A mate of mine who was a Site Manager for Persimmon homes told me that he once had a visit from three Persimmon's main board directors to his site in Eastbourne in 2003.
They wanted to look at the show flat and whilst the Site Manager and and his assistant were removing their own muddy boots, all three directors, John White, Mike Farley and Jeff Fairburn, just walked straight in without removing their footwear, leaving mud and stains all over the light-coloured show flat carpets - which later required steam cleaning.