When it comes to hospitality, uniformity is the key to success… but why?
There are some businesses that can get away without a uniform, and there are some businesses that cannot. Those with a small business in the catering or hospitality sector know that uniform is important. However, you might not know why those uniforms are so important in the first place.
Never fear, RK Styles, your one-stop-shop for workwear, is here to remind you of all the reasons that uniformity is the key to success. From clothing to dishes, room service to detail cleaning, keeping things uniform will help you go far.
Uniforms are Important
There are many reasons why uniforms are important to your hospitality business. Here are some of our favourites.
1 – Recognition
If you are a new member of staff and you show up at a hotel that has no uniforms, how do you know who is who? For that matter, how do your guests know who is a member of staff and who isn’t? If your head chef has no special jacket on, he/she/they just look like any other chef. If that isn’t an invitation to have chocolate pudding launched across the kitchen, we don’t know what is.
2 – Branding
Your uniform is an opportunity for you to do a bit of advertising. You can emblazon it with your logo or dress your staff in your own brand colours. You can use t-shirts to highlight the name of your hotel, or to announce corporate slogans.
Think about uniforms as an additional source of free advertising. If your employees are working a shift and wear their clothing home, your brand goes with them. They stop at a garage, the three people they encounter see your logo. They go to the supermarket; a whole load of people sees your brand. Remember, you only need people to see your brand 7 times before marketing gurus estimate that they will remember you[i].
3 – First Impressions Count
Your reception staff should be immaculately presented as a reflection of how immaculate your hotel is. Why? Because you don’t get a second chance to make that crucial first impression. Reception staff are the people who greet your clients, the first visual representation of your business’s corporate persona that they encounter.
Anyone in your foyer should be as precisely dressed as your reception is decorated. If not, the client is met with a dirty or disorganised impression of your business, and it will take the entire length of their stay to change that opinion.
4 – Financial Differences
Much like how we all wear a school uniform so that no child is singled out, equipping your entire staff with a uniform means that financial differences aren’t highlighted through corporate workwear. If you have three room service operatives and each of them have different financial positions, you will end up with three different versions of clothing. Even with a singular theme such as all-black clothing, you would still have three very different interpretations of work suitable clothing.
You can eliminate this problem with the introduction of a uniform. Further, if you take charge of maintenance of that workwear, you can ensure that staff are always as clean as can be.
5 – Hygiene
Which brings us to our last point. If you work in hospitality, you probably sell food or drink. Even in a hotel, it is likely that you have a bar or restaurant. Hygiene should never be underestimated on any food-serving premises. Washing your kitchen staff’s aprons or taking charge of the maintenance of the chef’s jackets, makes sure the staff are always as impeccable as their role demands.
Hygiene is important. You might not be able to make the staff wash, but you can provide them with clean, freshly laundered uniforms. Again, this gives a better impression to clients.
Where to Find High Quality Hospitality Uniforms in the UK?
Here at RK Styles Corporate Clothing, we are a Birmingham-based supplier of hospitality uniforms. We also sell catering uniforms and safety clothing for those in other industries. If you want to make sure that your business gives a great first impression and that you are using your branding effectively, a hospitality uniform set from us ticks every box.
[i] https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-to-use-the-rule-of-7-to-radically-grow-your-business-4037683