cappuccino

If a tradesperson (that you have not used before) who is about to start doing work on the outside of the house asks you to give them a spare key, would you?

Are Kiwis very trusting or is it just me being overly precautious and not happy to let them loose inside my house whilst I am out at work?

Bo-Jangles

I have watched too many episodes of Target, trust nobody and especially not carpet fitters.

HeatherGirl

Not in a million years.

And why does he need one if working on the outside of your house?

Justcol

When I was self employed I often came across people who were cautious about leaving me alone to work, and I fully understood.
All I ever did was work, hell I even walked off their property to have a smoke, but sadly not everyone is like that.
There are some tradies who are not quite as respectful of the trust their customers place in them. I've worked with
quite a few who I would never work with again. I've worked with some who go roaming in rooms they have no right to be in,
rummage through kitchen cupboards for tea / coffee and even take beers from fridge.
Your house, your rules, if you dont want em in dont let em in.

cappuccino

Thank you all for putting my mind at rest! If it was just a day's work I would take the day off but it's likely to be a week or two depending on the weather.

I'll leave the garage open which has power, and a kettle/tea. If they need the loo then i hope its just a case of 'watering' the trees!

theghostofdustybin

If i don't trust them to be in the house i doubt i would trust them to do the work..

HeatherGirl

I'm sure 80 percent are comepletely trustworthy, 5 percent would rob you given an opportunity and the other 15 percent would have a sly rummage!!!!

I've heard stories of rummaging thru undies and all sorts!

No offense to tradies - my OH is one and hopefully one of the honest 80 percent!

Justcol

There seems to be a bit of a knicker fetish running through the Kiwi building trade
I wonder if its one of the requirements of the job when you apply ??

ukecadet

Many years ago I caught a guy with knickers in hand and had him sacked.
I work in house maintenance at present and people have asked me to leave the house if they have to go out. I'm not offended by this at all,they don't know me from Adam.
The house I'm working now have given me a set of keys and I just let myself in.
I've had men tell me I can only do the work when they are present as they don't want their wife left on her own with another man.
Now I find that offensive.And I wonder what their wife thinks?

scrubbedexpat094

I wouldn't trust anyone with a house key unless I knew them really well.

Ukecadet, I don't actualy like having to deal with 'strange' men. To be fair I've never had a problem with any tradesmen who have come to my home (UK & NZ) but I sometimes feel uncomfortable about it.

My OH was always happy for me to be at home to deal with these people until I finally told him how I felt.

sparkie down under

Having spent my life 'in the trade misses', i've come across them all. From the super specious to some who really ought to remember to pack up the sex toys before I work in their house.

In general I'd trust any tradesman - IF IT FELT RIGHT !

I was never offended if someone didn't want me to work in their house alone - all it meant to me was that they'd have to arrange for someone to be there with me and I could say, "yes please, white no sugar". No skin off my nose.

Remember you see a tradesman perhaps once a year, they see customers every F'ing day!

Just ask them why it is they want a key. If they are honest and up front you'll get a honest and up front answer.

Snap Shot

I agree with theGhostofDB. I felt I could trust the integrity of the Maintenance and Construction firm I hired last year. It's because of them that I've got an electrician and plumber. The builder that has worked for them at our house I trust implicitly. Use your judgement, your 'gut' feeling. I wouldn't allow anyone on my property or in my house unless I intuitively felt they were clean and honest. I've given the key to a young electrician. I've also done the same for the builder. You will just get a sense that all they want to do is the job they're good at and then go home.

tweetweet

It depends on your insurance, does it cover you for theft by a tradesman to whom you have given a house key?

Charismatic

Somehow when I opened this thread I assumed it was going to be a pitch for a pyramid scheme.

I’d assume being a tradesman would pretty much be fanny central with all those bored home-alone tidy wives, how else could they justify billing for two and a half hours time to fix a light bulb holder or put up a shelf? So in context I see going through your wife's underwear while she isn't wearing it to be a sort of public service, bit of old fashion professional integrity like .

After all anyone who has ever watched a porn film will tell you the outcome if a woman has a trades person over to fix something but doesn't have the cash to pay for the job. Apparently the standard business practice of invoicing isn't big in pornography .

nero

Well I was dumbstruck when our power (meter) readers asked for a key to our house as we are not always home when they want to read the meter. The meter is inside our house. I said NO, especially as each time I have been home I have met a different person reading the meter!

As for a workman/tradesman it really depends if I know them or not - have left them at home on their own before. But it really depends.