What do we call people with whom we have occasional daily interaction in terms of services?

Question

I mean for example people like the hostel caretaker, the cook at the workplace, the taxi driver, the milkman etc. What can we call all these people? I meant to say that we need to have a good conduct with these kind of people. But how can we refer them?

Answer 1

You would refer to them as just that, the hostel caretaker, the cook at work, the taxi driver, the milkman, etc. There is no umbrella term as far as I know. You are probably looking for a word like friend or acquaintance, but these persons would be neither. Maybe they could be service providers, or in other cases such as plumbers, painters, electricians, etc. they could be contractors, but that's all I can think of.