Multicultural Manners : Shoeless Salesman Lands on His Feet

Diana Wong, a Chinese American, and her husband, Paul, born in Hong Kong, have three children. One afternoon, insurance salesman Mark Roberts arrives at their home to discuss the children’s college fund.

As he approaches the front door, he sees several pairs of tennis shoes on the porch. Being sensitive to cultural differences, he removes his shoes. Once inside, he notices that Diana Wong is wearing running shoes while he is in his socks.

Roberts is confused as is Diana Wong.

What went wrong?

When he saw the sneakers on the front porch, Roberts assumed that in this Chinese household they removed their shoes before entering. This was not true. It just happened that Diana Wong had washed her children’s tennis shoes that morning and placed them on the front porch to dry in the sun.

It is impossible to know everyone’s customs. People from many different cultures--Koreans, Japanese, Cambodians, Chinese and Iranians--may remove their shoes before entering a house. Roberts erred on the side of caution, trying to show respect to someone different from himself. Fortunately, both parties could talk about the misunderstanding and have a good laugh. Roberts’ sense of humor got him through the incident. However, sometimes in awkward moments like this, no laugh can salvage the situation.

Rule: Despite good intentions, cultural blunders happen.

Norine Dresser is a folklorist and author of “I Felt Like I Was From Another Planet,” (Addison Wesley). Tell her your experiences c/o Voices.