Miss Manners: Our guests race through the chores we give them, and it annoys me

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We have relatives who stay with us twice a year, for a week or two at a time. We very much appreciate their visits; their presence is welcome.

As a thank-you for their stay, they offer to “do whatever needs doing” around the house and yard. My husband and I are the parents of a busy young family, and our area is rural enough that services like lawn care and housekeeping aren’t widely available, so we welcome extra help when we can get it.

In the past, we’ve saved odd jobs for them, but lately I’ve become frustrated. Time and time again, we’ll give them a job that’s well within their scope, and they’ll cut corners to get it done faster. They then laugh about how they minimized their work time so they’d have more relaxation afterwards.

For example, the trim work on our house is done in contrasting colors, but they painted it all one color — it seems using two colors was “too hard,” even though I gave them the paint and brushes to do both.

Next time they visit, my husband is inclined to either not let them help or just figure beggars can’t be choosers if we ask them to do something. I’m inclined to politely say, “I’d love to have you help with this task, but I’d like no corners to be cut, as was done in the past. If it feels like too much, please don’t start the job at all.”