Shop owner's feedback on my trim joints made me slow down, way down

I do cabinet trim work on the side, mostly kitchens. Last month a shop owner in Portland looked at my miter joints on a job and just said "you're rushing these, they look like it." Straight up called me out. He pointed at this tiny gap on one corner, showed me his own piece, then showed me how he cuts 4 extra test pieces before the real ones. I used to bang through trim in half a day. Now I spend 45 minutes just setting up and test cutting. First job after that took me 3 hours longer but the client noticed the corners before I even packed up. Has anyone else had a boss or shop owner hit them with feedback that felt harsh but was actually the push you needed?

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river_rivera452mo ago

Maybe it's just me, but spending 45 minutes on setup sounds like overkill for side work that still needs to turn a profit. That feedback was fair about the gaps, sure, but the fix could be slowing down on the actual cuts, not adding a whole ritual. I'd rather see you keep your speed and just check each joint twice before glue, that's the real lesson here.

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