How important are staff uniforms?

[cr0ft]

Other than the legal requirement to provide staff with PPE etc, how important do you think it is in our trade to have staff looking very well presented? I.E are dirty uniforms ok or should they be turning up with nice clean uniforms etc?

About to spend another whack of cash on new ones and it got me thinking.

 

[Scott_D]

Im sure people would prefer you to turn up in clean clothes but its a messy game.
Some decent work trousers and T-shirt with a logo gets my vote. Practicle and professional

Maybe have some that you only wear for quotes / making a good first impression

 

[Millsy 82]

I think as long as everyone looks the same and not too scruffy. People don't expect a tradesman to turn up spotless or in a shirt as they know it's a dirty job. But the days of the tradesman turning up in ripped jeans and a tatty t-shirt are gone and people don't like that.

 

[kris]

The thing is Keiran that embroided clothings not much dearer than a standard polo neck , My opinion is that it does look more proffesional turning up in half decent clothing and although weve gotta remember were not in a fashion parade it tells customers also that we take care of our appearance therefor the same with our standard of work, ( It doesnt mean they,l receive a better job than that from the guy with huge holes in his jeans ) but first impressions last , i cant remember the last time i wore a t shirt or shirt that didnt have my company logo, infact im that bad / busy sometimes that when i do get outa my work clothes the family always say holy **** its good to see you not in work clothes,,

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

I wear my work T shirts all the time and my missus hates it, they look good and as long as your not knocking lumps off of someone it's good advertising I say.

 

[rpm]

I wear my work T shirts all the time and my missus hates it, they look good and as long as your not knocking lumps off of someone it's good advertising I say.

Bet she`d hate is more if it had SANIFLO written on everything in BIG LETTERS! I have my own plain fleece jacket iin the van for when I need to pop to the bank or post office during the day.

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

Bet she`d hate is more if it had SANIFLO written on everything in BIG LETTERS! I have my own plain fleece jacket iin the van for when I need to pop to the bank or post office during the day.

Hahaha love it

 

[cr0ft]

Well just got the quotes in for 3x waterproof fleeces, 17x quality polo shirts embroidered with our logo, 3x snickers kevlar floorlayer trousers, 1 pair of work boots, 1 pair of decent knee protectors and 3x name badges. £640 of my hard earned gone like that. Scary!

 

[rpm]

Well just got the quotes in for 3x waterproof fleeces, 17x quality polo shirts embroidered with our logo, 3x snickers kevlar floorlayer trousers, 1 pair of work boots, 1 pair of decent knee protectors and 3x name badges. £640 of my hard earned gone like that. Scary!

Tax deductable?

 

[WaterTight]

I turn up looking like I've worked hard. Proper workclothes but covered in stains etc. It's a badge of honour. Nobody blinks and eye and they all seem to invite me back. I take offence at the thought of having to buy new clothes all the time just to ruin them again in 5 minutes. Non-work clothes is more of a no-no I'd say (adidas shorts and an england shirt.) As long it looks like a uniform I don't care how much action it looks like it's seen. Do you replace your tools when they look worse for wear?

 

[WaterTight]

Plus having worked in lots of shops etc one thing that attracted me to this lark was being solely in charge of deciding what I wear. I won't let a bouncer tell me I should wear shoes so I won't let Mrs Custardo tell me I should be wearing a clean top.

 

[Chris F]

My clothes look worked in. All my tops and trousers have silicone on them somewhere., my work hoody looks like I have used it to wipe silicone off 100 baths.

 

[kay-jay]

me too chris.
i have logo'd work tshirts but most of the week i end up using the free ones i get from merchants/phex etc

 

[Millsy 82]

There is worked in and then there is tatty.

My thought is that although it is your work place it is some bodies home and if you look too scruffy what do you think they will think you will do to their home? 1st impressions count a lot.

 

[julesverne]

yep its important to look presentable work pants do get some hammering. i tend to use ideal polo shirts and t shirts fleeces and jackets as there free cause i pester the rep till he caves in. i do use older shirts when doing messy work like bathroom refurbs though. but where same work pants and boots no matter what i do along with boot covers when i go to quote or do a service. took me ages to find boot cover that actually fit over my size 10's

 

[PlumbersMate]

Well just got the quotes in for 3x waterproof fleeces, 17x quality polo shirts embroidered with our logo, 3x snickers kevlar floorlayer trousers, 1 pair of work boots, 1 pair of decent knee protectors and 3x name badges. £640 of my hard earned gone like that. Scary!

Who you use mate?

 

[Chris F]

Who you use mate?

Wonga. Com judging by that price.

 

[cr0ft]

LOL. My view on clothing is I've bought cheap rubbish last year and it didn't last more than 6 months. This time I'm buying top quality stuff and we will see if it's a better investment.

250gsm polo shirts, much better quality than most of the competition and they have fairly good reviews online too. Decent sized logos on the workwear too. The Snickers Kevlar trousers can't be had for much less than £80 per pair and the Redback kneepads are £20 each. That's eaten up most the cash. Proper waterproof fleeces are £45 a shot. I figure if you look after your employees with decent clothing/holidays etc they will look after me!

Shopped around for most of the stuff but bought the fleeces and polo shirts here: -

Krowmark Workwear UK Ltd | Uniforms With Free Embroidery or Printing

 

[kris]

Years ago i used to wear my old jeans and always had holes so it does pay to buy the extra strength trousers with knee pads although no embroidery on them , although last year i was workin in the city of aberdeen and went to local city plumbing and while i was there a guy walkied in that had HUGE and i mean Huge embroided gassafe logos over his jacket and trousers, it looked awfull and way to much, at a distance you wouldve thought he was a gassafe logo, lol, il have a look at your link Keiran cheers

 

[Destroyer2813]

Did you just email em a copy of your logo and they send you back a picture for approval?

 

[SimonG]

I bought some lightweight work trousers from toolstation for the summer. Was finding my snickers too warm. They are goosed, al the pocket stitching has come undone. You pay for what you get. However on the polo shirt front I bought 4 new slazenger orange polos from sports direct. 4.50 a piece and good quality. Trouble is orange was not a good colour choice, looked good to start but soon look dirty even when clean on. Just bought another 4, but in navy. Definitely worth a look.

 

[cr0ft]

Will let you know what the quality is like when they arrive. I am expecting them to be excellent given the price! The price includes the embroidered logo to fit in a 12cm circle apparently. Much bigger size than a lot of the other ones out there.

For that price I've got some name badges as well to go underneath for the staff, was much cheaper than getting their names added to all the polo shirts. With magnetic catches there's no need to worry about them stabbing someone when they are under a sink!

The normal Snickers Floorlayers trousers without the Kevlar knees are a false economy, I've learned that through bad experience this year. The knees are worn through now hence why we are going back to the kevlar ones. The rest of the trousers are fine so I would hope I get 2 years or so out of these kevlar ones.

The polo-shirts are heavyweight in white and costed me £12.66p each fully embroidered. Maybe very expensive or may be a good buy - time will tell I guess!

 

[brum]

sure its good to make your lads look good in shiny uniform etc.But more important than their appearance is the ability to do the job.Customer relations goes a lot further than uniforms.
Your guys need to have customer care skills more than looking good.
In our game I think winning over the customer is the key.I was told this in my apprentice days "keep them sweet,keep them informed but most of all get on with them and make them laugh with daft jokes etc and you will always get a wee drink at end of job".
That was 30 years ago but I still stand by this advise given..brum

 

[brum]

My clhes look worked in. All my tops and trousers have silicone on them somewhere., my work hoody looks like I have used it to wipe silicone off 100 baths.

sounds about the same a me matey does not mean that we do a worse or better job than someone in uniform.
But saying that reassurance amongst some folk ie our older citizens would feel more comfortable with guys wearing corporate clothing working in their homes due to ID issues.
Where I stay the ID situation is not an issue but when I was in the toon ID was very very important down to the fact low life were trying to rob our senior citizens.(mine & yours grannies)
..brum

 

[Ermintrude]

Overalls

 

[Ermintrude]

Brum you a Geordie ?

 

[gasmanrob]

Here's the thing, most people think nothing of spunking £60-70 on a Ralph polo but wince at the prospect of spending £12 on a polo with your logo on for work. Yet you wear the raplhy once twice a month at your work gear five or six days a week...

 

[kay-jay]

Here's the thing, most people think nothing of spunking £60-70 on a Ralph polo but wince at the prospect of spending £12 on a polo with your logo on for work. Yet you wear the raplhy once twice a month at your work gear five or six days a week...

I can honestly say I have never spunked on ralph. [emoji38]

 

[Chris F]

To be fair all of my work hoodies are old ralphs

 

[Riley]

Just makes a good first impression. I found a guy that does cracking embroidered polos. The embroidery will probably outlive the polo. I've had loads of good comments about the nice clear design and although the polos are dotted with marks from work the logo and wording still looks ace.

 

[PlumbersMate]

Just makes a good first impression. I found a guy that does cracking embroidered polos. The embroidery will probably outlive the polo. I've had loads of good comments about the nice clear design and although the polos are dotted with marks from work the logo and wording still looks ace.

Link?

 

[brum]

Brum you a Geordie ?

Nah just got a wee bit excited there have some good Geordie pals though aye aye man or is that why aye man ?..brum

 

[MOSSEP]

LOL. My view on clothing is I've bought cheap rubbish last year and it didn't last more than 6 months. This time I'm buying top quality stuff and we will see if it's a better investment.

250gsm polo shirts, much better quality than most of the competition and they have fairly good reviews online too. Decent sized logos on the workwear too. The Snickers Kevlar trousers can't be had for much less than £80 per pair and the Redback kneepads are £20 each. That's eaten up most the cash. Proper waterproof fleeces are £45 a shot. I figure if you look after your employees with decent clothing/holidays etc they will look after me!

Shopped around for most of the stuff but bought the fleeces and polo shirts here: -

Krowmark Workwear UK Ltd | Uniforms With Free Embroidery or Printing

now you can await the dissapointment of seeing them wipe silicone on it all, lose the jacket and ruin the rest by not washing it properly! Ahhhh, bloody employee's :bigcry:

Then you will look for cheaper work clothing.

 

[Ermintrude]

Fit a few 100 Baxi and get your staff free branded snickers gear

 

[Riley]

Link?

Go on eBay and search for a seller called "seller:cyberfyn"

his kit isn't branded ie snickers or anything but the polos seem of a good quality as do hoodies and jackets

will also help you with logo design if you don't have something.