A man came along to measure up for a little job that needs doing. I had just put the kettle on so I offered him a drink.

"Yes, please," he said, "and my man who's waiting in the van. He's been all morning on a job - the lady never offered him a drink, and he's parched."

I make a point of offering tea or coffee to anyone who is going to stay longer than just reading the meter (and to them too on a very cold, wet or windy day). I won't say that it will turn an incompetent jobber into a skilled craftsman or a dishonest cowboy into an honest injun, but regular tea goes a long way to making sure that a normally honest workman does a fair job and clears up properly afterwards. Apart from which it is no less than a basic courtesy to anyone.

It's like washing up after yourself in any staffroom where you are a visitor, or offering to make colleagues a cup whenever you put a kettle on for yourself, and sharing your Kit-kat or Twix when there are two of you - it oils the wheels of life and makes people comfortable together.