Originally Posted by joejack951

Shimano has made several shifters designed for use with either double or triple cranksets. Their recommendation has been to use the first two positions when used with a double. However, this leaves the shifter vulnerable to being overshifted and damaged should someone forget that they were in their big ring and push the shifter too (reference all of the 105 10 speed left shifter failures). IME, you can set it up either way, using the first or last two shifter positions. With 10 speed shifters, it's irrelevant; you have a trim position for each of the three main positions. With 9 speed shifters below Dura Ace level, you only have trim positions for the first two main positions so using them provides more flexibility.

It sounds like the OP's mechanic set his double up using the last two positions and he is shifting down further than necessary to get into the small ring. Switching to using the first two positions is an easy task if you know how to set up a FD. That would eliminate the problem but require some vigilance with not overshifting.