Did they actually say it with a straight face, or were they trying to be funny? I gotta know if they really think a sandwich and a brand identity are the same thing.

Oh I hear you on this! I had a similar turnaround when I needed to explain a complicated spreadsheet to my client and a quick 3 minute walkthrough saved me from typing five emails back and forth. Now I use them for anything that would take more than a paragraph to explain in writing.

Doesn't it seem like this same pattern shows up in almost every area of life, @troyc17? I see it all the time with gardening advice - one expert swears by coffee grounds for tomatoes, another says it'll ruin them. Or with parenting books, where one says to let them cry it out and another says never to. It's like everyone's so convinced their way is the only way, but really it's just what worked for them in their specific situation.

Portland client did the exact same thing to me last month after 35 hours of work.

That exact move saved me $4,200 in staging costs last year when a buyer backed out two days before closing. @karenc20 is right, get those pre-approval letters upfront and ask for proof of funds from cash buyers too. I started making buyers show me the actual lender email with income verification before I'd even unlock the door for a showing. Had one couple who looked solid on paper but their pre-approval letter was from a fly-by-night online lender that didn't even answer the phone when I called later. The lender paperwork saved me from wasting three weekends on open houses for them.