Originally Posted by
HMBAtrail
Reasonable people can disagree on this and I do wholeheartedly agree with you that customer knowledge is important. My concern is what happens if you the customer's opinion on optimal tubing selection differs from the builder. There are no cut and dry 100% correct answers to these situations.
Builder: "I am going to use XYZ tube for your DT."
Customer: "I have been doing some research on Internet message boards and I think you should use tube ABC instead."
My opinion is that the correct response from the builder is, "Appreciate your due diligence but in your case I believe tube XYZ is a better solution. If you really want to dig your heels in on the tube choice feel free to contact one of the many builders out there that would happily accept your deposit."
Now, if the builder doesn't have an opinion on tubing selection or, even worse, asks the customer for their suggestions on tubing selection, seek another builder.
A much better approach would be for the builder to take a little time and explain some of the different mechanical properties of the materials in question and explain how the stiffness is affected by wall thickness, etc. Explain to the customer why your tubing choice is better in a way they can understand and then you can win the customer over to your way of thinking. Telling the customer to go elsewhere if they question you is a great way to go out of business.