“Refuse to cooperate for no obvious reason” - I used to think it was always my technique until a Ram 1500 proved me wrong last month.

@angelapalmer hit the nail on the head there. I've seen jobs where everyone pushed to pour in borderline weather to keep the schedule moving, and six weeks later the finishers are grinding off surface dust with diamond tools because the top 1/8 inch never set right. That alone eats two days you didn't budget for. Then the drywall crew shows up to a slab that's still sweating moisture, so they have to come back next week. One "smart" pour can cost you three weeks on the whole build sequence. Carl probably learned that lesson the expensive way and decided never again.

Dakota asked the real question. For me it was when a regular started expecting me to stay late past closing time without asking. Just assumed I'd hang around because he tipped well. @jamie_clark knows the type. Second time he did it I packed up and left. Money isn't worth losing your evenings over.

Honestly, maybe the trick is to just accept that cooking any real meal will make a mess, but @black.jordan's right that less fussy recipes help a ton. Have you tried using just one sheet pan for everything, like throwing chicken and veggies on there with some seasoning and calling it a day? The little containers from those boxes are the real enemy, so cutting them out and simplifying the recipes makes the cleanup way more bearable lol.

Makes you wonder how much good advice people just ignore because it didn't sound right.