Q. I have a very good cleaner who comes once a week. She is far more efficient than anyone I’ve had in the past. But recently she has begun taking off her shoes and socks at the front door and cleaning in her bare feet, which I find utterly disgusting. How do I ask her to stop this ritual without risking losing her? —M.L., London SW10
A. Leave verruca treatment creams in ‘recent use’ positions in your bathroom and walk around in bare feet yourself. With luck she will put two and two together. If not, allude to your ailment and suggest she puts on her footwear to avoid contamination.
Q. Is there a polite way to refuse to reveal your age? It’s not so much that I am coy or vain but, were I not in denial to myself of my advancing years, I don’t feel I could keep going in my line of fairly physically demanding freelance work.
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