Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to feel uncomfortable after builder helped himself to fridge drinks?

329 replies

Furrypaws18 · 12/08/2026 16:38

So we have builders in, everyday I give them pop, biscuits- on hot days lollies and a bacon butty on a Friday. They have toilet access/tea/coffee facilities readily available . I have purposely avoided access to my fridge so everything is out separately.
After thinking we were going through lots of drinks/snacks etc my husband decided to install a camera, to find the assistant looking through fridge and taking 2 cans for the journey home, so we think it’s been a habit. It felt like a violation. Problem is the job is otherwise going quite well, the gaffer is very respectful of the house and toilet etc but feel a bit like a soft touch now.
Boss 99% has no idea because it’s always been after he’s left. Don’t want to sour the job/their relationship etc but want him to know it wasn’t acceptable without a big showdown. Would also like to use them again, but the trust is tarnished. It’s only been drinks/food I think but still feels like a liberty. Am I being dramatic, have I given the impression it was ok? 🤔

OP posts:
Ocelotfeet27 · 16/08/2026 01:49

AlwaysExtraHot · 15/08/2026 12:19

Shock That IS outrageous.
And I know it's all bad, but I am particularly exercised about the leftover pizza. If I have pizza and there's some left, I wake up the next morning excited about getting to eat it. I'd be gutted.

So true. I was planning to eat it for dinner - and when it was not there i was deeply unimpressed! I looked for ages thinking it must be me going mad or i must have thrown it out. My DH still talks about a time i let my sibling eat his leftover pizza many years ago and his hungover disappointment 😂

BeBusyDuck · 15/08/2026 23:53

KitsyWitsy · 15/08/2026 23:35

Not in my house. I’m busy! How ridiculous. They can feed themselves ffs.

I tend to clear my schedule when I have builders in (its very rare anyway) . they dont expect it but they always appreciate it so i dont mind really.

KitsyWitsy · 15/08/2026 23:35

BeBusyDuck · 15/08/2026 21:43

See now myself amd everyone i know who has builders in makes them s cooked breakfast and lunch depending on the time.
I work in construction and its the norm

Not in my house. I’m busy! How ridiculous. They can feed themselves ffs.

Muvable · 15/08/2026 22:44

In this weather I'd have extra cold drinks for them & tell them to help themselves.

BeBusyDuck · 15/08/2026 21:43

KitsyWitsy · 12/08/2026 16:47

Very irritating.

But if they are otherwise doing a grand job, I would be grateful for that and leave it. Either stop leaving cans in the fridge or just let it go. It's just pop.

I wouldn't be making them sandwiches though. I think that's a bit ridiculous tbh.

See now myself amd everyone i know who has builders in makes them s cooked breakfast and lunch depending on the time.
I work in construction and its the norm

KitFox · 15/08/2026 19:59

Given its going well and you'd use them again maybe just don't put anything pinchable in the fridge when they're going to be there.

lordbaddingham · 15/08/2026 19:00

You must be paying them thousands for the work, in this heat I genuinely wouldn't rock the boat for the cost of a couple of cans of drink a day and potentially create an issue which could escalate and cause you more issues if they decide do a shit job from now on.

menopausequeen · 15/08/2026 18:26

Don’t replace the one in the fridge

SunnyOchreNewt · 15/08/2026 18:23

Get a fridge lock from Amazon. Under a tenner and you can remove it when the building work is done. I'd be tempted to wonder what else he might be stealing though.

ABoldStatement · 15/08/2026 18:22

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 18:32

Bloody hell, it's like doing an English Language A level again.
I thought it was pretty obvious, given the context, to read the ellipses as equivalent to commas or round brackets. It's not arcane knowledge that canned drinks exist that involve fruit juice, fizzy water, less or no sugar and no artificial flavourings; and it's not difficult to infer that 'an ethical one' means one of these drinks.
If a person is struggling with that, it's easy to google (just tried it and the info is clear and extensive).
I'm not sure if you're saying her writing is deliberately performative and therefore it annoys you, or unclear and therefore you/people find it hard to understand.
I'd think 'pop' for e.g. Coke was easily understood, even if it's not a term you use yourself.

I presume, given your opening sentence, that you actually intended to be condescending and rude? Grin

Anyahyacinth didn’t use (or format) the ellipses properly, so it wasn’t clear. I got what she meant but I can also understand if others didn’t. It can be particularly hard for people who are neurodivergent to sometimes parse sentences that aren’t constructed properly.

Just because things are obvious to you, doesn’t mean they will be to others. Likewise, just because you would google something and not ask what something means on MN doesn’t mean others will. I'm surprised that you - who apparently is quick to find things obvious - haven’t realised this from even a modicum of MN use. MN is full of people asking questions. That might irritate you, but I mean, MN is a discussion forum, it's par for the course ...

As I said, I got what Anyahyacinth meant but to answer your Q, I found it performative for both the reasons you suggest.

AlwaysExtraHot · 15/08/2026 12:20

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 15/08/2026 11:15

@AlwaysExtraHot

Oh that brings back memories - I have not heard the word ' ginger ' for a fizzy drink for years.

Me either! (left Scotland in the early 00s). It mystified me at first; I couldn't work out why people only talked about drinking ginger-flavoured pop Grin

AlwaysExtraHot · 15/08/2026 12:19

Ocelotfeet27 · 15/08/2026 05:17

YANBU. I had tradesmen in my house this week and had to be out for around 4h over lunch. They stole Indian takeaway i had in the fridge as well as my kids leftover pizza. So outrageously rude. Like you say it's the loss of trust and the violation, not the stuff itself.

Shock That IS outrageous.
And I know it's all bad, but I am particularly exercised about the leftover pizza. If I have pizza and there's some left, I wake up the next morning excited about getting to eat it. I'd be gutted.

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 15/08/2026 11:15

@AlwaysExtraHot

Oh that brings back memories - I have not heard the word ' ginger ' for a fizzy drink for years.

Ocelotfeet27 · 15/08/2026 05:17

YANBU. I had tradesmen in my house this week and had to be out for around 4h over lunch. They stole Indian takeaway i had in the fridge as well as my kids leftover pizza. So outrageously rude. Like you say it's the loss of trust and the violation, not the stuff itself.

ThisWiseRobin · 14/08/2026 22:47

Let it go. Its cans of pop. Please don't complain. It will make a really uncomfortable atmosphere.

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 18:33

ABoldStatement · 14/08/2026 17:45

Thanks, must be some parts only though, definitely isn’t the whole of the north. My mum’s northern (very up north) and her and her very large family don’t call it pop.

I'm interested; what do they call it? And how north? I was amazed when I went to live in Scotland that people called things like Coke and Irn-Bru 'juice' or 'ginger'.

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 18:32

ABoldStatement · 14/08/2026 15:33

It was reasonable for @Rainbows246 yo ask what an ‘ethical drink’ was. You’ve responded as if they should have known but it wasn’t clear what @Anyahyacinthmeant by that phrase. She wrote:
“I hand him a can of pop..an ethical one that quenches thirst..fruit juice, sparkly water..”

The ellipses give the above paragraph ambiguity. A possible interpretation (albeit probably not the correct one) of the above could mean the poster gives the postman a can of pop or fruit juice or sparkly water.

Writing like the above is performative imo. Just be clear and use proper sentences.
Personally I’m amazed at how many posters refer to fizzy drinks like Coke as “pop” and I find that performative in a few instances as no one I know does.

Bloody hell, it's like doing an English Language A level again.
I thought it was pretty obvious, given the context, to read the ellipses as equivalent to commas or round brackets. It's not arcane knowledge that canned drinks exist that involve fruit juice, fizzy water, less or no sugar and no artificial flavourings; and it's not difficult to infer that 'an ethical one' means one of these drinks.
If a person is struggling with that, it's easy to google (just tried it and the info is clear and extensive).
I'm not sure if you're saying her writing is deliberately performative and therefore it annoys you, or unclear and therefore you/people find it hard to understand.
I'd think 'pop' for e.g. Coke was easily understood, even if it's not a term you use yourself.

ABoldStatement · 14/08/2026 17:45

walrushurricane · 14/08/2026 17:28

@ABoldStatement it is called pop in northern England and the Midlands

Thanks, must be some parts only though, definitely isn’t the whole of the north. My mum’s northern (very up north) and her and her very large family don’t call it pop.

walrushurricane · 14/08/2026 17:28

@ABoldStatement it is called pop in northern England and the Midlands

ABoldStatement · 14/08/2026 15:33

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 13:13

it’s all over performative nonsense half the time.
Ah, so that's it. Because it's not a can of something very mainstream like Coke or Tizer but what the poster calls an 'ethical drink' that involves fruit juice and fizzy water (personally I'm imagining my favourite, Dalston's Cherry Soda), it's 'performative'.
There certainly is a section of MN that is bonkers and scoffs/has a conniption/comes over all Citizen Smith if anyone dares mention that they eat organic/like real coffee/shop anywhere but Lidl.

It was reasonable for @Rainbows246 yo ask what an ‘ethical drink’ was. You’ve responded as if they should have known but it wasn’t clear what @Anyahyacinthmeant by that phrase. She wrote:
“I hand him a can of pop..an ethical one that quenches thirst..fruit juice, sparkly water..”

The ellipses give the above paragraph ambiguity. A possible interpretation (albeit probably not the correct one) of the above could mean the poster gives the postman a can of pop or fruit juice or sparkly water.

Writing like the above is performative imo. Just be clear and use proper sentences.
Personally I’m amazed at how many posters refer to fizzy drinks like Coke as “pop” and I find that performative in a few instances as no one I know does.

ABoldStatement · 14/08/2026 15:14

This reply has been withdrawn

This message has been withdrawn at the poster's request

pestowithwalnuts · 14/08/2026 13:20

Sparklyshopassistant · 12/08/2026 16:41

I’d put a note in the fridge saying something like “hey we have seen you taking extra cans, the ones in the side are for you but please not these ones. We wont tell your boss thanks.”

what a stupid message. I'm sure op can think up something more grown up than that

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 13:13

Rainbows246 · 14/08/2026 12:37

What is an ethical drink in the first place? why does that have to be even part of the sentence…? I’m certainly not angry about cans of pop but it’s all over performative nonsense half the time.

Mumsnet is bonkers i won’t take that back. Of course their is a diverse community but there’s also a lot of over exaggeration.

it’s all over performative nonsense half the time.
Ah, so that's it. Because it's not a can of something very mainstream like Coke or Tizer but what the poster calls an 'ethical drink' that involves fruit juice and fizzy water (personally I'm imagining my favourite, Dalston's Cherry Soda), it's 'performative'.
There certainly is a section of MN that is bonkers and scoffs/has a conniption/comes over all Citizen Smith if anyone dares mention that they eat organic/like real coffee/shop anywhere but Lidl.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 14/08/2026 13:03

@Furrypaws18 have you said anything to the main man yet?

Rainbows246 · 14/08/2026 12:37

AlwaysExtraHot · 14/08/2026 11:31

Is it possible that there's a range of people on MN in a range of financial circumstances?
And who said 'never ending supply of food and drinks'? The poster who gives her postie cans is likely doing that specifically in very hot weather, not all the time.
I've asked this of another poster and not had a response, so I'm still curious: why is the idea of an ethical soft drink so anger-provoking/baffling to some people?

What is an ethical drink in the first place? why does that have to be even part of the sentence…? I’m certainly not angry about cans of pop but it’s all over performative nonsense half the time.

Mumsnet is bonkers i won’t take that back. Of course their is a diverse community but there’s also a lot of over exaggeration.

Swipe left for the next trending thread