To not be feeding/ making drinks for my decorators all the time??

ah but annie, im sure you pay him in other ways! lol

well you would be paying a premium to have MY dp working in your house (because he IS that good and charges accordingly) so an extra cash incentive would be OTT. He would luuurrve a cuppa mind, no biscuits, hes fat enough!!!

annie, if i had to offer builders a bonus as an incentive to do a good job, i would get another builder!!!

ungratefuldaughter - that is a little patronising dont you think? personally i prefer my tea with two tea bags and three sugars, DP on the other hand is a builder and prefers earl grey and some confounded jasmine infusion, stereotypes stereotypes.

give them a cup of earl grey or something equally unusual (tell them you use yak's milk) they won't ask again in a hurry

Same when we had our extension marieg76

We've just finished renovating our house so have had builders, decorators etc around for the past 6 months. We've always just showed them where the tea, cups, milk etc are and left them to it. They've appeared quite content.

i have never offered more than one cup of tea/coffee a day.
i'm not a catering service.

I always make my workmen tea and lots of cakes and biscuits. It makes sense to try and build a good relationship with them, if the paper starts lifting off near the window you will doubtless want them to come back and sort it out!

in answer to op. dh is a decorator and he has often said he gets fed up with being offered tea. he takes a flask. so think you are right leave them to it

lol Legacy i'll come and decorate if you buy me pizza!!

seriously though a drink and biscuits if your making one is fine otherwise say your not being rude but are working and they are welcome to help themselves if they want another drink

There's been a raft of workmen about the place recently. If I've had the kettle on the offer has been made to the workmen for a drink as well. Sometimes accepted, sometimes not. One set even managed to find a home for a random packet of biscuits I had in but didn't want. Wouldn't go out of my way to feed them, I think it's a bit odd, and I'm sure a fair few would feel awkward. Most workmen I've known aren't the shy types, so if they're thirsty they'll ask if they can steal a glass and raid the water supply

Agnes

I would leave out th ekettle, copious amounts of biscuits/cakes, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, camomile tea etc. and tell them to help themselves as they like.

someone I know once had a similar job. Until he got his first pay packet, he was completely skint, and all he had to eat all day, was what people offered him in their houses. feed the workmen, I say.

i said earlier not to give them anything ive just thought! iv recently had the garden dug over with digger and turf laid an i was making tea every ten so mins they are the neighbours so have to be pleasant i live next door and we have good neighbours at mo. was making tea for chap an his misses an there two an half yo lad who was occupying my dd 1

What Kaloo said.

MIL has never ever made me a cup of tea in my own house - visits regularly and even if I am running ragged does not ask if she should put the kettle on. Waited one afternoon and we just didn't have tea as I didn't make it. BUT when we had builders in she was dashing around after them making cups every two minutes - that is what you do for builders, she said.

charlotte, if my dh is out for two hours getting materials, then he is getting materials, its not an excuse. He often can be two hours or even more if the materials he is looking for aren't immediately available. What matters at the end of the day is that the client is happy with his workmanship, not the extent of his tea breaks. He mostly doesnt do more than grab a quick sandwich for lunch as he would rather get finished.

Blimey, pizza? i'll send hubby round to yours and he can smuggle some home for me.

DH is a builder and truthfully prefers to be left alone to get on, yes he appreciates a cuppa but then feels obliged to chat whilst drinking it. He takes his own lunch or comes home for lunch and a cuddle !!! So offer tea when convenient, not just cos your having one, you might not want to make 10 cups at a time but offers of food would make my dh feel uncomfortable.

i would like to add that im not one of those people that talks in 'these' nor do i do the funny things with my fingers that represents that
i just appear to be typing with them a lot today.
i didnt see that you could write in italics otherwise i would have used those instead of 'this'

its the weired power trip thing

technically, as your paying and employing them, you are their boss (so shouldnt they be bringing YOU coffee!)

but, then they are kind of 'guests' in your house

then, you could almost 'fear' them slightly, because they could say 'sorry about the crap everywhere, my grandmas just died, i will be back in a week' kinda thing

so its like they have the 'power'

but i think what your doing is good, although bunging some buscuits on a tray might shorten an inevitable 2 hour lunch 'got to get more materials' excuse

and it all started with a cup of tes!

I make them tea when I'm having one. When lunch time nears, I usually ask if they have brought sarnies or something. 9 times out of 10 they have, or they nip to the pub or something. Very occasionally I have offered them toasted cheese sandwiches.