squiggled

I am doing my employee handbook and I am thinking about having some sort of uniform. The salon I am opnening is going to have a very upscale look and I want that to carry over to the look of the employees. Maybe kahki pants and some sort of black tee that I provide. Anyone else have a dress code? How well does it work? How do you regulate what people wear so that they are not wildly inapropriate?

mr belvedere

Nothing says "I'm a professional" like a uniform. I like modest khaki shorts or slacks and an appropriate top with the salon logo and slogan for the employees. I know a few salons where the girls dress, well, you name it. Racy to trashy, elegant to homeless. Some are too hot, some are not. You don't want to offend or alienate customers with employees who like hookers and super models. Sure, the male clientelle may like that sort of thing, but the majority of your client base is women. I for one want my customers to fell like it is "all about them" when they come into my store. Good luck.

SunnyO

Mr. Belvedere has a good point about wanting his customers to feel like it is "all about them". We do have a dress code including info. about no holes ripped in pants and shirts, no tube tops, no pierced noses or eyebrows or tongues, and some other things. We go over this with our employees upon hiring and training. Haven't had a problem with it. We have an upscale, professional looking salon. I found the girls like to dress nice-casual, but not too formal. They wear khaki capris with nice tops, some jewelry and dressy sandals. One gal occassionally wears a skirt. They seem to like to keep up with each other, meaning I haven't had one come in with a pair of shorts and tennis shoes on. I'm not real fond of uniforms because I wouldn't want to wear it. I like being an individual and wearing "my own clothes". My other business doesn't allow me to dress in pretty camisole tops and high-heeled sandals. So, I love the opportunity to wear it at the Salon, feel pretty, and look professional.

dcjjp2

I did the corporate uniform (suit every day for years) and I will not EVER do that to myself or my employees... We wear shorts/jeans, any type of top we feel. I have faith in my employees and have never had a problem with them for the most part, they know they will just get sent home and lose a shift.

MidloTan

I was thinking about buying myself (since I'm a full time employee) and the other girls here a couple of the Salon Staff shirts from our distributor and wearing those with pants. It's cute, consistant, and shouldn't offend anyone. We got a couple of shirts from Designer Skin, so I wear those as well.

Steve Underhill

If you want to gain the confidence of your clients and create a greater self image attitude as well as a professional environment that translates into greater income. Have a strict dress code and uniform. Your employee manual should address every aspect of everything that takes place in your salon. Every procedure and rule must be documented and very structured if you wish to maximize income potential. How professional would it look if the UPS guy or the Mailman wore jeans and a nice shirt? Make it easy to identify employees. It will also make your employees more qualified to answer your client’s questions and concerns. It is kind of like your doctor wearing the white coat.

Sol Sister

Steve-
You had me at...
"If you want to gain the confidence of your clients and create a greater self image attitude as well as a professional environment that translates into greater income." Personally, I think a dress code is important for branding and employee identification especially at service establishments- make it easy on the customer

But you lost me at, "It will also make your employees more qualified to answer your client’s questions and concerns. It is kind of like your doctor wearing the white coat."

I could wear a white coat, doesn't make me a doctor, doesn't even make me smart... How in the heck does it make an employee "more qualified to answer your client's questions?"

EVERYONE! QUICK, GO BUY SOME UNIFORMS! LOL!

howardtheduck

One idea I've heard of is to have shirts with the name-brand logos of the lotion lines you carry and have the employees where a different one every day (hope they change clothes daily anyway)and that will let the customers know what lotion is being featured that day. I guess it's supposed to be a conversation starter with a lead in to a sale hopefully. Just passing it along.

movieking

It's all about perception Sol Sister.

Sol Sister

Movie King is right on- everyone's perception is their own reality... and I can almost agree that those in "uniforms" may raise their level of service to support the "uniform" they are wearing, almost. But nothing replaces time spent with and training of staff members to make them more qualified to answer questions and concern...

Steve said it while wearing his consultant uniform so maybe more weight would be given to what he had to say than what others are saying here as either owners or perspective owners. I just don't see that putting an employee in a uniform gives them any qualifications whatsoever...

Out in public a salon uniform is nothing more than a marketing/branding tool, and will not be widely recognized as a professional symbol (like UPS, Fed-Ex, the Mail-person) and in the salon it will be used in much the same way (like Howard said- promotions, I love it!) with the added benefit of new clients being able to immediately identify the employee and ensures that your employees are wearing appropriate attire. I think a dress code and uniformity is a great thing for salons! Clean, neat, appropriate attire that brands your service and encourages customer communication and sales should be the focus of any "uniform" in this business. JMHO.

Tanning staff is percieved as a "fun" job- therefore I feel that comparing it to a doctor's "uniform" (which is earned and respected) is a bit much.