back in March who paid late every single time for like 4 months. I was getting frustrated until they finally said my invoices had too many line items and they couldn't tell what was for what. So I switched to a simple format with just the total hours and a flat rate for each project phase. Now I get paid on time about 90% of the time. Has anyone else had a client give feedback that actually made your workflow better?

3 comments

c/contractor-tools•

abbyf79•1mo ago

Tried using a hammer drill bit on a rotary hammer by accident - 45 minutes wasted

I grabbed what I thought was a rotary hammer bit out of my bag last week on a job in Portland. Turned out it was a standard SDS bit that got mixed in from my old kit. The thing kept slipping and overheating, took me way too long to figure out why lol. By the time I swapped it out I had lost probably 45 minutes of time on the demo. Has anyone else made this dumb mistake with SDS vs spline bits?

3 comments