So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me.
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@DaveMWilburn @SecureOwl my FIL in Florida literally ran out the house to offer the garbage collector a cold drink
@internetsdairy @DaveMWilburn @SecureOwl
In recent years that's life saving in summers. -
So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl Hey, I'm Italian, and I consider very unpolite to not offer a drink to someone entering your home or doing work for you.
Except, there are only two types of drinks allowed: coffee and wine.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl you'll mess them up though. no public toilets, where are they supposed to pee? (joking, don't worry)
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@michelin @SecureOwl to be fair: chilled, clean, tasteless water is kind of luxury in most US. I guess the standard expectation is soda
(sorry, couldn't resist)
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl I'm American and I've always done this! (offering a beverage to any repair person or contractor that comes to the house)
I thought it was just being friendly/kind. I never knew it was rare or weird.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl my wife and I do the same thing. I'm Canadian, but my wife is American and doesn't think it's weird.
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@SecureOwl you'll mess them up though. no public toilets, where are they supposed to pee? (joking, don't worry)
@airshipper @SecureOwl
I know you said you were joking, but when the task is going to take a while (several hours) I'll offer the use of our bathroom. Only a couple have ever accepted but I still offer. -
So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl It's just rude to not offer someone coming to your house food and or drinks. It's like saying I don't give a shit about you to the point where I don't care that you've traveled all this way to see me, so I won't hydrate or feed you.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl I’m so with you! I brought a delivery driver into my house and let him choose a drink from the fridge this week! It was 105 F outside and worse in his truck.
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I wonder if this is a regionalism, because as a born-and-raised American from what constitutes (just barely) the South, not offering at least a glass of water is borderline offensive.
@DaveMWilburn @SecureOwl
Agreed, it was definitely a thing I picked up from my parents growing up in Mississippi as a Gen X kid and further refined this custom after spending many years in Japan. We've always kept cold bottled sports drinks on hand — especially in summer months — for contractors or movers. They seem to appreciate the gesture. -
So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl There is no tipping culture in Japan, but we always offer workers something -- usually bottled green tea. I'm happy to say this, at least, is widely practiced.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl At least have water (same kind you'd drink) available for visitors and workers. I often forget to ask, but it absolutely should be normalized. It should be normal year-round, but certainly during the summer where dehydration can be a real risk.
I don't have coffee or tea around. (I consume neither bean water nor leaf water.). Tho, if they can stomach the soda I have, they are welcome to it.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl wait... people in America don't offer other people drinks when they come into their homes?! WHAT!?
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl in Brazil we will even invite (and expect them to partake) to lunch (which is a full meal, no sandwiches)
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl
We had a guy out to stucco our garage yesterday. I not only offered him a huge glass of ice water (which he gladly took) but also a couple of pieces of freshly baked pumpkin cake.In the past, I've gone out and bought tacos for window installers.
The folks who come to fix your stuff are the ones who should be treated with hospitality and respect.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl It's great to see so many people willing to offer some water or something, but there is another factor at play here. Some bosses explicitly tell there employees to not accept anything like that from customers. I don't exacty know why they do this, but I suspect it has something to do with lawyers.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
@SecureOwl I grew up in California, and it was very much in our culture to offer beverages to people who'd been out in the hot sun. That's just basic golden rule behavior when you live in a dehydrating environment.
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@SecureOwl when I was working on a crew painting house exteriors in the Kansas City suburbs (I did not last more than a few days doing this), I was very surprised to learn that we were not supposed to ask customers if we could use their bathrooms
Anyone working in or around my property for more than a few minutes is welcome in to pee or get water. At the very least. I thought it went without saying.
@catmisgivings @SecureOwl I've worked at a couple of places that had that rule. I don't know why, but it must be either some kind of legal issue, or it's just that the wealthy ass-holes in the "gated communities" don't want filthy peasants in their privacy areas.
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
In my experience you usually offer, but most people carry their own now.
Maybe regional, maybe class?
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So because I am a British what moved to America, some British traits persist in me. For example, if we have a contractor round for any reason, I’m gonna offer them a drink - to include a cup of tea.
We had a guy come over to look at our dryer yesterday because it recently exploded. The look on his face when I offered him a drink. It was like I’d just offered to pay off his mortgage.
“Oh man, yeah please.”
My wife (American), thinks it’s such a strange thing I do.
America, we must normalize this practice. Become responsible for hydrating anyone who sets foot in your home.
America in general could use more gestures of hospitality.
One of my French friends asked me why we were going nuts over banning soda refills. I had to explain to him that he lives in a country where every single joint run by a Moroccan, from food truck to notary (probably), has a vat of mint tea for everyone to sip while waiting and that free refills on diner coffee and soda were one of the few hospitable gestures Americans could count on.
