Contractor wants donuts? (do you provide refreshments?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a lot of work done on our house a few years ago. Every month or so, I'd spring for pizza or tacos for the whole crew. They really appreciated it.

I don't think it's great that they asked, but a couple of donuts isn't a big deal. If you don't have time to get them, give them a gift card so they can pick up on the way to work.

I mean, they are building your house. I would put in the $20 extra dollars to keep them happy and not mess up anything that they are working on because they are mad. Fair? Probably not, but not worth the trouble IMO.

This. A simple thought and gesture truly goes a long way with people in your employ, and yes, I know they are sub contractors, but still. They are in your home, just not a big deal. Op you are annoying to even post this.

[Anonymous]

I'd do it but then I'd invoice the GC with his same markup.

[Anonymous]

Op - maybe they are being sarcastic, think they are being funny. Saying the truth but certainly don't expect it.

[Anonymous]

I always offer beverages like gaterade/water/club soda and protein bars. These people are trying to make my house nicer and doing a lot of manual labor. It’a just a nice gesture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, no.

If your husband wants to get them donuts, that's fine. But it's weird that they asked. (Is it possible they said it as a joke when your husband asked if they needed anything?)

That would be much less strange. I would be kind of put off if a contractor just asked for donuts out of the blue.

This sounds like miscommunication to me. Or misinterpretation. We did buy donuts once for the contractors renovating our kitchen when I stopped near a DD on the way home from work once. And another time I think we bought them pizza when we were working from home (early covid days) and ordering some for ourselves. We really liked our contractors, though, and had good interactions with them. They did a few fixes free of charge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's one thing if you decide to give them a treat. It's another for them to ask for it.

Also, they have to see you rushing out the door to work. Why does this guy think you should be going out to get him food? Rude.

Yep, I agree with this. I'd be totally and completely put off by this guy's audacity. If he wants donuts he can shove some in his mouth before he gets to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's one thing if you decide to give them a treat. It's another for them to ask for it.

Also, they have to see you rushing out the door to work. Why does this guy think you should be going out to get him food? Rude.

Yep, I agree with this. I'd be totally and completely put off by this guy's audacity. If he wants donuts he can shove some in his mouth before he gets to work.

That’s fine - but don’t get upset when he sloppily finishes the job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's one thing if you decide to give them a treat. It's another for them to ask for it.

Also, they have to see you rushing out the door to work. Why does this guy think you should be going out to get him food? Rude.

Yep, I agree with this. I'd be totally and completely put off by this guy's audacity. If he wants donuts he can shove some in his mouth before he gets to work.

That’s fine - but don’t get upset when he sloppily finishes the job

That reminds me, my boss didn’t feed me at work today, time to go screw up some reports!

[Anonymous]

We once had a contractor ask to add an order onto ours for lunch; my DH was telling me what he wanted and this guy asked to get the same thing (we paid for it). I was so shocked I couldn’t even respond. It’s beyond unprofessional!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to treat contractors on a Friday or monday since they were there for multiple weeks. Noone ever asked. Noone has even asked to use the bathroom and either they didn't at my house or were super clean.

New pp here. I've had contractors ask if they could use the bathroom before. I have no problem with that. I've literally never once had them ask for food or drinks. We have provided them from time to time depending on the work being done though.