AIBU to think that workmen should offer to take their shoes off in your house?

[Dollslikeyouandme]

I'm a shoes off in the house person, and always offer to take mine off when visiting. It's not because I'm a weird cream carpet visitor slippers freak. But I have carpet, a ds who likes to play on the floor. And a neighbourhood where the streets seem to be covered in dog shit.

I hate asking people to take off their shoes, so usually don't, and just hope they do anyway.

I've noticed workmen never take off their shoes, and lately I've had to have a few people in and around the house and gave been cringing at their boots standing on my bathmat mainly.

I just think shoes on carpets are gross.

Perhaps people who don't bother live on really clean streets or in pretty little villages.

Gosh, are we still here?

Just accept it's a class thing - shoes-off is a lower 'middwle' class affectation, shoes-on is correct.

Shoes-on folk think shoes-off people are hilarious though, especially when they get all uptight about it and think they're being 'well-mannered'!

When we had our solar panels installed the workmen put shoe covers on every time they cam into the house. The house is carpeted throughout so most people take theirs off anyway, but I don't ask them to.

I've no idea if it's a 'class' thing, but if that was supposed to be offensive it's not, it's just really stupid.

IF there is a 'class' element, which i suspect is bollox perhaps that is because people cannot afford to have carpets replaced so try to prolong their life.

However you are actually wrong as shoes off can also be religious/cultural.

I don't think it is a class thing. I think it is more to do with the type of floor covering most people have these days.
I take my shoes off because I wear slippers in the house. They are simply more comfortable. End of.

It is very Hyacinth Bucket- a lovely clean home that no one was comfortable in.

Dare I add my friends sons private school has a no shoes rule, the children are required to bring classroom slippers.

Our streets are quite clean, I can't ever remember seeing vomit on the pavements anywhere around here. Maybe I'd feel differently if the pavements were yucky.

I was highly irritated when my children's school had an indoor shoe rule and fought it. I bought them correctly fitting school shoes, I did not want them in cheap trainers/gym shoes for most of the day.

I'm with you there TamerB

Was wondering when someone was going to mention Hyacinth Bucket.

I think what some people are missing the point here is that if people you have round are like minded no ones uncomfortable because they prefer their shoes off through choice anyway.

I've visited 4 people this week, 2 friends from work, a mum from school and my own mum. Both friends from work ask for shoes off, mum friend from school has shoes off upstairs it is only my own mum who doesn't care for shoes off.

I've also had two friends from work who's husbands are professionals doctor & a solicitor, they have a shoes off house, some time ago one explained that it is deemed quite offensive in Muslim culture to wear shoes inside so I really fail to see where the class issue falls there.

If you have care workers visitng your home they are required to keep their shoes on. In my service we had an assessor who took off her shoes when requested and then had an injury from a sewing needle that had somehow become lodged in a carpet. We issue non slip shoe covers and thee might be the answer for workmen who need to keep shoes or boots on for some tasks -you can buy them on Amazon.

I'm not saying I think shoes off in school is a good idea btw, I think children's feet should be properly supported for a long day at school, just pointing out this is a private school in a very affluent part of the city.

Morguase, I live in a big city, I've also worked in the city centre and on a Monday morning you will regularly see leftover vomit from the weekend, sure you wouldn't step in it, but you might not see it once it's been partly washed away by the rain.

You're confusing class with educational attainment and income. Class is far more complicated than that.

Your posts and those of others, are littered with 'clues' about the poster's class - it's trivial, but fascinating nonetheless.

Introducing religious and cultural differences blurs the issue - for example, surely everyone would respect a request to remove shoes when entering a mosque?

However, your OP was quite specific on the issue of removing shoes merely for the personal preference of the home-owner, which we have now established is both naff and unnecessary.

This is another 'only on MN' for me. People take their shoes off in my circles too. Tradespeople tend to make a song and dance over wiping or use covers. We have wooden floor hallway but new cream carpets elsewhere. I don't much care for ground-in dirt from shoes on the carpet. I also think there's a difference between hard floor and carpet. I'm not much fussed about shoes in hall or kitchen, but if people are visiting a bit longer and we're likely to end up relaxing in the the sitting room then that's different.

I don't care if MN thinks that makes me a ponce. I probably am. And I generally arrange to have far more social visitors in summer months when we can sit outside and I don't have to put up with things getting damaged inside. People can fling red wine about, stomp around in muddy shoes and let their kids run riot all they like in the garden. The inside of our home is beautiful and pristine and that's the way I like it. Total anal retentive but at least I admit it (on here) and you won't believe me but no-one IRL other than close friends who feel the same has a clue I feel this way.

I also think you probably are being treated differently becasuse your home is HA. Not because they view you as inferior, but because they don't feel answerable to you. Which is shitty.

I'm not going to get into a discussion about class what is and isn't. It's a whole other debate and one that can be highly offensive which you are quite clearly trying to be.

You have absolutely no idea about the type of person I am by your fascinating analysing of what I'm writing or based on the fact that I think the bottom of people's shoes might be dirty and wanting to prolong the life of the carpet.

Nobody has established that anything is naff or unnecessary you and other posters just don't agree with my way of thinking, which simply makes it a personal choice.

"which we have now established is both naff and unnecessary."

Which you have established is both naff and unnecessary. I don't understand why some people (except those who need to keep shoes on for medical/health reasons) get so uptight about being asked to remove their shoes.

I don't ask people to remove theirs BTW because I would never want anyone visiting me to feel uncomfortable, but it is the social norm where I live to take them off. The only houses where it isn't are my sister's house and my auntie's house and neither of them is houseproud and their houses aren't very clean or well looked after either

Vivipru, sadly you do get HA snobbery, it's as though it's a whole new wave of discrimination. Or perhaps I just notice it more now I am in the target group.

I worked with a bunch of social workers who were the absolute worst for this, they constantly went on about people getting 'free' houses, they took great issues with clients having any luxuries, I actually moved to a different department as I couldn't take listening to it day in day out, and that was before I even lived in a HA property.

I've also had someone act really confused when I told them I lived in HA house because I work too, they assumed that you had to be on benefits to 'get one'.

I also had a 'friend' who took great issue with me having any deemed as luxuries and often got questions like 'how do you afford that when you're in a council place'.

There's a lot of people I don't bother with anymore.

So I can't help wondering whether myself or my home may be treated with less respect by a trader than if I owned my home and was paying them directly, not only because of the current wave of snobbery but because as you say they aren't answerable to me.

morgause - and if you don't have a drive.... or the time or inclination to add washing the drive (or pavement?!) to your list of chores?!!
You've been lucky! Do you live in a city?

Class! How utterly absurd! I was brought up very much in a shoes on house, but my attitude has changed since getting older and living in cities. Absolutely nothing to do with class.

OP, snobbery is in your head. I live in a HA and have never encountered any discrimination about it.

and workers are answerable to you if you are in HA as, in my anyway, I have to tell the HA immediately if I have a complain and they get taken off the approved list.

Again it might be the norm where you come from to take off shoes but how is anybody suppose to guess it if you don't ask!

It's definitely your environment that influences these things rather than some imagined English social status.

I grew up in a shoes on house by my mum and dads carpets were always getting wrecked which used to really upset them, they also had a dog so you'd basically get hairy black socks. So I sought of decided growing up shoes off was the best way. Having a baby playing on the floor and not much money for new carpets confirmed this.

always with the bloody middle class on this site ALWAYS jeez op it is your house if you want shoes off it is up to you but I dont think you can ask workmen to take their shoes of that is a wee bit odd

Surely shoes are needed for protection just as much as a hard hat is needed? God forbid the poor builder drops something on his feet!!!
Most builders wear safety boots purely for this reason.

All this snobbery for something that is essentially needed