Some years back, I was installing cabinets for a client when they asked me if I could run some extra crown molding.

There was crown on the tops of the upper and tall floor-to-ceiling cabinets so we were going to be running crown anyway. I thought the guy was talking about a couple of pieces when I said, "sure," but then he pointed to a huge stack of oak crown and indicated that he wanted crown in every room of the house.

The shocking part was he thought I would "just throw it in.” I mean this was a week’s work for two guys and only if the two guys knew how to run crown. When I pointed this out, the guy said, "It's not that much. Should be no problem for a man like you.”

Yes, he actually said that. I have always understood the concept of the baker's dozen and the idea that, sometimes, you have to sweeten the pot a bit. But this was just over the top. If it wasn't so outrageous it would be funny.

So here's the question: Where is the point at which "a man like me" or a "man like you" puts his foot down? How much extra freebie stuff gets tossed in as part of that baker's dozen?

D.D.