Greasing the wheels of customer's kitchens...a random thought.

SeanKroll

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Olympia, WA
A funny thing about sharing anecdotes about the TH with customers is that it can be helpful at lunch time.

Telling how in Japan you must bring towels and apologizes, and I think you can at least expect tea, and maybe snacks, sometimes get the food gifts flowing to the crew. (Grocery Outlet had protein bars for $0.25 each the other day, and cheap SlimJim type meat-sticks, so I try to keep the truck stocked with extra food for the guys, so nobody goes hungry...engine doesn't run without gas...human engine doesn't run without food, and maybe coffee).


Ask for a cup of water, and they might start offering coffee and snacks. Ask for coffee for one, and suddenly people remember, oh yeah, these guys are busting their butts, and they might offer coffee and snacks. (personally, I never go to work without a coffee thermos, PNW and all)


Probably if you re-live, slightly loudly enough to be overheard, about how Huldah (our recent chef) had snacks, ice water, coffee, sandwiches, etc, or Karen (another appreciative homeowner) had chips and salsa, protein bars, and ice water on a 90's day, people will be wanting to join in those ranks.

Its 'forces' some breaks that otherwise might not be taken. We relaxed and ate at Karen's waterfront jobsite. Nice.
 
I rarely had food offered from customers and honestly mostly found the intrusion/break to be annoying and wasteful of time.

Just me though. I don't want to be bugged by a customer to stop and have tea, coffee, whatever. I brought food/water to get through the day everyday of my working life so far. It's not hard to do. And honestly if a employee can't organize themself to show up with lunch and hydration I doubt it would work out between us anyway.
 
I like tea, and when people offer tea and I accept it, I want it within 2 minutes, otherwise we're all standing around holding our dicks.

The tea must be strong, piping hot with minimal milk. (Certain biscuits are acceptable)

Apart from that I'm a delight to have on your property.

I'm with you Justin, I don't want to eat with the clients or eat their food while they watch. You're still on duty all that time.
 
Best times I have are Italian neighbourhood. A small block party will happen, vino, sausage, bread, neighbours will clean up, especially straight sticks for their gardens and I still get paid the same amount, and they probably send you off with supper.

Only good because I'm not a full time.
 
I've been given treats, even meals but that was far and few between.

It all depends on the mood of the particular job...
 
Any job we do where the clients are home, we get offered coffe, tea or something cold to drink.
Simply how it is done here.
Refusing would be impolite, but I tell them to wait till we take our break anyway.
 
Used to say to the clients "is your electricity still working? I haven't knocked it out have I?"

Client "yes, no problems"

Me "so the kettle is working then?"
 
Any job we do where the clients are home, we get offered coffe, tea or something cold to drink.
Simply how it is done here.
Refusing would be impolite, but I tell them to wait till we take our break anyway.
That's just good old southern hospitality. Are you in southern Denmark Stig? ;)
 
Next week I'll be.
Gonna go south all of next week for a logging job.
 
Used to say to the clients "is your electricity still working? I haven't knocked it out have I?"

Client "yes, no problems"

Me "so the kettle is working then?"

LMAO, ha ha. I could see that working for anyone that was likable and there to get snacks.

I'm with Justin. I'm a miracle worker, stay out of my way and watch the magic happen. (I often leave jobs guessing how many days a homeowner would have spent cleaning up a mess I just created and impeccably cleaned up in a day.)
 
Ha! , Now I have to post .... Always say no to all offers as we are self contained , if it is Beer and hot out I will take it for later after the truck is parked , If Coffee I tell them I drank an entire pot at 5:00 AM. Two exceptions (one friends , other regular Customers) when they broke out such delicious stuff we couldn't refuse.
 
End of the day proactively accepting refreshments/meals will mean end of the day further away or eating when you'd prefer to be eating at a different time. Had a guy insist on making a bbq but it was way too late by the time he had it done.... we really needed to eat about 3 hours earlier.
 
Old Louisiana lady made the boys jambalaya once, they loved it and it was pre-approved. Generally we don't take coffee from clients, occasionally a cold drink though
 
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Often get asked when are we going to stop for tea...especially morning tea...
I will stop for food/beverages offered if it is close to lunch or a suitable break time, otherwise it's after work is done. I'd say it's rare not to get asked if you'd like a drink even if it's just water.

I told you all about last summer in Bermuda...full cooked lunch or gourmet salad EVERY day...home made bread, casseroles, pizzas...I think the property manager liked to practise on all the tradespeople for Mr. Megabuck's up coming weekend visits. It was heaven.
 
I would never drink beer with a customer. As a company owner it just seemed unprofessional to me. Also I paid gate to gate. So hanging around with the customer to have a beer would mean I was paying my guys to drink beer. Also and not to ruffle any feathers I think it portrays a very unprofessional image. I'd cringe to think of the neighbours peeking over and watching the treeguys swilling beers before rolling off in the heavy trucks. Not to mention the legality and liability of it.
 
I will rarely drink a beer with a client, at the end of the day sometimes, if the vibe is right.

One of the issues I have with client prepared lunch is the going to the toilet thing. Large lunch and as likely as not I'll have to go again, and that complicates things.
 
Ha! , Now I have to post .... Always say no to all offers as we are self contained , if it is Beer and hot out I will take it for later after the truck is parked , If Coffee I tell them I drank an entire pot at 5:00 AM. Two exceptions (one friends , other regular Customers) when they broke out such delicious stuff we couldn't refuse.

Different parts of the world, different ways to deal with offered hospitality.
In Southern Europe ( And Schweiz+ Österreich) refusing an offered cup of coffe/ tea/ whatever is an insult.

Took me a while to wrap my mind around that when I worked in Schweiz, but eventually I figured it out.

Stopping for 5 minutes to have a cup/glass of whatever is not what makes the difference between bringing the job in on time or not.

If it is, you guys are cutting it too close.

We rely a lot on word of mouth for jobs.
Not offending the client is a big part of that.
 
Being self employed with no employees...except Bob! We will mentally 'turn off the clock' if a client wants to chat and offer food/drinks. If it can be incorporated relatively seamlessly into the job, I say why not?
But if I'm up in the trees, I am not coming down just for a cuppa! See you when the job is done.
 
I'm not the one to ask something. Excepted if I'm very very thirsty and I forgot to take my bottles, but it's very rare.

I see all the schemes, from the HO staying at home and not showing his nose outside, to the big lunch, even the diner sometimes. The most often, it's a coffee. Beer, wine or alcohols are offered in some cases, but all that's a big no no (after the work, why not).
It's pleasant to have a little break and feeling that our job is at least a little appreciated. That doesn't take much time and that's a little plus on the relationship, with the customer and inside the crew.

The hard part is when a customer says "don't climb again now, I bring the coffee", and then, it takes sooo long to prepare it. I want to be up there !
But when a town asks for a mandatory silent from 12 to 14 o'clock, it's really good that the customer offers a lunch !
 
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