I’m doing a bathroom remodel for a customer and after being finished with the demolition I posted before and after pictures in a group chat with a couple of friends. But WhatsApp flipped the order, so it looked like I had started with an empty room and “remodeled” it into a disgusting, moldy 1980s bathroom - cracked tiles, yellowed sink, ancient toilet, the works.
And one of my friends actually replied with, “Looks great, good job!”
It annoyed me more than it probably should have, but it really did. The picture obviously looked awful. I can only assume he didn’t even look properly before commenting, just fired off a reflexive “nice work” because that’s what people think they’re supposed to do when someone shares something.
I’ve told these guys before: if you have nothing to say, don’t say anything. I’d rather get silence than meaningless approval. I value honesty and attention to detail in what I do, and I expect my friends to show at least a bit of the same when responding. A true friend should hold you to a higher standard, not just dish out empty praise for the sake of being polite.
If someone can look at something that obviously bad and still say “good job,” then their stamp of approval becomes completely worthless to me.
At this point, I don’t even know why I keep sharing things in that chat. I seem to care about authenticity and effort way more than they do, and I keep ending up feeling stupid for expecting more.
Are you sure he didn’t already know the order was flipped? This is fairly common for before/after photos to get flipped, but still obvious which picture is actually the “before”.
Maybe your friend knew you made the mistake and was truly trying to congratulate you. A lot is lost in text, and it seems like you already had a chip on your shoulder from the reaction. Reach out to the person individually and have a talk, it might clear things up. I hope your day gets better.
Maybe they thought you made it ugly on purpose for Halloween and did a good job. 🤷♂️
Also: The order you see messages get sent is not always the order they are received.
Maybe it was sarcasm?
He acknowledged the error when I pointed it out. Not the first time something like this has happened.
maybe you’re better off posting your work on reno boards or groups. Also just add “before” and “after” watermarks on the pics, for the busy and slow readers. It is about branding isn’t it.
I agree - and not just with work-related stuff, but pretty much everything else I share there too. I just don’t have many mutual interests with these guys anymore. They live in a big city, work office jobs, and mostly talk about video games, sports, and that kind of thing. I work with my hands, own a house in a smaller town, spend a lot of time outdoors, and enjoy discussing deeper, more esoteric topics. At this point, it’s pretty clear they’re not interested in what I do, and I’m not particularly interested in what they do either. I just end up regretting even trying to engage with them that way. It’s nobody’s fault, really - we’ve just grown apart.
