to think delivery drivers should take their shoes off?

[sleepycoffeemonster]

We had bedroom furniture delivered today, delivery drivers turned up at the door step with part of the furniture ready to bring in asking where to put it, directed that it would be going upstairs. Up they went, no stopping to take off shoes or cover. Once up stairs one realises he's walked mud up the stairs and in a nice pattern on our light carpet.

How do people who keep shows on indoors not mind this? The house must get so dirty with several people coming and going with shoes on!

We're a shoes off by the door house because if this. Its not even wet out and we have a path from drive to door so not sure how he managed to get so muddy!

AH OP you did not say that in the beginning did you?

@Anordinarymum

AH OP you did not say that in the beginning did you?

Say what?

That is was to be put together by them.

We are a shoes off house but I wouldn’t expect delivery people to take their shoes off as PP have said they need protective footwear in case they drop it. I would possibly expect shoe covers though.

YABU to expect delivery people to remove their PPE whilst doing their job because you haven't protected your carpets.

If your driveway is prone to being muddy then all you needed to do was ask the delivery driver to make sure they wiped their feet well before coming in and be prepared for the odd bit of mud here and there.

"Hi Delivery Driver, I know you can't take your boots off while carrying the delivery in, but we are usually a shoes off household as our driveway can be a bit muddy. Can you please make sure you wipe your boots well on the mats before stepping inside to minimise the mud that comes inside, it would be much appreciated. Thank you!"

I have similar conversations with delivery people all the time as the path from the gate to the main door of my flat building is uneven so there is always a giant, unavoidable puddle whenever it rains (and I live on the NW coast where it rains year round) and it is super easy to trail in dirty, wet footprints unless you wipe your feet thoroughly. While the odd one or two drivers have rolled their eyes or huffed about it, most drivers are polite and are more than happy to check their boots are wiped dry before coming inside.

Keep some Roll and Stroll in the house for next time, it's great.

Sorry that's no help to you now though.

I had workmen installing new wardrobes years ago when everyone wore their jeans really long at the back. They were all frayed and he literally covered my brand new cream bedroom carpet in muddy water marks. They did come off eventually!!

@notsurenotsur

Had a disgustingly rude midwife a couple years ago refuse to take her shoes off. She kept trying to walk in And Dh had to block her ! I’m the end he said ‘look. STOP. You are not seeing the baby unless you take your shoes off or alternatively you can walk on some newspaper’

She was hateful she then handled ds so badly we had to complain

I am going to chalk that one up to sleep deprivation. Because it's awful manners to treat a qualified nurse visiting you in such a way. Bodyblocking someone there to look after you and the baby, for the sake of some bloody carpet... good grief.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

Shoe covers would be the answer to this!

No they wouldn't, they make your feet slip I have cream carpets, I just deal with it Christ...

Shoes off, shoes covered or cover put in carpet= Yes

Dirty shoes traipsing shit and mud in someone's house= no.

YANBU

Can all the people suggesting shoe covers just stop it!
They're probably less safe than no shoes!
OP would you be prepared to carry a wardrobe or whatever up the stairs in bare feet or slippy covers?

Mumsnet seems to be the natural habitat of all the Hyacinth Bucket clones

@notsurenotsur

Had a disgustingly rude midwife a couple years ago refuse to take her shoes off. She kept trying to walk in And Dh had to block her ! I’m the end he said ‘look. STOP. You are not seeing the baby unless you take your shoes off or alternatively you can walk on some newspaper’

She was hateful she then handled ds so badly we had to complain

Oh my word. I'm sure she's still talking about you! That is spectacularly rude of you and particularly your DH.

To those talking about cream carpets - it's flooring. Flooring gets walked on. (And I have cream carpet on my hall, stairs and landing - if someone walks on it and leaves a mark, we clean it. Happened maybe 5 times in 6 years, no permanent stains, and we're not a strictly shoes off house.)

This is antisocial, dirty behaviour. Whilst they’d have needed shoes for health and safety, making people’s homes muddy like this is totally unacceptable (particularly light carpets that aren’t easy to clean).

It is the company’s responsibility to not go trashing in people’s homes. Whether that means carrying furniture in, putting it on hall floor and changing into clean shoes, I don’t know. But the OP is not at fault here. It’s bad behaviour by the delivery company.

@notsurenotsur

Had a disgustingly rude midwife a couple years ago refuse to take her shoes off. She kept trying to walk in And Dh had to block her ! I’m the end he said ‘look. STOP. You are not seeing the baby unless you take your shoes off or alternatively you can walk on some newspaper’

She was hateful she then handled ds so badly we had to complain

How fucking rude are you two!

Why would you need a cleaning company to get rid of a bit of mud? Just let it dry and run the hoover over it.

And in the future just get a box of those blue shoe cover things.

No way on earth would I expect anyone delivering anything to take shoes off least of all poor delivery drivers on a time scale and lifting heavy or bulky furniture in people's homes where they could come across anything.

I don't remember people caring so much about their carpets when I was young!! I really don't, I was in and out so many houses and only one we took our shoes off because they were German or Dutch I think. We all survived.

@Cosyblankets

Can all the people suggesting shoe covers just stop it! They're probably less safe than no shoes! OP would you be prepared to carry a wardrobe or whatever up the stairs in bare feet or slippy covers?

Non-slip covers are a thing, you know.

@notsurenotsur

Had a disgustingly rude midwife a couple years ago refuse to take her shoes off. She kept trying to walk in And Dh had to block her ! I’m the end he said ‘look. STOP. You are not seeing the baby unless you take your shoes off or alternatively you can walk on some newspaper’

She was hateful she then handled ds so badly we had to complain

This is peak MN batshittery

I should think that putting sheets on the stairs would be very dangerous. Their safety should come first. They are human beings carrying large objects into your home for your benefit. I think you are being selfish and unreasonable.

This is peak MN batshittery

And I bet PP will come back and be shocked and appalled nobody agrees with them. Batshit.

They need their PPE. Delivery drivers carrying heavy items of furniture will have steel toe caps, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be covered by insurance if they took off their PPE. If I had cream carpets and expected delivery drivers to deliver furniture to a specific room Id expect a bit of dirt and be prepared for that otherwise I’d do it myself 😁

@choli

Mumsnet seems to be the natural habitat of all the Hyacinth Bucket clones

Not sure why it makes us that, literally all other trades people and visitors take shoes off/cover out of politeness because surely people don't want dirt walked all through their houses. Electricians, plumbers, virgin media engineers all had shoe covers, it makes sense. Never had to ask, never had to provide them, hence this post.

It wouldn't really bother me downstairs anyway, any but of mud I could mop up but walking over carpet just makes it permanently dirty. Would it be more to your style to just have a dirty house and not care?

@notsurenotsur
*Had a disgustingly rude midwife a couple years ago refuse to take her shoes off. She kept trying to walk in And Dh had to block her ! I’m the end he said ‘look. STOP. You are not seeing the baby unless you take your shoes off or alternatively you can walk on some newspaper’

She was hateful she then handled ds so badly we had to complain*

Bloody hell, there's being precious about carpets and then there's this! You were so rude! It's probably a health and safety risk to be taking shoes off and walking around barefoot in someone's house. I also wouldn't appreciate your walloping great 'D'H body blocking me when trying to check on a mother and baby. Would assume there were some control issues there...

Buy some shoe covers and keep them by the front door for these occasions. I have my own for doing nhs home visits and white carpets.

Floors & carpets are supposed to be walked on. It is the height of bad manners to ask anyone to remove their shoes indoors.