Hiring a tradesperson to work on your property can lead you to wondering about how you should treat them whilst they work. Should you leave them to it, or stay for a chat? Should you provide food and drink, or leave them to sort their own lunch out?

There are many preconceptions when it comes to etiquette, so Toolstation spoke to both professional tradespeople and clients to get the opinions from both sides of the coin.

Starting off, we asked the clients some questions to see what they think of the tradesperson-to-client relationship.

Many of our respondents (45%) said that they do not mind if a tradesperson has a chat with them, and a further 24% said that they like the chat, suggesting that a friendly worker-client relationship is preferred by most.

However, 17% said they don't like it when a tradesperson has a chat with them. In this case, it may be best for tradespeople to assess whether a client wants a chat before going straight in.

Offering a tradesperson a drink almost seems expected – it doesn't take much to offer them a cup of tea, right? Well, the results seem to agree, with almost half of clients (47%) saying they like to make their tradespeople a drink, and a further 38% not minding either way. In fact, just 12% of clients don't like offering tradies a drink.

Offering food isn't as expected compared to a drink, as it's often more expensive and more hassle for the client. But how do they feel about it? This question split opinion more so than the previous, with almost a third of clients (30%) not liking to offer food. But still, 32% don't mind it – just don't rely on the client for lunch.

There can always be some uncomfortable moments when entering a professional contract with a stranger, so sometimes, some awkwardness can be expected. The majority (37%) answered no to this question, suggesting most of the time there is no awkward atmosphere between the two parties. But more than a quarter of clients (28%) did say they had one or two awkward moments, showing that sometimes clients don't know how to act when tradespeople are around.

Something that can be joked about when it comes to tradespeople is how they treat your bathroom, or more importantly, how they leave it. Half (51%) of our survey takers don't mind their tradesperson using their facilities, and 30% of clients like that their tradespeople feel comfortable enough to. 15% of those asked do not like this however, so it is probably better to ask the client first before using their facilities.

Now, to dig into the true peeves our clients felt during their experiences with tradespeople. According to the results, the most annoying thing a tradesperson can do according to a third of clients is leaving a mess. The second most annoying trait, according to 26% of votes, is showing up late. Raising the price after agreeing beforehand comes in third place, with 23% of votes. Other results for annoying behaviour include leaving a mess of your facilities, and wasting time on the job.

Now, we see the other side of the coin, and hear what tradespeople think about their clients.

The majority (71%) of tradespeople don't seem to mind if their client has a chat with them during the job, with a further 22% saying they like to have a chat with the client. However, a small amount (7%) do not like a client distracting them from the job.

Most tradespeople are happy to have a chat on the job, however it is important not to halt their progress whilst they work by hanging around a little too long.

When asked which drink they would want to be offered the most, it is no shock that a cup of tea came top with 74% of the votes, just remember to consider how different tradespeople like their tea. The classic builder's brew prevails, but coffee did make a close second, with 63% of voters saying they would also like to be offered one during the day. Other top-ranking drinks include water (31%) and squash (22%).

Offering a drink is expected, but offering some food can be a bit of a grey area. Nearly two thirds (62%) of our tradespeople would like to be offered biscuits during the day, likely to go with their tea. But a good portion (36%) said they would not want to be offered food during the day, so it's probably not necessary to provide your tradespeople with some food.

It turns out that the majority (41%) of the tradespeople we interviewed had experienced one or two awkward or uncomfortable moments with their clients. 13% said that they have experienced multiple awkward moments during their careers, suggesting some client-to-tradesperson relationships aren't always perfect.

It turns out, more than two thirds (70%) of the tradespeople we asked don't mind at all if their clients ask them about the progress of their work, with only 4% preferring not to be asked for updates. A quarter of tradespeople like being asked about their progress as they appreciate the client being interested in the work.

One element of the tradesperson-client relationship that can be a grey area is tipping. Do tradespeople expect tips for their work, or is the price they set enough to cover everything? We asked our panel if they expect to be tipped, and how many jobs they have been tipped for in the past.

A whopping 92% of our tradespeople said they would not expect a tip for a job, telling us that the price they set is enough to cover costs and payments.

Of those who do expect tips, the majority of tradespeople (61%) have only received them a few times. One in five (21%) say they have received tips on some jobs (between 21 and 40%), while nearly one in ten tradespeople (9%) do get a tip for most of their work (61 – 80% of their jobs). However, one in twenty of those that expect tips, say they do not receive any monetary bonus from their clients (5%).

Our survey data showed us which cities are more likely to tip their tradespeople. Belfast came out on top as the most generous city – with 13% saying they would tip all of the tradespeople that work for them, and another 44% said they would tip at least half. In second place, 44% of Birmingham residents would tip at least half of the tradespeople they hire, but only 7% would tip all of them.

In last place comes Newcastle. Despite being last, 4% of people still said they would tip all their tradespeople, and 27% would tip half. Overall, it looks like even though tradespeople don't expect tips, clients across the UK are still often happy to tip them.

Not paying the bill on time is the most annoying behaviour, according to 46% of tradespeople. Second at 35% is clients trying to reduce the agreed payment, and a third of tradespeople find not cleaning the work area before their arrival most annoying.

It can be tricky to control your pets, especially when new faces are about the house. Half of our tradespeople (50%) said they don't mind a feline friend having a snoop around. Still, 38% do not like them around their workspace. Not wanting to have to worry about the cat stealing your kit is understandable!

We also asked the same question about dogs this time, with similar results coming in. Nearly half (45%) said they do not mind a dog around their workspace. Of the two sets of results, it seems dogs are more popular than cats amongst tradespeople, as nearly a quarter (23%) like them around their work area, compared to only 13% of respondents liking cats around them.

The relationship between a tradesperson and a client is a delicate one, you want to be friendly and inviting, but also remain professional so the job can be completed on time. However when it comes to leaving a mess and pay disputes, both sides can harbour some grumbles.