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Mar 10
2009
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Having had the opportunity to visit many apartment communities in the past few months, I have to say that I am more committed than ever to uniforms!
While touring, I have seen it all lately. From jeans to t-shirts to micro-minis to oversized sweaters and capri pants, the variations are endless. I have been to very few properties lately that have professionally dressed associates. Why? I wonder . . .
I hear those of you out there - Uniform programs are expensive, Our associates like to express themselves, etc., etc., etc. I agree that we are all in a position to watch our expenses and to we have to make decisions every day on where to save but I would urge everyone to have a uniform program. There is something to be said about walking into a property and seeing a professionally dressed staff. By uniform program, it could be any variation of the following:
1. Work with a uniform company and provide clothing for your associates.
2. Set specific guidelines as to what your associates are supposed to wear. For example, I work with a company that we have selected a core group of suiting colors - black, blue, charcoal gray, beige - and a core group of shirt options - white, black, french blue, and pink. The associate provides their own clothing but has to work within those guideliness.
3. Have everyone on the property wear the same uniform or the same color combinations on a specific day. I have been to a lot of properties that do have uniform programs but you would never know it because everyone was in different clothes/colors. Property associates look so much more professional when you walk in an everyone looks the same.
Before you ask, yes, I have worked on site and I have worn all kinds of uniforms. I have worn the golf shirts and shorts while working on lease-ups/new construction, have worn suiting selected by a uniform committee at the corporate office that I didn't especially love and wasn't my style, and have had to wear navy blue suiting while working with a company for two straight years. Of course, to this day, I rarely wear navy blue suits! That being said, I have been there but would still chose to wear a uniform.
To give everyone a chance to voice their opinion about uniforms and to talk about how it is done at your property and company, I started a discussion about uniforms. Let's share, vent, and learn from one another!
Hartmarx is a good company. Another good uniform company is ICO Uniforms out of Miami. They have so many options from polo shirts to tshirts to maintenance shirts to suits. They will usually work with a company to set up online ordering and some companies that I have worked with have set up custom fittings with them so that they knew everyone was getting uniforms that truly fit!
Thanks for the input! Keep the comments coming.
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I am not suggesting that folks dress like slobs, but if doesn't help make the Prospect Feel Good,scrape the idea and use the savings to Market Inward.
Lastly, Will Uniforms create separation between You and the Guy across the street? Will uniforms help You Break From the Pack of Apartment Commodity? If the answer is yes, use them, if the answer is no or likely not, revert to a different idea.
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1. Normally a company with a uniform program only orders uniforms twice a year. This means that you are stuck wearing the same 5 shirts every week for 6 months. After about the first 2 or 3 months with such frequent washing, these shirts become very faded & unattractive. Usually, when uniforms are ordered, you are not able to try anything on before hand, which means you often recieve items that do not fit properly & are unreturnable. So now, you are stuck wearing shirts that are too large or too small and faded out. There is no way in the world that you can look at some one wearing a shirt that is obviously too large & faded out & think that person looks professional. It also means that if you hire a new employee, they have to wait until the next order date to recieve uniforms, which means that as a property, you are still not "uniform."
2. Properties tend to buy uniforms with their company name on it as opposed to specific property names b/c as a company, they can get better rates. The problem with that is that the average resident/prospect doesn't know or care about the management company and it's confusing to them to see you wearing a uniform with a name other than the apartment complex on it.
3. Golf shirts & khakis never look professional, they look like every fast food & gas station employee in America. I have gotten to the point that I almost never go out for lunch anymore b/c I get tired of being mistaken for a restruant employee. I have actually had ocassions where I was seated & eating my lunch when a customer approached me to ask about specials. That tells me that I do not look like a successful manager running a profitable business, but rather I look like some one who would be really good at making a sandwich.
I realize that many companies go to uniforms b/c they don't feel that they can trust their employees to follow a dress code, but maybe these companies are missing the boat. Maybe they need to look at this as more of a measuring stick. If a manager can not successfully manager his or her own appearance, then it is highly unlikely that they can successfully manage a multi million dollar property.
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You know, Simpson Housing had some AWESOME shirts for their female employees in the PNW last season. They were through Hartmarx, and they came in chocolate brown/black and charcoal/black and had a vine pattern in lifted black fuzzy material. These shirts looked professional and weren't boring at all. Best of all, they were made to fit the cut of a woman's body, so they really flattered every associate I saw wearing one.
Just because it's a uniform doesn't automatically mean it's ugly...at least it doesn't HAVE to mean that this day in age!