An etiquette question regarding tradespeople working in people’s homes has sparked a surprising debate among Australians.
A recent Reddit post shared by a British expat living in Brisbane explained that in the UK it was commonplace etiquette for a visiting tradesperson to be given a drink or snack.
‘I’m from the UK and back home if we have a plumber, electrician, builder etc come into our homes for work, the majority of us would offer them a brew or coffee, even a biscuit if we’ve got them in,’ the original poster explained.
However, since they’d moved to Australia, the Aussie tradies they’d encountered had flat out declined the offer – unlike the UK tradies.
The person added that some of the Australian tradies even ‘looked at me like I’m crazy’ when offered a food or drink.
‘Is this not the norm here? Am I being the weird one?’ the poster asked.
The comments section was flooded with replies from both home residents and tradies.
Australian homeowners responding to the post, agreed that while the gesture is frequently knocked back, they believed it was still good manners to make the offer.
A recent Reddit post by a British expat sparked debate about what is the proper etiquette when a tradesperson is doing work in your home
‘I always ask if they want a tea/coffee/water or anything. Only one in about 10 ever accept. But I’ll always offer,’ read the top reply.
‘I’m the same, I always offer have ever only had very few accept,’ added another.
Tradies also chimed in on the post to provide their perspective on why the generous gesture is frequently declined.
One reply read: ‘Plumber/business owner here. I certainly appreciate the hospitality when offered tea/coffee and biscuits however I often don’t accept. In all honesty, I don’t really care for the chat that is usually expected when drinking the drink (unless you’re a long term client of course).
‘It takes unnecessary time out of the day and I become unfocused on what I’m doing. Plus, I have lunch and drinks already packed as well.
‘It’s polite to offer but don’t be offended when they decline. They’re just there to do their job and leave.’
Another explained that although the offer is generally declined, a tradesperson will ‘appreciate’ it as good etiquette.
‘As a sparkie I also say no out of politeness and kinda wanna get the job finished before the heat sets in. But it’s very much so appreciated,’ read one reply.
However, some tradies in the comments section did agree that a closed drink like a can of soft drink, a cold bottle of water or even a knock-off beer were more likely to be readily accepted.
The recent Reddit thread saw tradies confirm that they appreciated the generous gesture of a closed bottle of water, can of soft drink or even a knock-off beer at the end of a job.
Interestingly, the comments section spun-off into another more pressing etiquette issue that tradies often encounter while working in people’s homes. Namely, whether the homeowner offers the tradesperson use of a toilet.
‘Telling a tradie it’s okay to use the toilet, or even pointing out which one is okay to use is always appreciated,’ confirmed one tradesperson.
Others tradies added that offering use of a toilet was a much more significant etiquette gesture than the offer of a drink, because otherwise it resulted in them wasting time leaving the job site to find a nearby public toilet.
The Reddit post and comments reflected recent research findings from UK home improvement platform Checkatrade, which revealed the things that annoyed tradies most while working in someone’s house.
A survey of 500 UK tradespeople revealed that 81 per cent had experienced frustrating customer etiquette.
The respondents to the survey said they were only offered a drink – including water – by six in ten homeowners.
One in five tradespeople said they’d also been banned from using the toilet while working on a job in a person’s home.
The survey also revealed that one of the biggest customer gripes tradespeople experience is around the issue of payment.
The results found that 46 per cent of tradies were annoyed by customers who try to haggle or have unrealistic expectations of the cost.
A quarter added that they’ve been frustrated at being offered an ‘alternative form of payment’ for a job.
