Shoe Removal Fee- $20.00

[TabathaMcCarty]

I previously worked in customer service. "The customer is always right" (or at least usually :wink. Why not just be respectful and slip off your shoes? Perhaps if you had just installed new white carpet you would request the same.

 

[Richard Carlsen]

New white carpet is one thing but "just because" is another. Would you ask a doctor to remove his/her shoes if they were coming into the house to treat you? Would you ask an attorney to remove his/her shoes if they were coming to the house on business? I think not.

You have to realize that "The customer is not always right". When the requests of the customer are unreasonable or when they interfere with the performance of your job, the customer will have to amend their requests to fit your requirements. Besides, the borrower is not the "customer". The lender is your client. I repeat again, the appraisal is being done for the benefit of the borrower and not the appraiser. When we stop seeing ourselves as professional real estate appraisers and cotton to the whims and fancies of borrowers and lenders, the value of our product goes down and with it our livelihood.

Why do AMC's pay $170 for a URAR? Because some appraisers think that is all their time and their opinions are worth. Why do some appraisers, especially in recreational areas, make inspections on the weekends? Because they want to take care of the borrower and not inconvenience them to have to open the cottage during the normal workweek. Forget their own inconvenience. I think much of this cow towing to borrowers on scheduling and little idiosyncrasies is due on a large part to a very bad self-image on the part of the appraiser. Tell your doctor that you are busy working during the week but will be available to get that checkup on Sunday afternoon. See what he/she says.

Be good. Be professional. Be firm. And above all, be nice while you are doing it.

 

[liznindy]

I wear slip on shoes most of the time which makes removing shoes/putting shoes back on very easy.

Guys, if you were the one who had to run the vacuum, you would be more willing to remove those shoes, rain or no rain.

I always remove my shoes except when the house looks like no one has EVER removed their shoes!

One oriental couple actually asked me to wear slippers that they provided. Now, I would rather go in my stocking feet as I would prefer NOT to wear someone elses shoes/slippers.

 

[TC]

Rich,

As a matter of fact my Doctor does have weekend hours, as does my Dentist, car mechanic, accountant...you name it. Why do some appraisers think they are such sacred cows that it is beneath them to work on weekends or God forbid take off their shoes when inspecting a house. We are in a SERVICE industry. I do what ever my clients want except play hit the number. Its been working for me for 25 years.

TC

 

[bradellis]

Folks,

Having spent over 3 years of my life in Japan, taking off the shoes is not something that bothers me much. However, I DO still get a tiny bit rankled when I am asked to do. If the owner is oriental, I routinely ask (even understanding that this is typically a Japanese deal and not embraced by all oriental folks). But if it really bugs you, try this:

OK, Mr. Homeowner, I'll take off my shoes- but I have to inspect your unfinished basement and crawl around in your attic where I will NEED my shoes. so, I'll be happy to do it if you follow me around holding them so they are available when I need them. (Don't forget to wear your smelliest pair!).

Have fun,

Brad Ellis, IFA,RAA

 

[Richard Carlsen]

Not many folks of Japanese decent up here in northern Michigan and tutami mats are not all the rage (I lived in Japan for the better part of three years). The folks up here are fairly laid back but we do get most of that kind of request from the Flatlanders who inhabit the north during the pleasant times of the year.

Service is one thing; Servitude is another.

 

[Monica (N GA)]

I always remove my shoes when asked and only occasionally does it irk me and only once made me really mad. I was in the mountains, appraising a log cabin that was a dump, these people couldn't pronounce broom, much less vacuum cleaner. The gruff looking property owner was himself wearing the worst looking work boots I had ever seen. He asked my husband and I if we would remove our shoes. We did and I still don't know why I did it because I was forever watching my step to make sure I didn't step on a nail or something worse, like a snake!

 

[Mike Garrett RAA]

If they ask..I comply, if they don't I keep my shoes on. In my new house...we take our shoes off at the door. Most of the workers who have come to fix things have automatically removed their shoes before coming in. We appreciate the their effort to help keep our carpeting new.

Any time there is a possibility of tracking in mud or horse pucky it should be automatic to remove your shoes.

 

[Dee Dee]

Though I'm not a 'white carpet' homeowner, I appreciate it if guests make the effort to take off their shoes at my door, even though I'll usually tell them that it isn't necessary. It's a question of good manners...and who's mommy didn't spank 'em hard enough to learn that you respect another persons home when you are a guest there.

 

[BarbaraNJ]

After reading all the posts up to this point, guess the person I tend to agree with most is Richard. But no matter who YOU agree with, remember
this:

Most of us are self employed or doing "piece work" for others, that is, No Work, No Pay. If you are a salaried person with full benefits, this does not apply but if you stop making money as soon as you stop working, your MAIN concern should be your Safety.

If you step on something and get an infection and miss days or weeks of work, or if you mis-step or slip in your sock/stocking feet and break a foot, ankle or leg and miss days or weeks of work, You Make Nothing for being polite/politically correct.

I wear flat-bottomed, rubber soled shoes 95% of the time, and this is from years of experience. I have caught heels, slid on leather soles, etc. due to "nice" shoes because I wanted to look my best. When I realized that to do my job the Right Way, I had to look more at the structure than where I was stepping at every moment, I had to choose the footwear that would keep me safest.

My experience has been that if you tell your clients that they have to go somewhere else while you heal for the next 30 days, they will have no trouble finding someone else, and you may even have some difficulty getting them back.

No One's white carpeting is worth all of my business.