Make it short…..
I have not gotten too much involved with contract work yet. My approach would be to inform the customer about the material situation. Explain it that using what I have on hand and being just a tad short would help with lead time. Show them the difference with a mock up if needed. Just simply cut some card board to size and show the customer what the exact size difference would be.
If they still insisted on the original dimensions, I would bend to their wishes of course. I would do what I could to entice them otherwise first.
The projects I have done however were either for home or family member homes and we just went with the flow. The entertainment unit for my parents actually has one bookcase that is just a tad different than the other one. 1/16 of an inch to be exact. There was a set up issue with the shelves. Had to trim the sides of one of the units a touch to make up for the shelf being short. Looking at them you would never know it. Even if they were side by side unless you got insanely close and lined them up perfectly.
