AIBU to not allow the plasterer to play his radio?

[Shedbuilder]

I have a plasterer booked for four days of fiddly work all over the house, repairing the mess left by the so-called specialist fitters we paid a small fortune to install triple glazing —but I'm not going there!

We both work from home and around us we have other households with people working from home and noise-sensitive older people. It's a hot day and our windows are open because it's hot and to keep the air moving just in case of Covid. So when he arrived yesterday with his giant radio we nipped the problem in the bud early on and said sorry, both working from home, both need to be able to think and make calls without background noise — no radio. Which he glumly accepted. Today he's had a brief conversation with us about how tedious his work is without music in the background, so we suggested he use his phone and some earbuds. But no, he doesn't want to run out of data and he doesn't have earbuds.

We've ordered some cheap earbuds and we'll see if we can rig up some kind of free wifi connection for him tomorrow, but he's really huffy and I'm wondering whether we'll see him again tomorrow. He's a good plasterer and we've waited two months to get him. Are we being unreasonable?

Yes = we are unreasonable
No = we're no unreasonable

Just buy him some data

YANBU. Not even a teeny bit. If he was in one room with the door shut then it would be ok but not if he is wandering around. Headphones and iPad with Spotify is a great solution.

Is YABU yes or no?

Hope it's the last plastering job you need done 'nipping it in the bud'! You really could have compromised

He can talk to himself as much as he wants. He's already made friends with the dog and had a chat with him.

I'm a decent employer. The house was ready for him when he arrived: areas cleared, dust sheets already down, sofas and bed covered and tops cleared. He was offered hot and cold drinks on arrival, shown where the biscuit tin and fruit bowl is and reassured he can help himself at any time. My partner took his lunch order when he arrived.

His day rate is higher than ours. His radio is online at £209. He should be able to afford plenty of data and a pair of earbuds. I appreciate that it he's having to do strenuous physical work earbuds/ earphones may not be practical but he's doing smaller fiddly work that could easily be done with buds in.

I am very easily confused.

To be honest, I'd grit my teeth and let him get on with it, just making sure that you booked meetings at defined times and perhaps hid in your car. It's hard to get workmen.

Mind you, I'm used to ignoring noise. The neighbours are currently having a screaming match about something and I didn't notice until I stopped to think how noisy it was here. I can usually work through most things quieter than the police attending. Your tolerance may not be so battle hardened.

@Shedbuilder

He can talk to himself as much as he wants. He's already made friends with the dog and had a chat with him.

I'm a decent employer. The house was ready for him when he arrived: areas cleared, dust sheets already down, sofas and bed covered and tops cleared. He was offered hot and cold drinks on arrival, shown where the biscuit tin and fruit bowl is and reassured he can help himself at any time. My partner took his lunch order when he arrived.

His day rate is higher than ours. His radio is online at £209. He should be able to afford plenty of data and a pair of earbuds. I appreciate that it he's having to do strenuous physical work earbuds/ earphones may not be practical but he's doing smaller fiddly work that could easily be done with buds in.

I couldn't easily do anything with earbuds in because I can't wear them.

Allow him to use the radio but say it must be Radio 4 as you can cope with Woman's Hour.

Experience of this, although I didn't have the confidence to say anything.

It was a rough few days trying to work and take calls with shite music and incessant ads in the background.

How is he going to do his work and hold a Ipad? Are the earphones connected via bluetooth?

You are paying him to do a job for you.
He does not NEED music to perform that task and it's also not your responsibility to buy him ear buds etc.
Christ on a bike.

You have my sympathy. Unfortunately, too many people can't function without noise. Surely there is some middle ground? Assuming he is not working in the same room as you, having the radio on low would surely not disturb you? After all, it's only for a few days.

YANBU. When you’re a tradesman working in people’s homes you need to understand that they may need quiet for family members to work, or to sleep if they’re sick, or on night shift. Earphones and Bluetooth would be appropriate and I’d expect a tradesman to be prepared.

People on MN are so weird about having workmen in their house.
With strange toilet rules, making drinks rules and now radio rules.

Never understand why workmen think the whole neighbourhood has to listen to their horrible music, the rest of us don't get to do that at work. Nobody ever offered me tea, coffee, Greggs, lunch, or soft drinks when I showed up to work either, but that seems to be normal too, despite the fact that most tradespeople are more mobile than me (have transit) and get paid more than me too.

His radio is online at £209.

I think this tells us more about you than him. You checked how much his radio cost. I think he’ll be leaving ASAP. Nightmare. Poor bloke.

His radio is online at £209.

I can't believe you checked!
Presumably he can afford to pick and choose who he works for then

I think he's unprofessional and graceless. He must realise the situation people WFH are in.
I wouldn't bend over backwards to order a grown man earbuds or organise his wifi for him

I don't know why so many people are so keen to stand up for him given the amount of moaning about tradespeople that goes on on here.

I appreciate what you mean about wanting to hang on to good people once you've got them, but he sounds like a diva. Could you find someone else, givenyour industry connections?

Listening to music whilst you work isn't a right.

Listening to music whilst you work in someone else's house isn't a right.

Listening to music whilst you work in someone else's house when they're working from home isn't a right.

What's wrong with you people? He's a tradesman, he's being well-paid for what he does and the employer sets the rules. This 'be kind' bollocks really has gone too far - just as your right to swing your arm ends somewhere near my face, so his non-existent right to listen to the radio ends when it's disruptive to the person paying him.

I have calls ALL day and have the radio on in the background..... Not sure what the issue is with it....

YANBU

the whole world manages to work without being a nuisance to everybody else around, why should a handful of anti-social tradesmen think they have some right to loud music - or even worst, loud radio!

More and more companies are becoming stricter and ban unnecessary noise

@Callybrate

Never understand why workmen think the whole neighbourhood has to listen to their horrible music, the rest of us don't get to do that at work. Nobody ever offered me tea, coffee, Greggs, lunch, or soft drinks when I showed up to work either, but that seems to be normal too, despite the fact that most tradespeople are more mobile than me (have transit) and get paid more than me too.

I have to admit I don't get it either, yes the work can be tedious but loads of people have tedious and manual labour jobs, for a lot less pay, we just suck it up.

I live on a council estate, the council workers manage to do repairs and gardening without any music, when there are regular tradesmen here they make an enormous racket and disturb the entire estate.

yanbu absolutely. You are paying the bloke! you BOUGHT HIM EARBUDS??????
I have given a workman my wifi password but that was bcause he was researching and ordering materials, not so he could be entertained. I also changed it when the job was done.

@Crepescular

Listening to music whilst you work isn't a right.

Listening to music whilst you work in someone else's house isn't a right.

Listening to music whilst you work in someone else's house when they're working from home isn't a right.

What's wrong with you people? He's a tradesman, he's being well-paid for what he does and the employer sets the rules. This 'be kind' bollocks really has gone too far - just as your right to swing your arm ends somewhere near my face, so his non-existent right to listen to the radio ends when it's disruptive to the person paying him.

Having workmen come and do work in your house isn't a right either. He won't have any bother finding other work, the OP might have bother finding a good plasterer and if she does find one she might have to wait months until he can do the job.

But the bottom line is that you can't tell him how to listen to his own music!

He is in OP's house, and OP is paying him.

Under those conditions, yeah, s/he absolutely can tell him how and whether to listen to music.