AIBU to think it's a bit odd to give tradesmen gifts?

[sparkysalmon]

I was speaking with a friend who mentioned that she gave a moderately expensive box of chocolates to her plumber after he did a small job for her. This got us talking, as I was surprised....I guess if you have had a big project like a whole bathroom done, maybe, although I have genuinely never thought to gift anything to the tradesmen who have worked in my house, and I've had lots over the years. Now I feel bad...is this a thing? Do you regularly give plumbers, builders, carpenters and similar gifts of wine or chocolates etc?

My dad takes this to an extreme. He used to give his dentist a gift after a check up. I'm somewhere in the middle of the scale.

My dad was occasionally given bottles of wine and thank you cards – mostly from people who'd hired someone cheaper, had them make an arse of it, then hired him to fix it. But he always showed up on time, phoned people to let them know if he was going to be late or couldn't come on a certain day, and cleaned up after himself when finished. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving people a token it they've done a good job, especially if they're reliable and you want to hire them in the future! I'd often accompany him to work in the summer holidays as a child and people would sometimes give me little things like chocolate bars or colouring sheets – one South African woman gave me a porcupine spine which I still have to this day. It's not expected at all, but if someone has gone the extra mile I think it's a nice thing to do.