Wearing booties..

[WillS]

I have seen a ton of companies post pictures of their technicians cleaning in a home NOT wearing booties. We require booties on our techs as soon as they walk in the front door.

My question is:

Why wouldn't you wear booties in a customer's home, especially when your cleaning their carpet?

Are there special shoes people are wearing that don't attract dirt? They just don't step on the clean carpet part while cleaning? They just never found wearing booties a professional important part of the service? They aren't expensive. For those of you who don't wear them.. Why?

 

[Cleanworks]

I don't wear booties when I am cleaning the carpet. It's more of a safety factor. I have found that booties can be pretty slippery when walking from the presprayed carpet to hard surfaced floors. Once I have cleaned the carpets and need to walk over them to apply protector or to groom, I wear booties. I also supply them to the customer to do a post inspection.

 

[steve_64]

Ive stepped on them and stumbled. Like cleanworks I only wear them to go back in to collect fans or apply protector.

I wear gum bottom hightop basketball shoes most of the time. They are real good at not tracking in dirt and they dont scuff floors or damage carpets from just walking on them.

 

[Mikey P]

Too many trips to the truck



And HWE cleaners usually work their way out of the home


Estimates for sure
As well as trips back in after the job is completed

 

[steve_64]

 

[WillS]

do customers ever question why your not wearing them or ask you to put them on?

 

[realclean]

I never wear them while cleaning, but if I need to go back onto the after the carpet is clean then YES.

 

[steve_64]

Ive had a few Africans that asked me to remove my shoes at the door before I did my inspection. But I explained I need to wear them to work and that I clean my way out. Once im working they get it.

Besides I got my socks dirty doing the inspection lol.

 

[WillS]

The Asian culture is like this in every house I've gone into. No shoes in the home, so it's a guarantee to put on booties right away.

 

[Spurlington]

I dont remove my shoes. I tell em for safety reasons the shoes stay on !! I always wear the booties for the inspection then once a price is agreed upon then I start tracking shit in. I work my way out and for any reason that I need to walk back on,including grooming, Ill put on the booties. Also at the end when Im collecting,(usually in the kitchen) Ill put booties on even if theres no carpet to cross over.

 

[Spurlington]

Ive had an Indian guy ask me to remove my shoes in their special room of the house. Its like a prayer room. So of course I play along to keep him happy.

 

[bob vawter]

I can see you fellas havn't cleaned for any mosques or Hindu temples lately....

I once wanded a 35000 ft gigantic Hindu temple in my SOCKS as they considerd booties a foot cover...mi lions of red candle wax spots in the DED of winter....NEVER AGAIN!

 

[Mikey P]

do customers ever question why your not wearing them or ask you to put them on?

Never

 

[Mikey P]

Almost never..


The few that do will drive you nuts

 

[bob vawter]

Booties are stupit as stupit

 

[Desk Jockey]

You're cleaning their dirty carpet, if you're wearing them to keep "your" shoes clean then it makes sense.

Otherwise it's a gimmic. Use a damp towel or door mat and you'll do just as good.

They are serious slip hazards and shouldn't be taken lightly. Steps, hard surfaces, wet surfaces are all potential liability for the wearer.

Estimates make sense, slip them on you don't want to soil their carpet especially if you don't get the job.

 

[steve_64]

I can see you fellas havn't cleaned for any mosques or Hindu temples lately....

I once wanded a 35000 ft gigantic Hindu temple in my SOCKS as they considerd booties a foot cover...mi lions of red candle wax spots in the DED of winter....NEVER AGAIN!

I bet they wouldnt shake your hand neither.

 

[Old Coastie]

I never get any bootie at a customer's home. Just wouldn't be right.

 

[GeneMiller]

crocs come off real easy for inspections but other wise i wear my shoes. i have a couple of houses we have to take them off to walk on the hard wood then back on for the carpet cleaning. its a real pain and slows things down. covers are slippery when wet. we keep a drop cloth at the front door and rooms we are cleaning. that covers 99.99% of customers.

 

[Kellie Hiler]

Same as all the above, and I have never been asked why we aren't wearing them either. I did have a Hindu ask me to take my shoes off to clean once and I told them I cannot do that due to insurance reasons. They complained and hemmed and hawed for a few, saw that I was going to stand my ground and gave up.
I find it utterly ridiculous to clean wearing booties and what do those who do clean with them do when they make a trip out to the truck? Or go from dirty carpet to clean carpet? How many pairs do they waste?

 

[Mark Saiger]

we tarp all surfaces to and from the front door to the areas being cleaned, so walking off the carpets or other areas, we are focusing on protecting those areas, but also we are careful to have clean shoes .

There are some places and carpets we will wear booties, but again, not all the time for us with booties.

When we first arrive, we do take our shoes off at the door and usually have people tell us to leave them on....and we insist on taking them off to walk around prior to cleaning....or also any estimate

 

[Johnny]

Why wear booties at an estimate? You are there because THE CARPET IS DIRTY.

 

[bob vawter]

Ya for Kellie...
She's not a booty gal..,,,

 

[bob vawter]

I bet they wouldnt shake your hand neither.

The mosque was a VERY scary place to be in.... it was dark and spooky....and I made a quick get away...

 

[Spurlington]

Why wear booties at an estimate? You are there because THE CARPET IS DIRTY.

I know .. right !!

I worry about if I track in something I miss on the way in .. grease, berries that fell of a tree, flowers that give off a powder or maybe some animal or bird shit. If I go walking through the house with anything then Im perceived as maybe an idiot !! Theres that one guy out there that will want a free cleaning since I tracked something in.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Because if you make it dirtier you'll be cleaning for free.

 

[WillS]

Surprising. I'd thought at least a few wore them. Yes, we do at every house. I find shoes slip more easier than the booties. (I buy the white colored interlink ones). We also have to run out to the truck during cleanings, but can easily remove the booties and place them back on. Customers always seem to appreciate it and even those that tell us don't worry about it when first entering there home, we still wear them when cleaning. A pair is provided to the home owner after cleaning incase they want to walk around before carpet is dry. We also wear them when cleaning commercial carpet.

Interesting conversation. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Desk Jockey]

I'd be concerned leaving them like that.

At the very least I'd leave a slip fall warning with them.

Actually if you feel you needed to leave them I'd get a signed acknowledgement of the hazard.

At least then if it were to happen you can prove you did your do diligence.

 

[WillS]

I'd be concerned leaving them like that.

At the very least I'd leave a slip fall warning with them.

Actually if you feel you needed to leave them I'd get a signed acknowledgement of the hazard.

At least then if it were to happen you can prove you did your do diligence.

Good point! This is all on our invoice they sign at the beginning of the visit. I'd recommend socks if they have to walk up and down the stairs, but most prefer the booties.

 

[WillS]

I also wonder if it is the type of prespray each of us individually uses that could make it more slippery for some. For example I noticed the TLC high traffic lane cleaner prespray makes it a bit more slippery than an encap prespray. (We rarely use the TLC but this is an example). I say this because seriously, it is less slippery for us to wear booties than it is shoes.