If you’ve ever worked in a customer’s home and were never offered a cup of tea, then you’re not alone. A recent survey of Brits has found that 30% of people said they wouldn’t make a maintenance person a cuppa when they were making repairs in their home.
With one in five (22%) spending over a thousand pounds annually on home maintenance, you would assume that many Brits may make cups of tea, offer biscuits and allow use of the facilities as a show of good will and courtesy, but new research suggests this is no longer the case.
The study, conducted by Boiler Plan, revealed that 30% of Brits won’t part with a tea bag and dash of milk to befriend their handy person. More than half (59%) won’t even allow maintenance people to use the toilet, causing them discomfort and potentially slowing work down if handy people are forced to use facilities elsewhere.
Instead of offering a traditional brew and allowing hard working handy people to use the facilities, many Brits are turning to slightly less conventional means of building rapport with maintenance people in their home. One in nine (11%) would happily flirt with their maintenance person to get a better deal.
One in five (20%) young people would consider flirting to save money or get a faster service, which may be down to the fact that this age group has had to call out workers for repairs more than any other age group – with more than one in eight (14%) having had nine or more visits in the past year.
Young adults appear to act more relaxed in general as they are more than twice as likely as any other age group to offer them alcohol in an attempt to get the bill lowered (11%) and 14% admitted to making workers an alcoholic drink whilst on the job.
Commenting on the findings, Ian Henderson, MD of Boiler Plan, says: “It’s of course up to the consumer how they decide to treat maintenance people in their home. We at Boiler Plan always welcome a cup of tea of course and would never say no to a biscuit.
“I think most people can appreciate that feeling of when you really need to nip to the loo, but our research suggests that there is a hesitancy from some people when it comes to allowing maintenance people to use their toilet facilities
“It’s always down to the discretion of the individual whose home is being worked in. What access they provide, however, it’s always better if maintenance people can be given toilet access if needed.”
Boiler Plan, who offer competitive payment plans, boilers and repair and servicing to consumers, have put together a helpful guide for home dwellers with tips on welcoming
maintenance people into their home. Click here to read the how-to guide.
