To ask engineer to take his shoes off?

[singingtonight]

Or at least wear foot coverings?

I'm not normally bothered about things like this but I've just moved into my new home and had new carpets fitted on Monday which obviously cost a lot of money.

Sky engineer is coming tomorrow to connect the broadband. WIBU to ask him to take his shoes off or cover them in the house?

I probably sound really silly but I don't want to be that "person" and make it awkward by asking but the carpets are only a few days old after all.

@singingtonight maybe you could go on their customer chat/email them and check with them . Then you will not have to worry

@Barnaclegoose uhuh..... The many workmen and engineers I've had come to my property have either taken shoes off of work bootie covers.

I don't have carpets downstairs ( pets) & I don't run a crack house with "infected syringes" strewn about.
As suggested op could contact the company for further information

@Barnaclegoose

It's not personal.

It's also "not personal" when a homeowner asks a visitor to put on shoe coverings, but some people seem to think it's a massive insult!

If you think that is a bizarre suggestion you live in a very innocent bubble. Our tradesmen have come across drug paraphernalia in clean, tidy, Middle class homes.

Health and safety law doesn't only apply when it doesn't inconvenience you. . Sadly they also need their shoes on in case they need to leave quickly when a customer turns aggressive.

Plastic covers are the answer

Its only 'lol' to people who don't have jobs where they go into other peoples homes. Most of those who do could tell plenty of tales to explain why offering to take their shoes off is not recommended. I had a home visiting role and have seen a syringe on a coffee table. I've also narrowly missed treading in dog shit more than once, and had a rat run over my shoe.
Whether this specific OP has syringes lying about or not is entirely irrelevant to H&S policies anyway which are not written exclusively with her home in mind. They are written to take account of possible hazards. You could have the cleanest home in the world and slip on a tiled floor in your socks.

@Letmegohome thank you, I tried using the online chat but it's a virtual assistant and not very helpful.

I will get some foot coverings just in case and might put something over the carpets too. I appreciate they might not be able to take their shoes off due to H&S.

You can certainly ask him to wear shoe covers but many companies do not allow staff to remove boots for safety reasons.

I have a recollection of the Sky guy wearing booties like in police series.

He’ll probably offer to.

yabu
shoes are part of his safety equipment.
but yes, he should wear shoe covers. or you could put sheets down where he needs to walk.

Tons of used syringes and needles here. Remarkably I always manage to put them in a sharps box.

Every workman whose come to our house has automatically removed shoes/ used shoe covers. The only ones who've worn boots are the guys who've had to actually knock out walls, even then they take them off in other bits of the house.

Even when they've just come to quote.

@singingtonight hope this puts your mind at rest

Hmm, it must depend where you are I think. I have literally never seen a tradesman offer to cover shoes or even have the plastic coverings in their hand (Ireland). Whether or not to remove shoes when entering a house is cultural to a large extent and in the UK too attitudes can vary by region.

I have a bag of those blue shoe covers in a cupboard near the front door. If people have dirty boots, I hand them out. It's easier for them than taking off shoes. And I know myself that walking barefoot can be painful if you have problem feet as I do.

Ask them to wear boot covers, for many of these people the boots are part of their PPE and they shouldn't take them off.

Infected syringes?? Are you ok?

For many organisations - more likely big ones than your SE trades, it'll be in their risk assessment to keep shoes on not just incase they step on something or something falls on their foot but to enable them to quickly leave the house if the situation becomes hostile and it will be a blanket ban. Similarly some will have not wearing shoe coverings as they can make things slippery

If I were you I'd get a roll of vinyl carpet protector / dust sheet / old bed sheet / old shower curtain whatever and use that on the floors.

Just remembered a plumber many, many years ago who refused to take off his muddy/oily boots nor wear plastic shoe covering and instead got a pile of cover cloths from his van to put down on our brand new carpets (they were old curtains!). He put the cover cloths on the stairs!! Almost inevitably he fell down the stairs when he slipped on one of his own cover cloths that he'd put down! What a stupid thing to do - putting cover cloths on stairs! I bet he wished he'd just put the sodding plastic shoe covers on in the first place.

🙄

T.H.I.S 👆

Doesn't really help if he's walked through dog sh1t or on someone filthy begger's sputum does it.

Interesting that everyone is presuming the engineer is going to be male.

I had a lovely female Sky engineer arrive when I had my broadband installed.

She automatically put boot coverings on and so have all the male engineers that have come in - I’ve been renovating so have had a lot in the past few years. I find the big companies much better at this, it’s the local tradespeople that don’t.

@Dreamskies what's is " T.H.I.S" an acronym for ? 🤔

Interesting that everyone is calling the person an "engineer". They're technicians. To be an engineer is not that easy.