If you are fortunate you might know a Gordon, a Jamie or another of the famous professional chefs. You might even be able to get them to come along and help you to improve the food you serve, the service you provide to your customers and to lift the business performance of your restaurant or catering facility. Lucky you - wonderful, congratulations!
However, most hospitality businesses are not so fortunate. Assuming you are not so lucky, then it might be time to consider the steps you alone can take to level up your business performance. Hospitality Uniforms are one such step you can take.
Improving service and staff performance
Hospitality businesses of all sorts; including up-market restaurants, in-house catering facilities, hotels, bars/cafes can benefit by providing professional service and staff to meet the client's needs. The only step to improving your image and service that Actifwear can help with is the provision of hospitality uniforms for your staff. Your staffs' uniforms are less important than the people you employ, and the food you serve, but they can, and often do, help tremendously and the impact is almost instant.
When serving food, and beverages, the quality of what is on the plate or in the glass is paramount. But well-groomed and smartly turned out staff, especially when they are polite and welcoming too, can take whatever produce you provide up a notch.
Proof of the pudding - professionalism
It has been proven time and again that smartly turned out staff tend to 'grow' with/into their uniform. Staff attitude, professionalism and performance improve and clients notice, and are impressed, very quickly.
We have talked to many hospitality businesses that have moved from a casual black trousers / white shirt dress code to a uniform with the business/venue logo and possibly the staff member's name embroidered or printed on. The majority have found that on the first shift of staff wearing the new uniform; the morale improves, clients notice something different immediately and positive feedback always increases.
Sadly, as with everything, you can get the occasional throwback. Someone who sees themselves in the uniform as a demi-god of some variety and damages your business reputation. No one can seriously blame the smart shirt, tie and apron you have provided. These people should not be working in the service industry, no matter how good your logo looks on their chest or how smart their name looks on their lapel.
Reality Check
We would love to be able to say that a smart, well-presented uniform can solve all your businesses ills but, obviously, no one can make such a claim.
What Actifwear can do, and will do if you give us the opportunity, is work with you to deliver hospitality uniforms that both your staff and your clients appreciate. As a first step to levelling up your business, uniforms are both effective and cost-efficient.
Offer someone a job and give them a uniform—they instantly transform from an outsider to part of the team. As member of your team, they are more likely to quickly grasp the rules and guidance you provide to deliver the style of service you and your clients expect. They don't have to worry about what to wear to work, you have taken care of that for them, so that they can focus on delivering a high-quality service.
