My old boss in Dayton told me to always kick the stretcher, and it saved me a callback on a $2,400 job
Half the guys on my crew say kicking the stretcher is nonsense that just wrecks the pad, but his trick caught a loose edge before the customer ever saw it. So who's right here, kick it or leave it alone?
Had a buddy in Toledo who swore by the kick after he got burned on a $3,000 carpet job, edge was loose the whole time and he never felt it till the customer walked on it. He started giving the stretcher one good pop before every stretch and never had that problem again. Takes two seconds, way cheaper than going back.