Staff uniforms: Style counts behind bars
A carefully thought-out staff uniform can enhance your pub's identity. Phil Mellows takes a look.
Uniforms are back in fashion. Not just at those racy school discos but behind the bar in the pub.
Licensees are taking the trouble to dress their barstaff as they take a more professional attitude to the retailing side of the job.
A staff uniform can strengthen your pub's identity and quickly get across an image of cleanliness and efficiency while boosting staff morale.
"The ability to present a professional corporate image has never been more important," commented Deanna Holmes of the VIP Clothing exhibition which services a corporate clothing and workwear market that is valued at over £450m in the UK.
"That's particularly true in the service sector where a smart and professional uniform can convey an organisation's image and core values on a very personal basis."
Richard Phillips buys the uniforms for 8,000 staff working for Hilton hotels with an annual budget of around £750,000. "A uniform acts as a facilitator in that it enhances the ability of staff to carry out their duties and give the best possible service," he said. "But it is also a window onto a brand and its style reflects the style of that brand."
It is a style, however, that has changed considerably over the years. "This mainly reflects a change in the formality of dress of our customers," explained Richard. "In the bars and restaurants the old-fashioned waiting staff uniform of a bow-tie and white shirt is simply not compatible with the new, relaxed style of eating and drinking.
"The clothes that the customer wears to go out in have changed considerably and the uniform of the staff needs to reflect that."
There is an important lesson here for publicans. Squeezing your people into formal uniforms and making them wear a tie, for instance, might be justified in the poshest establishments, but in most pubs they can impose a cold formality that can annoy staff and alienate your customers.
Pubs should go for a more casual look that reflects roughly what your customers are wearing.
This helps break down barriers between barstaff and the people they are serving and it also helps your staff to feel comfortable, giving a lift to their morale.
It can even count as a staff perk if they don't have to wear their own clothes to work.
For pubs, an appropriate uniform might include skinny-fit T-shirts, polo shirts or zip-up jackets, usually branded in some way and maybe limited to a couple of "corporate colours".
Quite apart from style, however, a smart, clean, professional image also serves to give an overall indication of the manner in which the place is run and can offer reassurance to customers and give them confidence.
This is particularly important in a pub or restaurant where customers and potential customers may make some fairly swift judgements about the overall cleanliness and standards of hygiene simply on the basis of how the staff look.
So far from just looking good, a uniform can actually aid professionalism and service.
Having a uniform, however, does not mean creating an army of identikit clones behind your bar. A "corporate yet individual" identity is a recurrent modern theme with many employers offering their staff what is known as a "working wardrobe" consisting of a number of items from which the wearer can choose what they want to wear.
For women, this usually means a choice of bootleg or standard cut trousers, or skirts of varying lengths.
Another variation on this is for blouses or shirts to be cut randomly from a patterned roll of fabric, so although from a casual glance they look identical, there will in fact be no two that are exactly the same. Just like your staff!
Team shirts
While you are branding your staff clothing, why not sell it to your customers too? It can become a genuine marketing tool, getting the pub's name about and helping your regulars to feel more a part of their local.
A lot of licensees have already seen the opportunity. Manchester-based manufacturer Quayside Clothing has seen a 28 per cent increase in sales to the pub trade over the past 18 months.
"Publicans aren't just relying on food and drink any more," said managing director Michael Conway. "Many are seeing branded clothing as a way of generating sales.
"As well as the usual orders for football and darts shirts, we've seen a huge number of orders for polo shirts with the pub logo and name on.
"Pubs seem to be behaving increasingly like football clubs," he continued. "They are viewing their regular customers as their fans.
"It's a win-win situation because licensees can generate a small income while spreading the name of the pub and the regulars can show their allegiance to their local."
Pictured: Finalist in The Publican Awards' Barperson of the Year, Tracey Hipperson gives off a positive image in a uniform that reflects the relaxed atmosphere at her pub, the Ratcatchers in Eastgate, Norfolk.
