You have the perfect restaurant: great customer service, wonderful ambience, nice facilities and superb food.
But there’s one other aspect that’s easy to overlook, yet it’s just as important: your staff uniform!
Just how big of a deal is the uniform, really? Well, it significantly impacts job satisfaction, productivity and customer experience, so it’s something you’ll want to pay attention to.
And with over 7,000 establishments in Singapore’s food and beverage service industry, selecting the perfect uniform could help you stand out.
There’s several factors to consider when making the perfect choice.
Workwear Essentials: Comfort and Functionality
You know all too well the working environment in which your staff operates. It’s hot, fast-paced and demanding.
For this reason, the most important attribute of a uniform is whether it allows a staff member to perform their duties with ease. They should be able to move around and feel comfortable while doing so.
Go for light materials that allow the skin to breathe, such as cotton and viscose. And by all means, avoid nylon!
Workwear made of nylon clings to the skin, trapping sweat and heat, hampering staff while they go about their duties.
Workwear Essentials: Durability
Durability is achieved through the use of high-quality materials that will endure everything from accidental spillage to inevitable wear and tear.
Replacing workwear too often can be expensive.
Did you know that depending on the supplier you go for, you might be able to get free replacements? More on that in a moment.
Workwear Essentials: Style
You want to go for workwear that’s designed to match everything that characterises your restaurant, from your colour scheme to logos and other embroideries.
Your garment supplier of choice should offer a variety of designs that suit your restaurant’s needs and fit cohesively with your image.
The perfect workwear choice is also determined by the restaurant’s ambience.
If your restaurant uses a more formal setup, toned down colours would most likely be the best option. These colours, blue and black, are easy to accessorise, say, with shoes, for instance.
On the other hand, for a fast-paced casual restaurant, vivid colours that pop would match the scene.
Rather than engaging with a supplier whose service is limited to providing uniforms alone, it would be a good idea to go for an all-round Managed Uniform Rental Service provider.
This type of service offers value via free garment replacements and an automated system that keeps track of all uniforms.
Workwear Essentials: Cost
From your menu prices to suppliers, the issue of cost is all anyone seems to talk about in this game.
Every restaurant manager wants to reduce the cost of running their business without compromising on the quality of service patrons receive.
Renting staff uniforms is a great way to minimise costs and increase gains, and with a fully-fledged Managed Uniform Rental Service, you get more than just the garments themselves.
A Managed Service Provider takes care of all garment pick-ups and drop-offs, offers free replacements and even laundry services.
This reduces the cost you would incur if you had to undertake these activities and gives you more time to focus on running your business.
Rental services even eliminate the high upfront costs of buying workwear.
Plus, if you make changes to your restaurant theme and design elements, such as your logo, a managed uniform rental service is more flexible and would easily adjust to such a change.
If you were to buy your staff uniforms outright, you would have to purchase new workwear every time you make changes to your business.
Did you know you can get managed uniform rental services, including a barcode system to keep track of all your garments, from as little as $1 per day?
Workwear Essentials: Staff Opinions
A crucial step in deciding what workwear would be best for your restaurant is in gaining input from your staff.
Ultimately, your staff will be the ones to wear the garments selected.
Seeking their views is important. It not only shows them that you value them and the work they do, but also shows that their views matter.
This goes a long way in keeping your staff motivated.
When your staff is in a great mood, it’s highly likely this will influence how they interact with your patrons, creating a positive impression, raising the chances of referrals to your restaurant and developing loyalty to your brand!
And that’s what you call a win-win-win situation.
Workwear Essentials: Dependability of the Garment Supplier
Lastly, before you settle on a provider that supplies your restaurant with staff workwear, do a background check.
Find out every detail you can. Seek answers to questions such as:
- How long has the company been in operation?
- Has it served other businesses in the same industry?
- Do these businesses have positive feedback?
- Does the garment supplier have sufficient stock?
- Are the garments they stock of high quality?
- How comprehensive are their additional services?
It’s best to work with a trusted, reputable supplier, as this minimises the possibility of things going wrong.
Go for a relationship-oriented supplier. Why? You’ll benefit from an approach that is less transactional and more focussed on working well together.
Alsco’s Managed Rental Service really is the cost-effective alternative to buying. We eliminate the need for large cash purchases.
Starting from just $1 a day, you’ll benefit from regular delivery schedules, free replacements, and emergency, on-demand servicing. Now that’s the relationship you want and the service you need!
Don't forget to share this post!