Uniforms for hospitality: don’t settle for standard. In an industry driven by the demand for positive customer experience, uniforms can play a huge role in driving the success of your business.
Hospitality is governed by the setting of standards. High end venues will be adorned with the finest of interior décor and top-class dining will only be achieved through the selection of the finest ingredients.
Uniform is no different. How your staff present themselves through uniform will contribute to the overall customer experience. Select your uniform carefully and a host of advantages will ensue…
Create Cohesion
Don’t under-estimate the power of a uniform in instilling a common bond between your staff and encouraging a team attitude. A strong team in a hotel, bar or restaurant setting gives the best chance of positive user experience, therefore increasing your potential for return visitors and recommendations to others. Do all you can to foster a strong team bond and you’ll reap the rewards.
Showcase your Brand Identity
The rigour with which you address your brand identity in your signage, website, menus and so forth should also extend to your uniform. Ensure you choose items and colours that are reflective of your brand and of the message you want to portray. The uniform of a 5-star fine dining venue should vary considerably from that of a casual café/bar, and careful selection of uniform items will convey this very visually. Remember your staff are mobile brand ambassadors whilst at work and generally on the journeys to and from work, so consider how you would want your business to be portrayed while a member of staff visits a shop, public building or transport hub on their commute to and from work.
Demonstrate Professionalism
In a service dominated industry, professionalism is key; a necessity to ensure success. A carefully tailored uniform can help enhance the professionalism of staff and improve the overall customer experience, thus allowing premium venues to charge more for their experience and ultimately improve the profits of a business.
Equality and Equity
In a related point, a uniform allows this standard of professionalism to flourish regardless of the status, background or economic status of your staff. A uniform is a unifying statement and allows you to achieve the required aesthetic for your business, despite having a very diverse workforce on your books. It promotes fairness in the workplace, meaning potential staff are not denied opportunities based on inability to fund clothing which represents your brand effectively.
Assert Authority
With a uniform comes a role and a sense of having earned the privilege of wearing that uniform. Generally, staff will have undergone training to gain their uniforms and often there is a hierarchical system – with staff of a certain rank wearing additional or alternative uniform items.
The additional benefit is the improvement in customer service which associates itself with uniform – with customers instantly able to spot staff because of their dress and therefore giving them the knowledge of who to speak with to assist them.
Define Roles
A successful hospitality setting is a glorious blend of varied roles, particularly in a hotel setting. Front of House, Housekeeping and Bar Staff, Restaurant Waiting Staff and Chefs each have a very different set of requirements for their uniform, depending on the conditions in which they work. Adopting a differing approach to uniform depending on the nature of each role will ensure roles remain clearly defined, both internally and for customers, and that garments are suitable for the demands of each individual role.
Set Standards
The old customer service maxim that ‘there’s only one opportunity to make a first impression’ is perhaps most relevant in a hospitality setting. Ensuring your Front of House staff, whether a Maître D in a restaurant or Hotel Receptionist, create the very best possible impression by clothing them in the finest quality garments will pay dividends. Your food may be Michelin star quality and your rooms fit for royalty, but if your customers have a poor first impression, it could affect their desire to return and/or recommend your venue to their friends.
Create Confident, Happy Staff
A well designed, fashionable and brand conscious uniform will help instill a sense of pride in your staff and can actually help improve their confidence in themselves and in their roles. Having a uniform can considerably cut down on an employee’s expenses and means they need not rule themselves out of applying for roles on financial grounds. Allocating a generous allocation of garments can also ensure staff aren’t under pressure to wash their uniforms daily and have them ready for their next shift. It also relieves the stress of ‘what to wear?’ for staff, allowing a more straightforward routine for getting out to work.
For more information on how Tailored Image can assist you with your hospitality uniform needs, feel free to Contact Us or explore more here.
