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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be fed up with male tradesmen making funny jokes that are anything but

125 replies

Allerlugi · 26/08/2022 14:36

Carpet fitter came. He starts unrolling the carpet and then gets really serious, asked me if I’d measured it (yes), then proceeds to say it’s not going to fit, it’s too small and the measurements aren’t right. Meanwhile I’m feeling sick about having to fork out for another carpet.

Oh, but he’s joking! He was just having a laugh! The carpet’s fine, lol.

Delivery guys come to collect a mattress that we’re returning. It says on the website that they will bring wrapping materials and pack it up. They arrive and start to say they can’t collect it as it’s not wrapped up. I tell them what it says on the website. Nope sorry, the website’s wrong and I should have wrapped it up. Meanwhile I’m starting to get stressed and wondering how long this will have to take to resolve with the company.

Oh, but they were only joking! Haha isn’t it funny!

Believe it or not I had a third example from the past fortnight but I must have blocked it out.

I’d bet you a tenner that these guys don’t do it with men.

OP posts:

GiftIdeasAlwaysNeeded · 26/08/2022 14:40

I used to work with a male colleague who did this.

Drove me mad, I had no issue telling him our customers didn't appreciate it and he needed to stop.

NovaDeltas · 26/08/2022 14:43

Deadpan face and don't give them the satisfaction of you worrying. Just say you'll go and ring head office. They'll probably go off on you having no sense of humour but who cares.

5zeds · 26/08/2022 14:46

I don’t get it either. It’s not funny to make someone upset. It happens to me quite a lot and not t just from men. It honestly is often really unkind.

Cas112 · 26/08/2022 14:48

Yes this really pisses me off

almostmummyof2 · 26/08/2022 14:49

Not funny and find it awkward having to do a stupid fake laugh when I'm just annoyed at them 😐

ErrolTheDragon · 26/08/2022 14:55

They'll probably go off on you having no sense of humour but who cares.

If accused of not having a sense of humour, tell them you've got an excellent sense of humour, thanks - so, unlike them, you can tell when something is funny and when it's just tedious.

allinatizzy · 26/08/2022 15:00

That's weird... I don't think I've ever had that happen, unless I've forgotten.

the80sweregreat · 26/08/2022 15:08

We have a tree in the garden and every few years it needs ' topping '
The tree surgeon we used was always making ' funny ' ( not ) comments, his son used to roll his eyes at him! Good workers , but the bantz was too much at times.
It sometimes goes with the territory I'm afraid.
It's worse if they are indoors working and you have to listen to it all!

Allywill · 26/08/2022 15:12

we used to have a (male) security guard on the door at work who used to think it was funny to say you couldn’t come in. the third time it happened i walked out and drove home. told my manager i couldn’t get in the building. never happened again funnily enough.

Noonoo88 · 26/08/2022 15:30

Allywill · 26/08/2022 15:12

That's amazing 😂😂😂

Newgirls · 26/08/2022 15:33

They must be so bored in their job to do this

SunshineLoving · 26/08/2022 15:37

When I was renovating a house, I told the electrician who was round giving me a quote something I wanted doing. He said 'no, can't do that'. I said 'oh okay'. He was 'only joking'.

I know what you mean. How is this sort of 'joke' funny? It's very immature. Reminds me of when I was at school and you would say to someone 'can I use that after you please?'. They would say 'no' with a serious face and then 'only joking haha' would follow. Very tedious.

KrisAkabusi · 26/08/2022 15:40

It's not funny, but YABU to say it doesn't happen to men. I've worked on sites and as a delivery driver, and I've seen "jokes" like that made to everybody.

Lottle · 26/08/2022 15:40

It's a power play and it's tedious. Sorry its happening.

ANiceBigCupOfTea · 26/08/2022 15:44

Its so annoying. When workmen come in now I tend to just go 'OK I'm in (whatever room I'm in) if you need me, I'll just be working in the background' after offering the usual cup of tea or coffee.
Also something i noticed- when things were just getting back to normal, I was walking round my local shopping centre alone and was berated by a security guard for accidentally walking the wrong way in the one way system. About two weeks later, I'm at the same shopping centre with DH and we go to go the same way and I remember and say 'oh I don't think we can go this way you know' but oddly enough, the security guard saw and didn't say anything!

Bestcatmum · 26/08/2022 15:52

I put on a deadpan face and say what are you talking about. They soon shut up.

Mamma80 · 26/08/2022 15:52

ErrolTheDragon · 26/08/2022 14:55

They'll probably go off on you having no sense of humour but who cares.

If accused of not having a sense of humour, tell them you've got an excellent sense of humour, thanks - so, unlike them, you can tell when something is funny and when it's just tedious.

😂perfect response

Would absolutely PMO!! Not funny not kind... pathetic.

KitBumbleB · 26/08/2022 15:53

I vividly remember being a timid child and the local shop keeper "joking" that something was much more expensive than it was. I only had the correct money, I remember being close to tears.

TheBikiniExpert · 26/08/2022 15:59

I hate this too. I would love to say (dead pan) "well that's a 1 star rating on Google from me......only joking!"

MostTacticalNameChange · 26/08/2022 16:00

Went to a restaurant the other day- I asked if I could have a starter and a side dish as a main (not really asking permission, just warning him it wasn't a separate starter). And he said no. Awkward silence while I rechecked the menu before him declaring it a big joke and saying course I could.

Discovereads · 26/08/2022 16:03

This usually happens to my DH because he’s got a foreign accent and so trades people think it’s funny to pretend he’s done an order wrong/asked for wrong repair.

absolutelyanythingwilldo · 26/08/2022 16:09

"Oh, you should have seen the look on your face when I said that. You believed it didn't you? Gary.....look on their face was priceless wannit?.....see, Gary thinks it as well. That was hilarious. Oh don't be like that, we was only having a laugh with you weren't we Gary? I'm always joking like that, it's just the way I'm wired up."

😑

BooSouls · 26/08/2022 16:19

We’ve had some tiling done recently and our tiler, who was lovely, did this and ‘joked’ that we didn’t have enough tiles on the first day.

When he came back the next day, I ‘joked’ that the tiles had fallen off the wall overnight.

His face was a picture and his brief moment of panic made my annoyance at his original shit joke disappear.

For the rest of the time he was here, we’d both check if the other was joking before actually having a proper conversation.

I agree it’s annoying, but I think it helps get the measure of a person fairly quickly.

stopitstopitnow · 26/08/2022 16:20

I usually reply with " Don't give up your day job.....unless your day job is comedy, then you really should give it up as you're piss-poor when it comes to telling jokes".

the80sweregreat · 26/08/2022 16:21

I loved the two kitchen fitters we had pre covid who didn't make jokes, made their own tea and cleared up each evening. Cheerful , didn't talk too much and did a great job.
I think we were very lucky there and they did a good job too.

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