Cleaning service -- remove shoes or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are paying them. Tell them to remove shoes.

So, you're okay with your boss telling you to remove your shoes at work?

What about the cable guy? Electrician? Contractor?

[Anonymous]

I have used the same house cleaning team for a decade. For the first five years, I didn't say anything about the shoes even though we all clearly remove them at home (there are a couple rows of shoes in the entryway).

We have a cherry blossom tree in the front of our house. A couple weeks a year, they drop berries and stain like crazy.

I came home one day from work and I could see absolutely everywhere they had been. The wall to wall carpet upstairs in the bedrooms were stained all over. Our rugs covering the hardwood floor were stained. I don't know how they did not notice. I was pretty upset. I called, they came out the next day and cleaned the stains in every room. They apologized. I said going forward, they would need to take off their shoes. If they are not comfortable with that, I would understand (they are very kind and polite). They have been taking off their shoes ever since. I still don't understand how they did not see the stains initially.

In terms of the PP, if I see someone with dirty (muddy) shoes, I do ask if they will take them off. I usually try to let it go but many automatically carry shoe covers now, which is always a big plus. I would bring "inside" shoes if I were a contractor but, clearly, they are not asking me.

[Anonymous]

I would be concerned about safety issues doing that work without shoes.

[Anonymous]

Ours change their shoes à la Mr Rogers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are paying them. Tell them to remove shoes.

So, you're okay with your boss telling you to remove your shoes at work?

What about the cable guy? Electrician? Contractor?

absolutely. where I live all workers take off shoes or carry shoe covers. They best not start walking through my home with their dirty shoes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are paying them. Tell them to remove shoes.

So, you're okay with your boss telling you to remove your shoes at work?

What about the cable guy? Electrician? Contractor?

absolutely. where I live all workers take off shoes or carry shoe covers. They best not start walking through my home with their dirty shoes.

Where do you live?! It's a place I need to move to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are paying them. Tell them to remove shoes.

So, you're okay with your boss telling you to remove your shoes at work?

What about the cable guy? Electrician? Contractor?

absolutely. where I live all workers take off shoes or carry shoe covers. They best not start walking through my home with their dirty shoes.

I hope you're ready to pay if they are injured. You are, right?

[Anonymous]

I was just let go from a cleaning job because I don’t wear shoes! How’s that work???

[Anonymous]

Yes I would expect them to take off shoes. My house isn’t disgusting though (no animals in the house and boys pee sitting down when at home).

If your house is disgusting then you need to let them wear shoes, no matter what you choose to do yourself.

[Anonymous]

They clean so many toilets and bathrooms and bring it back and forth from room to room. It is disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they should change shoes when they come in. But they should wear shoes. It's a liability issue. They easily could slip and fall down the stairs or slip while mopping.

This. OP you are asking too much. Or at least say this up front before you waste the cleaning service's time.

[Anonymous]

My house cleaners take off their shoes.

[Anonymous]

Offer shoe covers. Its gross to be in someone else's house barefoot but we are a no shoe house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an off-shoot of the age-old shoes in the house or not issue. We generally don't wear shoes in the house, although if a guest comes in wearing shoes that's not a close family member and/or we're having a party we might let shoes slide by. We recently moved, and I've been trying to find a new cleaning service... my last cleaning service the owner (and her employees) removed her shoes from day one without any prompting, and it was never an issue. This time around, in the process of interviewing people and trying out one service so far, I've noticed that many cleaning services are reluctant to remove shoes and prefer to work with shoes on or at most shoe covers. Shoe covers are fine with me, although I guess I worry a little about someone slipping (is this being paranoid? I'm thinking very long-term since I hope to have a cleaning service long-term). I can understand people wanting to work with their shoes on, but I also think about 4-5 people at once coming through the house tracking in all the germs etc. from outside. *If you typically don't wear shoes in your house* do you ask your cleaning service to do the same?

I had a friend who was in invited to a party at a home with a "no shoes" but shoe covers were given to guests. She fell and broke her rotator cuff. It was an expensive lesson for the hostess. I live in a neighborhood with sidewalks and, to my knowledge, there are no cows running wild. In fact, children are the only untamed creatures in the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Our cleaners clean their way out, so they are vacuuming or mopping the floor as they leave. That’s clean enough for me. Also, how are you having 4-5 cleaners in your house at a time? Our house is three stories and 5,000 square feet and we have two at a time.