To feel a bit uncomfortable about tradesman's 'dodgy' photos

[CoastalGrey]

I had a tradesman to quote for some work and he was showing me some photos on his phone of other work he'd done but kept scrolling past certain images and making a play of saying 'ha ha better make sure I dont show you anything I shouldn't'. I dont know what he was referring to but it made me uncomfortable and not inclined to use him. Am I being paranoid and pearl-clutchy or was it pretty unprofessional?

Edited for typo

This is so dramatic, he could be referencing literally anything in his personal life. Pretty crazy for this alone to make you not hire someone.

Isn’t this a standard joke when scrolling through photos in front of someone? Have heard this plenty of times in the office.

Did you actually see anything inappropriate?

It was just a joke, lighten up. We've all got pictures on our phones that we'd rather not show complete strangers that aren't anything actually dodgy.

Good Lord, it could be any private photo he doesn't want a stranger to see.

Would you be happy to show all your photos in your phone of your family/friends etc to a stranger?

YABU, everyone has photos they don’t want randoms to see.

I took a picture of a boil on my bum to show my mum, I wouldn’t want a client to see that.

Goodness, get a grip! He was joking!

YABU

But fair play if you've got tradesmen coming out of your ears, that you can afford to be so ridiculously fussy.

Well I’ll buck the trend.
It depends on the gut feeling you get from him.
I think as women we are too much conditioned to be nice, not make a fuss and if something seems off to you avoid this man.
You don’t owe him anything.

Agree with previous poster, it’s a fairly common joke people make when showing other people their camera roll. Might be have photos of himself dancing the hoopla wearing nothing but a thong and a pair of clogs? Yes. Is it just as likely to be a tired but benign chuckle? Also yes.

I'm not normally a prissy sort of person honestly! There was just something about the situation that felt off. I live alone so perhaps I'm more cautious than others.

I'm not using him because I had a better quote but this did contribute to my decision.

Assuming you didn't actually see anything inappropriate, I would have assumed it was a very light and harmless joke, one that's made quite frequently by people who have to show you photos on their phone. He didn't genuinely have 'dodgy photos' on his phone.

If you were offended or uncomfortable about his joke, of course you don't have to employ him. But it's a bit odd to say you were 'uncomfortable about his dodgy photos' when he didn't, in fact, show you any dodgy photos.

" I live alone so perhaps I'm more cautious than others."

I doubt he is suddenly going to jump you - and take photos of him doing so to show everyone. I think you're secretly exciting yourself by letting your imagine run wild.

It's a joke. I'm a 65 year old grannie and I say the same thing. (even though I don't have dodgy photos on my phone these days ) 😉

Could be anything OP, not necessarily dodgy. My adult DD had a sore nipple and sent me a photo as she was worried ... I wouldn't want anyone else to see that!

I mean, I say this all the time if I have to show anyone something on my phone. I have taken absolutely zero naked photos of myself ever and have received zero naked photos of someone else ever. By photos I don’t want anyone to see, I mean, ones of a nasty scab on my knee or a photo of my toddler in the bath.

That said, I don’t think there is anything wrong with consenting adults having photos of themselves or someone who has willingly sent photos to them. It would be dodgy if he intentionally orchestrated a situation where you would see them, but that doesn’t sound the case.

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, if for any reason (or even no reason) you don't want a Tradesman in your home then don't.
I regularly look at the SM profiles of people coming to work for me and if there is anything there that worries me I won't use them.
I only do it for people who will be in my house, possibly unattended

Yes it's definitely that, builders old enough to be my dad are clearly my thing 🙄

OK thanks all for the sense-check, perhaps I was being a bit precious. It can be quite awkward as a lone woman though (I do have a partner hence not needing to perve over builders as suggested above) because you're inviting someone into your home without really knowing who they are.

I wouldn’t think he was “dodgy” necessarily. But I would think he was a bit “I’m a joker, me” and would prefer not to spend much time with him. Because deeply tedious. You can just choose another tradesman for any reason you like.

This. I can't even get one round to quote for a garden gate.

I would feel uncomfortable too OP.

I live alone and I absolutely hate dealing with tradesmen because ,when I can actually get one to have any interest in the job , they very very frequently treat me as a stupid woman who knows nothing and they also feel they can get away with substandard work which they wouldn't dare to do with a guy or a couple.

Making the woman feel uncomfortable by creepy behaviour such as the suggestive comments about his photos is just one of the ways of showing their disrespect for women.

Unfortunately having to put up with such behaviour seems inevitable these days otherwise it's impossible to get anything done.

Could be just what most of us jokingly do, or could be dodgy (and as some have said, gut feeling is impt too).
BUT if I was in his position, wanting to get work, partly through showing photos to prospective clients, I would absolutely keep those photos in a separate folder, so that I didn't have to scroll past anything. And if I didn't know how to do that, I'd damn well find out how to do it. It's a part of providing a professional service.

Choose someone else who doesn’t give you the creeps. He should have a separate folder for work and personal photos. Sounds sloppy so I would think twice about hiring him.

Exactly this. My nan said the same thing to me last week. I’m sure she’s not taking naked selfies 🙄 it’s just a turn of phrase.

Exactly, I would say similar and probably make a joke about not wanting someone to see my naked arse on there, even though I know those photos don't exist (I hope). It's just something people say.