October is finally here, and with it comes what is arguably the kickoff holiday of the holiday season: Halloween. Halloween, of course, is a holiday about friends, family, fun, and costumes. While we are not a retailer of costumes, we certainly keep our eye on trends, and we certainly are aware that as someone once said, “clothes make the man.” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3, “Apparel oft proclaims the man.”) Or rather clothes make the man, woman, or child, certainly on Halloween night.
Thus, as you are out with your children trick-or-treating, or if you’re lucky enough to attend a Halloween party, step back for a moment and look at the importance of the costume. A costume changes the mentality of the person who wears it, and the perception of the people who see that costume. Most of the time, for example, children nowadays would be terrified to go up to a stranger store and ring the doorbell, much less except candy from those strangers. But with the right clothes on, everything changes, doesn’t it?
Of Halloween and Employee Uniforms
How does this relate to employee uniforms? Well, your employees, if they are lucky enough to wear uniforms, are in a sense putting on costumes. In their at-home lives, they may be neat freaks, or slobs, but when they come to work, you want them to project a brand image that is consistent with your business. Look, for a moment, at a major airline such as Southwest Airlines and how its ability and willingness to allow employees to wear shorts is in harmony with its brand image as a fun, no-frills, casual airline. (Look here).Compare this with more stodgy airlines such as Lufthansa and you will see that “clothes make the man.” Or rather clothes make the man, woman, or flight attendant.
Similarly, notice how a Halloween costume changes the attitude of the person wears it. A “scary” costume will motivate a person to act in a scary way; a “princess” costume will motivate a person to act as if she were a princess; and a humorous costume, such as one of our over the top political figures in our United States presidential election, may motivate a person to act a little bit silly. (And if you actually ARE a Presidential candidate, you might act in ways that are more than silly! But we digress).
Your Employee Uniforms Set the Tone
In the same way, by having your employees wear uniforms, and having brainstormed those employee uniforms with one of our employee uniform idea consultants in advance, you can influence their attitudes. Putting on a quality shirt, dress, blazer, or other type of clothing can literally change an employee’s attitude from a lackadaisical, “I don’t care attitude,” to a “I am going to put quality first attitude.” In summary, as you go through your Halloween events, pay attention to how the costumes that people wear, both change their own internal perception of themselves, and change the external way that others react to them. In the same, fun, way, by selecting quality employee uniforms, you can influence how your employees act, and how they are perceived by your potential customers.
Trick or treat?