Tiny_Past1805@reddit

That's so nice. I might do that.

They are very strictly watched and timed with their deliveries and get in trouble if they take even a second longer than needed.

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Tinsel-Fop@reddit

They are very strictly watched and timed with their deliveries

offer the Mormons a bottled water

IIRC this has a special significance to Mormons, beyond being an "I'm not a potential convert, but I respect hospitality and offer it to you" thing. Aside from just being a nice thing to do, it is supposedly a very good way to get them to leave. I've seen them on their missions before, but never actually been approached by any, so I can't speak from personal experience.

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jonnycooksomething@reddit

I do the same including offering the use of the bathroom/toilet

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Tiny_Past1805@reddit

I had roadside assistance come to my house last year and the only thing I had to offer the poor guy was a WARM can of Coke.

I do the same. You don’t know who hasn’t eaten and I’ll be dammed if someone leaves my place hungry not knowing where they are getting their next meal.

I had a guy come pump our septic in August, it was like 88 and humid as fuck. I didn't realize how hard that work is, and this guy was out there just giving it everything.

I offered him a bottle of water straight from the fridge and this dude looked like I just handed him a bar of solid gold lol

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infiniteguesses@reddit

I don't live in America, but in Canada and I just gave the folks who came to cut down a big tree a full hot lunch and dessert.

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ErnestBatchelder@reddit

Might be generational. I always offer drinks or water to people working outside. This past summer it was so hot and I offered to tree workers, fence guys and the gardeners. No one accepted- most said they had water in their truck or car.

I think people are so used to carrying their own water now, and I wonder if people don't offer any more under that assumption.

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Prowindowlicker@reddit

I have a mini fridge stocked with waters that I hand out to people

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Gudakesa@reddit

I had my roof replaced last summer when the temps were in the 90’s and the dew point was high. I kept a cooler full of pop and water in ice for the workers, and set up some camp chairs in the shade of my garden for when they needed a break. No food or beer though.

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Low-Cat4360@reddit

I would offer water but I grew up knowing to not eat from someone's house unless you know them. Lived with a hoarder until my teens so after that the default is to assume everyone's kitchen is nasty until you 100% know otherwise. I subconsciously feel like everyone thinks that way so I wouldn't offer food for this reason

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grlz2grlz@reddit

My mom administrated a property and there was this woman that would always bake cookies for the holidays. Her unit was always heavily infested with cockroaches and was a complete mess. She was evicted and her husband was arrested for abusing their minor children. My mom never took the cookies because she knew, she was afraid she would find a piece of cockroach or something.

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WrenchMonkey47@reddit

Whenever we moved, we always offered the movers bottled water and snacks.

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big_sugi@reddit

Snacks too.

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Emissary_awen@reddit

I was raised to offer food and drink to anyone who enters my home, especially workers.

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LosTaProspector@reddit

Coffee and cake? My mom use to have cake for random visitors, and would start a pot of coffee anytime someone stopped by. Which was pretty often, most people would get stuck at my house making sure to drink a cup, and eat some cake.

But this is what they do in MyCountry.

I wonder how much of the reticence to offer in the US has to do with American litigiousness. As in, if the worker gets sick after eating your food—even if it's not something that is symptomatic of food poisoning—are they going to sue you?

My mom had an issue with an AC worker who turned out to be doing all kinds of dangerous things at different people's houses to try to get a big payout and stop working. With her, he deliberately baited her dog until he nipped him. The dog was only ever friendly with everyone else, and the worker had gotten along well with him when he was in the house, playing with and petting him. But when he was outside, he started acting like he was going to hit the dog, batting his hands around his face and ears without actually touching him. After the worker was bitten, my mom encouraged him to go to urgent care and was later told he was fine (it turned out to be just a little nip).

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JEWCEY@reddit

Really it depends. I've ordered food for workers a few times, especially if they're working on my house from sun up to sun down. It's not always something I do, really depends on how much time they're spending, how hard the work is, etc. If it's summer time or hot out, I'll sometimes offer ice pops too. Usually they bring their own water, but if not, i offer that. I've had workers who make food breaks part of their day, and other times where it seems like they work without a break. I definitely try to do something if it seems like they're working without a break. 10 minutes to stop and have a little treat is not the end of the world.

I've definitely caught bad vibes before when offering a lot of food midday, like the team leader didn't want them taking a long break. So I've also ordered pizzas that they can each take one with them when they go.

I've cooked before and offered my cooking, but it was ethnic Jewish food (hearty beet soup with meat and vegetables, and some ate it, some were grossed out by it. I never offered my cooking again, because I didn't want them to eat it out of politeness. Generally I let them know where I'm ordering from and then let them choose, so I know I'm not making a mistake on what they want.

Empire did my floors in 2 different houses, and I got a vibe that they weren't allowed to take breaks, they never had their own water, etc. I not only got them food, I handed each worker a cash tip before they left because I worried their team leader wouldn't share the tips with them otherwise.

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CrowsAtMidnite@reddit

I do depending what time of day it is. At the minimum I offer something to drink

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Bitter_Fix_3445@reddit

No. Water, bathroom access.

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dehydratedrain@reddit

Definitely light refreshments (water, maybe a snack or piece of fruit), but most will either bring a meal or step away at mealtime.

Anglo-American.

I'm not sure what that means.

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Salt-Ad1943@reddit

American of English descent. What else?

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ColossusOfChoads@reddit

Naturalized citizens originating from England.

Anglophone white Americans of no specified ethnic origin.

'Transatlantic' types who go back and forth.

Some others.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

I'm an anglophone American of Irish descent.

Don't call me an Anglo-american or an Anglo. Them's foitin' woids!

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freeball78@reddit

Your housekeeper is different than the man coming to fix your dishwasher.

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Curiousbut_cautious@reddit

My (American) parents lived in Columbia for a time. They hired a housekeeper but did not know it was customary to feed any hired help. The housekeeper graciously told them, they were terribly embarrassed, and never made the mistake again.

coffee, and maybe a light snack.

Like others have said, beverages or allowing them to use your toilet, absolutely.

I think the expectation is that they probably already have their lunch plans figured out because this is their job.

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Lereas@reddit

Horizontal_Bob@reddit

Not common no

But probably because most workers have more appointments in the day and in American culture…if you can be on time you get repeat business

If you say 1-2pm and show up at 4….even if it couldn’t be helped the customer will likely use someone else the next time

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Magnolia256@reddit

I always thought it was really weird as a kid that our housekeeper never seemed to do anything human like eat or go to the bathroom. Like in 10 years I never once saw her go to the bathroom.

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pfta4@reddit

My parents are immigrants and they did it. I was mildly surprised to learn that americans from america did not. I am talking even people like contractors who came to our house and built stuff, even they were given food. Not just pizza or snacks, I'm talking like they cooked big full dishes and sides and etc.

Depends on what you're having done. When I had a new pool installed, I bought the guys pizzas for lunch a few of the days and when I had our sunroom remodeled, I bought the guys chili dogs for lunch.

For smaller jobs that only take an hour or two, I always offer a bottled water or whatever other drink we may have in the house and maybe a bag of chips or something.

I've never offered someone a full home cooked meal though and I don't know anyone that has. The closest thing to that would be maybe offering some cookies that my wife baked or a slice of cake, we've done that a couple of times.

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Jamison945@reddit

Whenever my parents had contractors work on the house, she always set a place at the table for them and made a heart sandwich or hot meal and they always appreciated it.

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Ihlita@reddit

Depends on the amount of work.

Nobody that I know has ever hired someone to do work around their house.

Nope not really. Although its super nice if you do , most people would decline the offer.

I know cold beers are offered to people doing major construction work or water but nah not food.

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therealmmethenrdier@reddit

I always offer coffee, snacks and cold drinks. When workers come when I bake, they always go home with cake or cookies. Our exterminator now expects cookies!

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"Servant," is a pretty extreme position to hold, I should hope I'd have fridge access.

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Otherwise-OhWell@reddit

Look buddy; servant is an economical use of the language!

I ain't typing maid/butler/nanny/housecleaner/personal-assistant...

CorpseProject@reddit

If someone is working in my house for multiple hours I offer them food and drink, normally a small lunch or something. Also I offer a beer or whatever at the end of the day. I do the same with any guest, and even people I pay to do work around the house are guests.

I’m from Oklahoma, and throughout the south I find it fairly common to offer food to guests and workers alike. It’s rude not to. It’s also rude to not accept the food, which is an entirely different thing.

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CaryWhit@reddit

Do not offer concrete workers a cold beer during lunch. It turns into a party. Spouses, kids and cousins!

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HistoryGirl23@reddit

We always offered at least water, or a snack.

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DeskEnvironmental@reddit

It is something I try to do when I remember. I so rarely have people do work around the house, I don’t keep snacks or bottled water or anything to give them since I buy in bulk and I feel like it would be weird to give them a baggie of loose almonds. I do refill their water bottles if they brought their own though! Least I could do.

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ghjm@reddit

If you work inside people's houses, you've seen a lot of crazy shit. Who knows what's going on with that water pitcher - do they clean it, or do they think it doesn't need cleaning because it's just water? Do their dogs wander around uncontrolled and lap up water from the pitcher? None of this is any of my business, and I'd rather keep it that way.

If you want anyone to actually drink it, put out bottled water with a sealed cap. Not too many ways for a homeowner to fuck that up.

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shannamae90@reddit

That’s a good point. Growing up, my mother would always offer water or lemonade or a small treat like cookies if we had some so that’s what I’ve always did but almost no one accepts. I’ve now stopped offering unless the workers are there for a good long time. I wonder if people are just more suspicious now or if my small town growing up was smaller than I thought and all those workers knew us through someone so they trusted our food more.

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ghjm@reddit

I don't know what time period you're talking about, but society up to the mid 1960s was organized very differently, with much more strict gender roles and a different attitude to privacy and individuality in the home. People expected to just show up and be invited in, in a way they no longer do. So people's houses, or at least the front rooms or ground floor or whatever, were semi-public spaces, and you could expect to be judged on how well you "kept house." Whatever you think of this system, it did at least serve the purpose of enforcing some standards for cleanliness and sanitation. In the modern world, many of our dwellings are private enclaves that nobody (other than service providers) ever see the inside of, so it's more possible for things to get out of hand.

At least, that's my theory.

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1Delta@reddit

Yeah, I only trusted sealed food/drinks when I worked in customer's houses.

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young_trash3@reddit

This is why on the rare occasion I feel the desire to feed a worker, I'm ordering in pizza for everyone. My kitchen is very clean, I'm a Chef, it's at commercial health code standards, they don't know that, so might as well just get delivery.

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RyouIshtar@reddit

I agree with the other dude. I'd have to be literally dying of thirst before i trust a random perwon's water pitcher. I'd drink a can of Tab before that.

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HeadCatMomCat@reddit

When someone does work in my house, I show them the water cooler with plastic cups on top and show them the spare bathroom. Plus depending on how long they are there, I offer some packaged chips or fruit bars, or whatever my grandson is into.

Generally, food does not get offered unless you’re already cooking .

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Legitimate-March9792@reddit

Actual meals for workers are not cultural. Drinks and snacks are.

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deeper-diver@reddit

It depends. I had some major repairs being done that required many weeks. I made it a point to offer the workers coffee and snacks when they showed up. They were very grateful, I took no offense if they take a break to enjoy said coffee and snacks. The work is hard and exhausting and I've been in their shoes too. I wish people did that to me.

It depends on who the worker is and why they're there. If it's a plumber, cable guy or maintenance man for an apartment building, then no, it's not customary to offer them anything more than a glass of water or the use of the restroom. If it's volunteers from your church doing your yard work because you've got a broken leg, then yes you should feed them.

Basically, paid professionals don't need to be offered lunch and probably don't have the time for it anyway. If they're there for any unpaid or underpaid function then offering them food, gifts or tips is customary. So no lunch for the tow truck driver that charges you $200 to haul your car on a flatbed, but lunch for the guy down the block that towed it with a rope for $20.

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ButterFace225@reddit

People normally offer water or something to drink. Offering an entire meal isn't typical from what I have seen.

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ophaus@reddit

No, it's not common at all.

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CupcakesAreTasty@reddit

I always offer bottled water or snacks. If it’s early, I’ll make coffee as well. It is not common to cook for people.

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HereForTheBoos1013@reddit

Not really. Maybe loose snacks out if it's an all day affair, but the workers typically bring their own or stop for lunch.

Sassy-Coaster@reddit

Not common but a friendly gesture.

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Capital_Pension5814@reddit

Nah we’re just grateful

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Fun_Frosting_6047@reddit

I'll usually offer them a Coke/water bottle/Gatorade but never a meal.

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apiculum@reddit

I usually offer water if it’s hot out and they’re there for a minute. Only ever offered food once because a job took way longer than expected and there was a crew working well into the night. They gladly accepted a hot dinner.

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KeyPicture4343@reddit

Depends on the person. My mom usually will buy subway sandwiches for a crew if they’re doing 2-5 days worth of work.

My husband and I will always grab chips, Gatorade and beer (depending on the crew) when we have work done!! Always a hit!

Beverages, yes. And I always show them where the bathroom is so they don’t have to ask later.

It depends on where you are in the country and what service is being rendered. Delivery drivers? Probably nothing apart from a tip if that. People doing an installation? Water is pretty common as is any drink. Tree crew coming to remove a tree? Maybe water if that. If it's your pest control guy who's been coming to you for the last 15 years? You might offer them food.

In my experience it's also much more common in the south, Midwest, and Texas.

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5footfilly@reddit

It depends-

I always offer water and coffee or tea, but if it’s only a couple of hours I don’t offer food.

No I wouldn't offer works anything that there responsibility just like if they need use bathroom need to go some place else

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Leverkaas2516@reddit

we offered the women lunch and they seemed really taken aback by it

I'll just point out what'll be obvious to most Americans: if someone offers you food, it can be rude not to accept, but if you're a contractor, time is money. You're there to work, not to eat.

If I'm going to be at a site long enough to get hungry, I'll bring something like a sandwich. Eating that sandwich will take less than 5 minutes. There's no need to take a long time with it, because I want to get home.

So an offer of a meal is kind of like an offer to sit and watch TV. Wirkers are there to get the job done, not to rrlax.

And if there's a crew that's being paid hourly, which is the norm, they're on the clock while sitting around at your job site eating. That makes it even more awkward.

So whatever you offer, it's best if it's something that doesn't take any time away from the job.

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beeziekw@reddit

I don’t typically offer food, but I almost always offer bottled water! The only time I remember feeding someone who came to work at our house was when we hired a couple to come and do some junk removal. They brought their two young kids with them and they were all dirty and thin. It was hours worth of work (my husband was working right alongside them the whole time). We gave their kids fruit to snack on the whole time and ordered them pizza for dinner. We sent them home with a couple meals worth of food as well.

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AvailableStrain5100@reddit

No, I’ve never done that. For lawn care, they stay outside the whole time. If they have work inside, they come in, complete the work, then leave.

MeVersusGravity@reddit

No, it is not normal in American culture. Workers are there to work and then leave. It would be weird to distract them and prolong their visit. Also, we are taught from a young age to not take stuff from strangers. Even for Halloween (when taking stuff from a stranger is acceptable), we are taught to only accept factory sealed items.

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sean8877@reddit

No, but it is nice to do if they are working a long day on something at your house. When we had some major work done on our house we bought pizzas for the guys working and they seemed to appreciated it.

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Disastrous-State-842@reddit

If it’s an individual I usually will offer drinks, esp if it’s hot. If it’s a crew usually no as the Boss man typically supplies food. I’ve never offered food.

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Supermac34@reddit

If crews are working all day, and often multiple days at my house, I offer to buy them lunch from time to time. When my pool was being built and the crews were at my house, I'd always put a coffee pot out for them (it was cold during construction) and sodas and stuff. I'd usually order lunch for them every few days too.

If its someone coming by for an hour or two, they get offered beverages, and maybe something from our candy bowl.

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It is not the usual, but there are some exceptions:

If it is hot and they are working outside for more than a couple hours, typical to offer a cold drink, if longer a snack.

Similar if inside, maybe coffee/snack., but the task needs to be a 4-5 hour job.

The only time I ever thought about providing a meal, or more is if I know the person/crew doing the work, especially if they are helping out for free.

I've offered folks water, tea, or coffee. I usually only offer food if I know them well enough and it's around meal time. In the summer, we let folks help themselves to stuff out of the garden - tomatoes, peppers, squashes, etc, as we always have way too much anyway.

One time, a work crew got like 15 pounds of free tomatoes from me.

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MostDopeMozzy@reddit

In rural / smaller communities areas they often offer food and water

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1877KlownsForKids@reddit

I mean, I do. Second thing I do when a tradie shows up, after going over why they're here, if tell them where the bathroom is, tell him the doggo is friendly and would love pets, and offer him something to eat or drink.

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Technical_Plum2239@reddit

I make the guys who work here lunch. It's a bit presumptuous because we have so many cultures and religions - so dietary restrictions.

I had a crew from Venezuela here this year and I made them a fancy little boxed lunch they could have in the yard and set them up a table with drinks. They didn't speak any English but I saw one of them taking pictures of his lunch so I thought that was sweet.

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Dalton387@reddit

It’s not abnormal, but it’s not common. It also depends on what kind of worker it is and the qty.

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Vikingkrautm@reddit

I only offer something cold to drink in the heat. Workers always bring their own food.

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Taffr19@reddit

It’s not often but I’ve been offered coffee/tea/water in the past but I always decline because I’m paranoid.

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CafeTeo@reddit

We offer Coffee, Soda, Water, and we will cook extra food for them.

No it is not customary. But you do you.

I always offer something to drink. If I am making food, yes, I will offer.

I was raised in the south and the rule in my house was that you don't prepare or eat food in front of anyone unless you can feed that person as well.

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ShinjiTakeyama@reddit

For me it might depend on amount of work/time of project.

Water for sure, but I generally only buy a bunch of pizzas for a crew if the project would be like 4+ hours.

But I don't think even that's typical.

They're already getting paid, and it's their bosses responsibility to allow them a lunch break. We aren't friends and I'm not hosting a party.

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abbot_x@reddit

I would offer a contractor or house cleaner water or coffee. If have a hospitality food like cookies or doughnuts I may offer that.

I would generally never offer to make or buy a meal or snack. If the worker is just at my home for a few hours, they should plan to eat at another time. If they are there all day (e.g., roofers) then they can take a lunch break.

The exception is professional movers. Loading and unloading can take the whole day. Movers usually don’t have any vehicle of their own besides the moving truck. And there’s usually no food in your house so you the customer are going to need to eat. I think it just makes sense to include the moves in lunch. So my wife and I will just tell the movers that we’re going to get subs/hoagies for everybody, our treat. This is way better than having hangry movers or worse yet an impromptu lunch expedition by the moving crew.

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TheRandomestWonderer@reddit

My husband is a plumber, he gets offered all kinds of things all the time. If it’s something that is sealed like water or Gatorade or a soda, he will gladly take it. If it’s something to drink from the homeowners glassware or a cup, he will refuse. Also, when he’s offered food, he will usually turn it down, sometimes people insist so he will take the plate with him, but he won’t eat the food.

If you had seen the kind of things he has seen, and been to the kind of places that he’s been, you would completely understand why he doesn’t. Granted, it’s a nice gesture, but it’s too much of a risk to eat or drink unsealed food and drink items, not to mention he has diverticulitis so he has to be careful what he eats so he doesn’t have a flare.

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Jondiesel78@reddit

I always offer workers water or drinks. With my regular farmhand, he knows where the drinks are and helps himself. He also stays for dinner at least once a week. We often give the UPS and Amazon drivers water.

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Labornurse59@reddit

A guest, yes! Hired help, something to drink, perhaps, but definitely not a meal.

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Karfedix_of_Pain@reddit

When a worker comes to your house in America, is it not customary to offer them lunch/food?

No, that's not customary.

It's pretty typical to offer workers a drink - water, soda, coffee, or tea. Maybe if it's towards the end of the day and you're somewhat familiar with them you might offer a beer.

Possibly if you get to talking and they mention being hungry I might offer a snack or a sandwich or something.

But, broadly speaking, I'm not offering them food.

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itsme_peachlover@reddit

We always offer water, or soda, occasionally we've offered snacks, like chips or cookies or donuts, but never a meal.

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InevitableWaluigi@reddit

If I already was making something and they showed up, I probably would offer any that was left over. I'd definitely offer water or any other beverage I had but I'm not going to go out of my way to make something just because they're at my house

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AdFresh8123@reddit

Water or a beverage is common, but food is very rare.

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Dr_Watson349@reddit

Offering them a drink (water, soda, gatorade, etc) is super common and considered good manners/polite. Offering food wouldn't be seen poorly, just very out of the ordinary.

In America we have a saying “you can’t eat at everybody’s house” because some people are not good with hygiene practices while cooking.

Just yesterday my wife was working at the house of a customer we've had for 3 decades.

She was offered a home cooked lunch but she politely declined.

That's a bit of an outlier because we've also become friends over the yrars.

We decline any home cooked food from anyone we don't know personally because who knows how it was prepated.

We offer sealed beverages to contractors in our home but no one ever accepts it.

We do leave a weather proof box with ziplock bags that contain cash and lottery scratchers for delivery drivers during the holidsys.

We go through about 150 bucks each year. It's the honor system and no one has ever taken more then one bag.

I know I wouldn't trust an open beverage at a stranger's house, so why would I expect a worker I've hired to trust me?

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JuanG_13@reddit

Water, but not something to eat lol

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LoyalKopite@reddit

Generally it is just law enforcement Captain come to check on me if I am really my wife tried to give them drink or food but they always refused as it is against the law.

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michaeljvaughn@reddit

Painter here. I'm offered bottles of water, maybe a snack, but never lunch.

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Katharinemaddison@reddit

In the U.K. it’ law to offer them a ‘brew’ - tea or coffee. Most of the time they refuse, but you still have to offer.

No, it is not common to feed workers who come over. Maybe a beverage, like a water or coffee.

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The12th_secret_spice@reddit

In my experience, it’s polite to offer drinks and it’s polite to refuse. In the summer, we’d do the dance and leave them a cooler if they changed their mind. Sometimes they’d take it, sometimes not.

Now a beer offer half way or more through the project at quitting time was rarely refused 😂

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SLIMaxPower@reddit

So it's food or pay

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SordoCrabs@reddit

I am an outlier, but when I had my upstairs air conditioning replaced this summer, I had a cooler filled with cold drinks (soda, water, even some milk boxes) for the crew, as well as some snacks. They barely touched it.

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SparrowLikeBird@reddit

Typical American offerings include water, lemonade, ice tea, canned soda, and/or beer.

If someone is coming to your house to do work and they are a person you know casually (not a pro) you also give them pizza.

Professionals are not typically offered food, because you are paying them money.

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NoiseyTurbulence@reddit

It’s not very common. I know when I have workers come to my house. I always offer them something to drink.

If it’s movers and we’re doing moving lunchtime, I always give them money and tell them to take a lunch break.

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TrulyKristan@reddit

We had a bunch of outdoor work done last summer. A new roof, gutters, siding, fence, trees cut down, grass ripped up and reseeded. The whole thing. We left out snacks and a cooler full of water on the porch for the workers.

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According_Pizza2915@reddit

Not sure what other people do but If we are having a meal and workers of any kind are there we feed them as well, my parents have always done that as well.

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Justanothrcrazybroad@reddit

I usually offer water if it's a quick job. If someone is there for a few hours, I'd probably offer a snack if I had something suitable on hand. For a full day, lunch can get pricey if it's more than one or two people, so for a larger group, I'd usually grab donuts or cookies or something. It depends a bit on my budget, too.

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Darmok47@reddit

My grandfather had the same guy he hired for years to do work around his house and his rental properties, and he invited him for lunch several times. I remember being a a kid and having lunch with my grandparents and their Salvadoran handyman a few times.

I don't think it is normally done, especially these days as far as offering food. I think back in the past it may have been done more often.

However, I have always offered workman something. Usually they don't accept unless it's just water. But I have had a couple of contractors take a meal with us if we were having lunch and they were there. I just feel like it's polite to offer and gives them a good reason to do a good job for you, though that's not the main reason I do it.

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NoodleyP@reddit

My aunt had a contractor working on her house at one point, when he was over she always made a plate of food for him, but I think he was a family friend or something

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Alternative-Art3588@reddit

If it’s an all day or multi day project like movers or roofers I will order pizza. But a plumber coming over for an hour, I offer something to drink.

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McNally@reddit

As far as I can recall, no workman ever left my mother's home without being offered food and drink and I try to remember her commitment to hospitality and observe it as a way to honor her memory.

I recognize that it's not a universal custom to offer, but when I have workers doing work on a home I make sure that I have stocked bottled water, that they know where it is, and that I have explained clearly that it is there for their benefit. I usually leave some form of snack food out where they know it's available - maybe a jar of pretzels or a bowl of mini-sized candy bars.

If it comes up, I also make it clear that the bathrooms are there for their use. And on projects where it's appropriate I'll advise them where I have a drawer containing basic PPE like safety glasses, dust masks, and gloves.

I do these things because:

I'm not a monster, but also
Treating workers as human beings aligns with my own self-interest - by establishing that I want them to be safe and happy and in the best position to do good work I honestly believe I get better work quality in return.

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MontanaLady406@reddit

I start with a thank you and introduction of then offer bottle water, soda pop, or coffee. Never food. Food means sitting down at a table and socializing. They can’t complete the job if we are talking and eating around the dining table.

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san_souci@reddit

I will offer water and maybe coffee (which is pretty much all I drink apart for alcohol). For a crew of workers I might offer to have pizza delivered, but some people are picky about home cooked food, so I wouldn’t offer to provide them with something I made.

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OodalollyOodalolly@reddit

If they are working all day I do. I offered lunch to men that were packing and moving my house. Most of the time workers are not here more than 1 hour for repairs or maintenance so it’s not long enough to offer anything

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popfilms@reddit

I've offered people water, coffee and snacks like some fruit but no not a full meal.

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TheDwarvenGuy@reddit

Something that others haven't mentioned yet is that eating at someone's table is considered very intimate and socially oriented so it'd be really awkward for both parties unless you really hit it off well and became friends or something.

Non-sit-down foods would be acceptable though, like donuts and coffee. Perhaps even some fast food.

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Turdulator@reddit

Water or some other beverage would be significantly more common than food.

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TheRealDudeMitch@reddit

I’m a plumber and work in people’s houses daily. I have never been offered lunch, and it would be very strange if someone did.

I have had customers give me 10 or 20 bucks after a job and tell me to buy myself some lunch with it.

On a couple very rare occasions (maybe 3 times in the last 13 years or so) I’ve had someone offer me a recently baked cookie

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dadspeed55@reddit

American midwesterner, we will always offer something to drink such as water, coffee, or lemonade, but never something to eat.

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Celticssuperfan885@reddit

No cuz their job is to work not eat

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ConvivialKat@reddit

I did a BBQ for the wonderful crew who built my new fence in the August heat. They deserved every bit of it.

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TimeSpacePilot@reddit

I work in the utility business. Sometimes I interact with customers all day long. It’s pretty common to have water bottles offered to us but I have always politely declined, I carry plenty of cold water in my truck.

Then 2 years ago, two utility workers on a desert road east of San Diego were offered what appeared to be sealed bottles of water. They both contained fentanyl. One died, one went to the hospital in serious condition but lived. Who does that?!?

An alert went out nationwide after that. I’d be shocked if any utility worker would take anything offered to them ever again unless it was an emergency.

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noteworthypilot@reddit (OP)

Then 2 years ago, two utility workers on a desert road east of San Diego were offered what appeared to be sealed bottles of water. They both contained fentanyl. One died, one went to the hospital in serious condition but lived. Who does that?!?

I used to install appliances while my wife cleaned houses. I never got anything, but my wife would. She built a relationship with customers while I just popped in and put of their lives.

Now I work for the railroad building and maintaining tracks. This summer we were building a siding near some affluent houses while it was about 110 degrees F, and a guy popped over his fence to offer us Gatorade. He gave us a case of cold Gatorades and a case of cold bottled waters. It was one of those days where the heat was making us sick. We were having equipment problems so we were using hammers and hand tools like they did in the 1800s, and he really came through even though most of the neighborhood were pissed at us because the tracks meant increased train traffic which might bring down the home values.

When I was a kid and we had a tradesman working in the house, my mom would cook a hot meal for lunch for all of us and the tradesman. Note that we didn't ever have hot lunch otherwise.

For other workers like a plumber or electrician, I have never offered food but if it is a hot day I have offered a cold drink. Movers also are offered cold drinks and a good tip in addition to what you okay the mov8ng company.

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Otherwise_Chef_6242@reddit

I worked door to door sales for a couple years when I was a teen & early 20s & I would get offered to eat dinner with a family once or twice a week but that is after seeing maybe 150-200 people a day 6 days a week

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Agile_Property9943@reddit

I offer drinks and food

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stiletto929@reddit

I offer water but almost none of them accept it.

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Now, if it's a friend doing some work for you, then it's normal. But if it's just business it's not typically done.

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ReferenceSufficient@reddit

No

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Decades ago when I made a living doing residential computer support, occasionally people would offer me food, and a handful of them got upset when I politely declined. Even if your house is spic-and-span, earlier that day I've been crawling under someone's nasty desk to route their cables, staring at the moldy sandwich they dropped on the floor and forgot about. It doesn't put me in a mood to eat some random stranger's homemade food.

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anneofgraygardens@reddit

I had a couple landscapers over today, didn't offer them anything. If it were hot, I'd offer them ice water, but it's not. They didn't expect it, they have their own food and water.

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TucsonTacos@reddit

My mother’s landscaper used to always bring his children along to work and we’d give them little sandwiches and otter pops.

Come to think of it maybe that’s why they always came along. “The snack lady”

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Onahsakenra@reddit

Not the norm, no. But the exception is in the summer (it gets very hot where I live) it is common and the polite thing to offer bottled water or something to drink, specifically if they are doing outdoor work, or work in non-AC environment like the attic for HVAC etc. People who can afford it also will leave a cooler of drinks and snacks for delivery people like Fed-ex and Amazon delivery workers.

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Think_Leadership_91@reddit

Bottled water, soda, no food

I always offer drinks. If someone’s there for an hour or so, I’ll offer them whatever snacks I have available. If workers are there for more than a couple of hours or very early, I’ll get donuts, fruit, and coffee (bananas are surprisingly popular). My dogsitter knows she’s welcome to anything in the house and I’ll ask if there’s anything in particular she wants to grab before she comes.

I don’t usually offer lunch because most workers will bring their own if they know they will be working all day (or like my roofers who brought a guy who’s sole job was apparently to breakout a grill and cook lunch). If they unexpectedly have to stay late, most people just want to get done and go home. I’d certainly offer to buy pizza if they were staying super late and the crew lead didn’t do so.

quizzicalturnip@reddit

Good lord, no! Water maybe. And if you did they’d probably refuse.

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Fantastic-Leopard131@reddit

Offering them a drink or maybe even a dessert like a cookie if you happen to have them around wouldnt be unusual but a full meal would be unusual. Offering nothing is also very normal. At least offering water would be good manners but any drink or treat more than that would be a nice little surprise that its unusual but also isnt common enough to expect.

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Oomlotte99@reddit

My mom offers them something to drink, not usually something to eat, though.

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i_dunt_read@reddit

Drinks and sometimes snacks is not unusual. I will generally offer coffee/water. If I’m cooking dinner and they say something like “that smells good” I’ll offer them a plate or a little to-go container that’s rare though.

No one else has ever accepted, though, so I was surprised. It seems like most workers keep their own drinks on hand.

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butt_honcho@reddit

I always offer coffee. I've never once been taken up on it.

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broadsharp@reddit

No.

Water, coffee but not a meal

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Pleased_Bees@reddit

No, it's not an American thing. Workers bring their own food and drinks if they want them.

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PerfectlyCalmDude@reddit

Definitely not normal. If someone needs to deliver something or fix something, they want and need to get done and get out to the next job. Some even use smartphones to take pictures to prove that the job was done, and I am sure that metadata is used as part of timekeeping.

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houndsoflu@reddit

Beverages, but not food. Unless someone makes some cookies.

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revengeappendage@reddit

Waters? Coffee? Soda? Sure.

And like snacks or fruit? Sure.

Full on meals are kind of unusual tho.

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