Why Restaurant Uniforms Are important
Your wait staff may feel like they don’t need uniforms to perform their best, but the fact is, they do. There are myriad reasons why restaurant uniforms are important to building your best possible business, and today we’re going to go over five main points explaining why restaurant uniforms are essential to a top-notch eatery.
1. First Impressions Here are 10 Essential Tips to Make Your Restaurant Successful
The first impression your guests form of your restaurant likely comes from seeing the staff and servers. You can make the most of that first impression by providing a uniform that suits the vibe of your restaurant and pushes your branding. By seeing the required uniform, diners can ascertain that the management cares about presentation and professionalism, what the ambiance and appropriate guest attire will be, how many people are working toward their comfort, and much more. Humans are adept at picking up cues from the details we see, and a uniformed wait staff, whether they wear simple T-shirts or custom-embroidered uniform shirts, tells us a great deal about a place we’re about to trust to serve our food.
2. Finding Help
When diners look up because they dropped their fork or want more lemon, seeing everyone on the floor walking around in street clothing is frustrating. Who, exactly, can help? There’s no way of being certain unless one has a particularly keen memory. However, if your servers and support staff are wearing restaurant uniforms, a guest can easily get assistance, even if it’s not from “their” server. Any busser or other server is happy to replace a dropped straw or napkin, and your guests are relaxed knowing the service doesn’t end when they lose sight of their own waiter.
A word to the wise: Don’t strip your servers of their individuality. A bright hair barrette, an interesting belt or a funny pin helps guests remember which staff member is taking care of them and gives guests a glimpse of personality—that is good for recognition and for tips.
3. Hygiene
No one wants a server with spilled soup crusted down their front. It’s dirty, and therefore unappetizing. When you have restaurant uniforms, you can keep plenty on hand for just such emergent situations. You can even encourage (or require) your workforce to leave their uniform shirts and launder them on site. That way you know everyone is wearing an impeccably hygienic company polo shirt, making the best possible impression and showing guests your high standards.
4. Build Your Brand
Whether you choose collared button-downs with the name of your elegant bistro discreetly embroidered on the breast or a bright T-shirt splashily printed with your logo and punny slogan, the uniforms your staff wears are de facto branding opportunities. Decide what level of formality is right for your establishment, and then go all out. You can even push your name recognition by gifting servers with fleece work jackets or hats with your restaurant’s name on them; it’s a kind gesture to them that equally benefits you.
5. Turn Your Workforce into a Team
When your establishment adheres to a uniform policy that equally emphasizes professionalism and hygiene, every server and staff member knows the standards they are striving for and knows just by looking around who they can depend on to help achieve that goal. When the kitchen has tickets backed up three feet and the front of the house is in the weeds, those uniforms show every harried server how many people are going to pull together to get through that tough moment. Uniforms make your restaurant workers feel like a team when they hit an after-hours spot for a nightcap. Build a feeling of belonging and camaraderie with restaurant uniforms for all of your servers and staff.
Restaurant uniforms are a small detail that can make or break an establishment. You want customers who feel confident and relaxed about cleanliness and level of care, you want a workforce that will stick together and support one another, and you want to build brand recognition. A well-chosen uniform, complemented by a bit of customized swag, can do these things for your restaurant effortlessly. These are some of the main reasons why restaurant uniforms are important, and we hope you’ll be thrilled with your choice of uniform knowing how much it can influence your business’ success.