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Tradesmen - Looking after them

2

Comments

  • missprice
    missprice Posts: 3,736 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I would leave usual tea/coffee/sugar/juice and plenty of old mugs that you don't mind being broken
    and on occasion would turn up with bacon butty or equivalent. fish and chips some days.
    also the rule was they could use my loo but shoes off before you tramp upstairs thanks
    63 mortgage payments to go.

    Zero wins 2016 😥
  • murphydog999
    murphydog999 Posts: 1,602 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We've got some really unusual builders at the mo. On our last renovation we went through so much tea and sugar (they all had 2 spoons in every cup!) it was unreal, loved kit-kats every now and again.

    This lot aren't interested, I've offered 3 times and they haven't had any today, if they have one cup a day it's unusual. They don't seem to eat much either! I've got a big box of tea bags and a large jar of coffee and with the build taking around 5 months, I reckon I'll have loads left over.

    Very strange!
  • DaftyDuck
    DaftyDuck Posts: 4,609 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    We've got some really unusual builders at the mo. On our last renovation we went through so much tea and sugar (they all had 2 spoons in every cup!) it was unreal, loved kit-kats every now and again.

    This lot aren't interested, I've offered 3 times and they haven't had any today, if they have one cup a day it's unusual. They don't seem to eat much either! I've got a big box of tea bags and a large jar of coffee and with the build taking around 5 months, I reckon I'll have loads left over.

    Very strange!

    They've probably brought their own Darjeeling and Earl Grey leaf, a tea pot and Duchy Originals..

    When I was having a house renovated, and I wasn't there much, I provided a microwave/grill/oven combi so they could heat their pies up. One of the chaps turned out to be some sort of pseudo-chef... he was a better cook than labourer, and knocked out wonderful dishes.... which I only occasionally got scent of, as I wasn't about much! I always provide oodles of tea, coffee and biscuits, as well as cuppa soups and treats like doughnuts...

    ... also peace & quiet, so they can get on with the job, then pizz off home on time to the wife and kids...
  • nickj_2
    nickj_2 Posts: 7,052 Forumite
    LEJC wrote: »
    wouldnt recommend this one...it is still a workplace and as such should be smoking free..also if a fire were to start you may have problems explaining it to your insurance company.

    they would have to explain it to their public liability insurers ...if they have any

    tea and bicccies are nice ,and always appreciated , a bit of cake every now and then is even better , i had one customer who said she'd leave me some eats out , when i got there it was like she'd been to sainsbury's and got 10 of everything in the biscuit and cake aisle , mind you she did have 4 kids , so i guess some it the stuff may have been for them;)
  • elver_man
    elver_man Posts: 20,787 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    On one of my bigger commercial jobs over last winter I had the usual tea, coffee and biscuits. Then the cook asked me to fix a couple of things in the kitchen which I did when I was having a break, every day thereafter I had cooked lunch also:D

    Normaly I get a tea or coffee and sometimes a bacon or sausage sandwich but to be honest I'm more than happy with the cuppa as I've always got food with me anyway.

    Most customers are polite and offer a cuppa when they make themselves one if they are there or just leave the jars out for you to help yourself if they not.

    As said before they look after you and it works both ways,
    Thoughts:

    The surest sign that there is intelligent life in the universe is that they haven't contacted us yet:D
    Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?
    Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others;) - Martin Luther King jr
  • Decent Tea and Coffee and some nice cold juice none of your cheap rubbish like others have said .
    Pure Dog Loving
  • HHarry
    HHarry Posts: 1,009 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Apart from the biscuits the two things that make Customers easy to work for are being trusted (here's a key in case you need to get some lunch) and honest feedback (I'm really happy with that, or I'm a bit worried about this). I'd rather know about an issue early so I can sort it out before its too late.
    There's a fine line between professional and friendly, for both sides, but if you can find it, everything will be OK
  • Personally speaking, i'm happy with the facility to make a brew and some juice for those days when it is hot/dusty or both.

    Bacon butty now and again is nice but not essential.

    Being trusted is important and most tradesmen just want to get on with the job.

    Another thing i find helpful is if the customer tells you early if there is some aspect of the job they are not happy with. Nothing worse than getting something done, only to be told that it's not like they thought it would be but didn't like to say.

    Building work is a process, and every job is done in a set order. Sometimes a customer changes their mind on something (which is their right and perfectly ok) but they don't tell you early enough in the process and it can lead to lots of remedial work to put right, costing more time and money. Nothing worse than taking a hammer to something you have just done.
  • booty40uk
    booty40uk Posts: 514 Forumite
    Tea and coffee works well for me on a job.

    We don't eat during the day so not really bothered about that but the occasional hob nob works.

    Payment on time is always a good thing.

    A customer who is honest with you works wonders and vice versa. Try not to snag the work before its finished but feel free to ask questions along the way.

    The best thing for me is a thank you at the end.

    Andy
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,301 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I had an electrician who did lots of work for me, and I thought he was a thoroughly decent chap, who went out of his way to do some extras that he didn't need to do.

    He was working a few Sundays ago and I invited him to share Sunday lunch with us, for which he was most appreciative.

    And boy can he drink coffee!
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