AITA—paint edition

[Anonymous]

Having work done in my kitchen. We are several steps away from painting walls and trim—it probably won’t be happening for about a week. I was trying out paint colors and had some paint chips taped to a section of the wall. Yesterday I casually asked the contractor which color he liked and he told me. I took the other colors down and left his choice up while we were talking. Then I spent the ENTIRE day looking into paint colors and making a palette for the house. Did not choose the paint that the contractor liked. He shows up this morning and says he bought the paint—had it tinted and everything—in the color. He was a tiny bit condescending—like, “Remember? We talked about it?” He said, “You had the paint chip on the wall and took all the others off.” Like that was that. I held my ground and explained why that color wouldn’t work. He sort of jokingly begged. AITA for thinking he needs to eat the cost of the paint he bought? He might be able to use it somewhere, but honestly I don’t care.

[Anonymous]

To clarify—he bought the paint in the color he liked, not the color I eventually chose.

[Anonymous]

YTA you need to communicate better.

[Anonymous]

You both need to communicate better. Why did you take the other chips down? Why did the confirm with you?

But, I would just eat the cost of the paint rather than have a pissed off contractor. Paint is not that expensive and not worth the potential future costs. Think of it in terms of smart business decisions not about who is right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You both need to communicate better. Why did you take the other chips down? Why did the confirm with you?

But, I would just eat the cost of the paint rather than have a pissed off contractor. Paint is not that expensive and not worth the potential future costs. Think of it in terms of smart business decisions not about who is right.

+1

[Anonymous]

You need to communicate better. He wants speed and to get the job done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You both need to communicate better. Why did you take the other chips down? Why did the confirm with you?

But, I would just eat the cost of the paint rather than have a pissed off contractor. Paint is not that expensive and not worth the potential future costs. Think of it in terms of smart business decisions not about who is right.

Agree. Eat the cost of the paint to preserve relations.

You are likely a woman (like me) talking to a man. They are pretty simple creatures. I can see why he thought you chose. You shouldn't have asked his opinion. Only yours matters.

[Anonymous]

YNTA.
It was presumptuous of him to assume and buy the paint without confirming.

[Anonymous]

You both sound perfect for a business arrangement /s

[Anonymous]

He’s wrong, but you need to make a strategic decision about whether or not this is the right hill to die on. You don’t have to take the blame to decide to cover the paint.

You can donate the paint maybe to community forklift or somewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You both need to communicate better. Why did you take the other chips down? Why did the confirm with you?

But, I would just eat the cost of the paint rather than have a pissed off contractor. Paint is not that expensive and not worth the potential future costs. Think of it in terms of smart business decisions not about who is right.

I also agree with this.

[Anonymous]

To be clear— he has not put it on the walls. Perhaps we’re both at fault but I honestly would never in a million years have thought I’d need to say, “By the way don’t go out and purchase this non-returnable item we’ve just had a 30 second casual conversation about and don’t need for a week.” But I definitely should not have left the paint chip on the wall to confuse things. If he brings up the cost I will suggest we split it. Realistically he’ll get his money back by overcharging me for something else.

I feel like my life with this contractor is all about preserving the relationship and I hate it. On his last job I caught him charging my $550 for something that cost $70, and I know it cost $70 because I bought it. He was trying to way overcharge me for an item he hadn’t even supplied, and I had to just be like, “Ooops—I think there might be a little mistake here.” Yet even with that, and many other problems he’s the best guy my friends and I have found.

[Anonymous]

You both needed to communicate better but I would eat the cost of the paint.

It was an incorrect assumption on his part but you definitely implied you had made the choice. Especially when you took all of the other colors down.

[Anonymous]

This is par for course with many contractors. We had a significant amount of work done last year by the same guy and towards the end he tried to behave like he was the client and we needed to follow his orders. I was so relieved to be done with him.

[Anonymous]

Pay for the paint. Maybe you can resell it.