I got 3/4" x 3 1/2" Brazillian Cherry put down 10 years ago. Absolutely beautiful floor, but needed refinishing. I found licensed & bonded contractor with good BBB rating to refinish. He called me up the night before and asked me what gloss I wanted and I wasn't sure. He suggested semi-gloss, I agreed.

Floor looks terrible. My first thought was the gloss was too high, after google showed me satin is by far the common choice. But then I noticed that the grain looks huge, giving it a rustic look that I was not expecting. Also, when I run my finger along the boards I can feel the grain patterns.

I have some boards left over from the original install and when I run my finger over them they feel perfectly smooth, and the wood grain is visible but not so prominent. Definitely not "rustic." Contractor's guys were coming over today to knock the finish from semigloss down to satin but I don't think that's the problem. I think they just didn't sand it smooth.

That said, I'm way out of my element here, so I'm tossing it out to this forum. Am I a bad customer, or is the contractor cutting corners? Wood floor planks are supposed to be smooth to the touch, right?

Sanding to 100 grit is the standard of the industry. It can still feel rough a thin film is applied. Maybe split the cost of one or two coats of finish to get the smooth surface you like, and use satin sheen.
Does the contract specify what grit will be used for the final sanding?

They told me they sanded to 80 grit. Grit not specified in the contract. It says this about the finish:

Each job gets a minimum of 3x
coats:
1x coat of ZINSSER®SealCoatTM
Universal Sanding Sealer.
1x coat of Water-Based Oil-Modified
polyurethane by default.
1x final coat of SamSeal or
Masterline Oil-based
polyurethane...

Sorry.
Another coat of oil modified would help.