Tattoos on workers dealing with the public

[Serena]

Oh, I can just see it now. The naked lady tattoo with black strips of tape strategically placed.

If the service was good, I'd be able to try to explain to my kid why there is a naked lady on his arm. If the service was bad, it'll be just another reason to be unhappy with him.

I think dealing with children, it needs covering up.

 

[Squirlz]

Just last week an acquaintance was telling me his daughter had just moved to Orlando and was working in a restaurant at Universal. She is relegated to working in the kitchen however, as she has a tattoo on her neck. They made it clear she would never have a public contact position there.

 

[FreshTressa]

I think that a naked lady tattoo is tacky! A naked guy tattoo, on the other hand is ! Just kidding! I'm ok with tattoos in general, but the content has to be something that is appropriate for the clientele.

Hehe...I'd like to see how this discussion would go if it pertained to someone with a tatoo of male genetalia on them, lol.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

There is no reason for a person with a tattoo of a naked person should be allowed to show it while working in a place where kids frequent.

I personally don't like these types of tats at all. It's incredibly tacky unless you work in an all adult business.

But, If he's seems a good guy and seems to be a good employee, then he should have to cover it up. Period. Either that or have the tattoo fixed to at least have a bikini on.

And though some tattoos can be considered art, tats of naked bodies are not, imo. That's something totally different from a painting in an art museum.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

For me, there is a difference between tattoos that are neat (do you know what I mean?) and tasteful and ones in odd places (neck, from elbow to wrist on the outside of the arm) that look like they were done in prison with ink from a Bic pen. To me, those and the ones with the Old English font look gang related and they make me nervous when I do business at that establishment.

 

[Blondy876]

Several of my fellow teachers have tattoos and piercings (me included, navel ring and a tattoo on my hip). You would never know any of us had any of these. And that's the way it should be. We work with children and tattoos and piercings are not appropriate. As someone else said, you must consider your clientele. Naked ladies are not appropriate in a place where you are working with the public.

 

[ducklite]

We have a no visable tattoo policy where I work. He would have been required to wear long sleeves.

I don't think that's an unreasonable demand for those in positions that deal with the public. This is a shoe store, not a stage in a nightclub.

Anne

 

[jen0610]

We have this issue at work. There are several male empolyees that have tats. Only two of the 5 girls have tats. The one has 2 that are visible in shorts/skirts/crop pants. Very cute, flower anklet chain and a rose. I know she has 1 other, but that is in a spot that is covered by her clothing.

Now the other girl, she has several. Some are very nice, but she has 2 that I just don't get and don't want to explain to my kids. She has one on her calf of Mickey Mouse smoking a joint and holding a bottle of whiskey. Her newest one, that she just loves, is on her lower back. It is Tink and Pinocchio in a postion that I REALLY don't want to have my kids or any other kids see and have to explain it to them. She just thinks that it is the neatest. After she got the 2nd one, she started to wear her lowest rise jeans and cropped shirt she could get away with. It took 3 days before the boss/1 of the owners saw it and addressed it with her. When she got the one on her leg 3 years ago, she got short and skirt previleges taken away. Now, she has to make sure that her shirt falls far enough below her pants waistline, so that this one doesn't show when she bends over or stretches.

When she questioned why she had to cover hers, but no one else did, the dress code portion of the employee handbook was whipped out. She tried to use the stance that it wasn't clothing. All 3 owners told her that they could at any point and time change the verbage of the handbook and if she wanted to take that stance, they would have that portion of the handbook rewritten. She pretty much stopped arguing at that point.

 

[Disney Doll]

If I owned the business, I'd rewrite the employee handbook to address the covering up of tatoos while at work.

Then it's a rule, & it's a rule for all employees. No one can complain about discrimination and other such things.

You know, don't you wonder why the person owning the tattoo doesn't have the common sense to cover it up when working around children?

 

[Jeanny]

Oh, I can just see it now. The naked lady tattoo with black strips of tape strategically placed.

1002 uses for Duct Tape!!!!!

 

[lillygator]

his company must not have a cover up policy.....not too familiar with FF but isn't it a Wal-mart for shoes?

 

[SplshMtn99]

With regards to the shoe store employee with a naked lady tattoo, I'm SURE the stores sexual harrassment policy would be enough grounds to make him cover it up. That way there isn't just a special dress code just for him. Its a sexual harrassment policy for everyone. Same as passing around dirty jokes & photos & fulgar clothing not allowed.

At my last place of employment (an insurance agency), all tattoos needed to be covered. That was a problem for 2 younger girls who both had tattoos on their lower backs. Whenever they bent over, they were exposed. But they weren't offense at all.

One of the same girls had piercings in her eyebrow & tongue. When she was hired, she was told she could not have those in at work since it didn't present a professional image. She always removed the eyebrow one, however most of the time, she had the tongue one in.

Management never said anything. Heck, management never said much about anything. Thats why the place went to heck in a handbasket with people doing any darn thing they wanted.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

his company must not have a cover up policy.....not too familiar with FF but isn't it a Wal-mart for shoes?

I'm not sure what you mean by "a Wal-Mart for shoes". The shoes they sell aren't cheap, if that's what you mean. They sell name brand shoes. It's not like a Payless.

 

[cardaway]

his company must not have a cover up policy.....not too familiar with FF but isn't it a Wal-mart for shoes?

Pretty much, which IMO facotrs into the equation.

I think the people who shop at Norstroms can expect the people in the shoe department to dress and look professional, but not at these places. These bargain places are basically self serve. No salesman needing to go in the back and actually sell the shoes. Just shelves and shelves of shoes in boxes that may or may not be matched up to the correct boxes.

 

[PghLybrt]

Wow I am surprised by the amount of people that have difficulty when someone looks different from yourself! I own 6 retail stores and in no way would I ever ask an employee change who they are. I myself am tattooed and pierced and yes they are visible and yes I work with the public and yes I work with substantially wealthy clients. My 2nd in command sports a Mohawk and plugs! If anything it makes people remember us. We sell a product that is not very different from place to place, so instead of selling the product we sell ourselves. We provide good service, knowledge and fun! (When you walk around a home show do you actually remember the differences in the product or do you remember the people who you were talking to?) Besides I have a few older clients who are Vets…you should see their tattoos. In all seriousness I think a child sees much worse in the countless hours in front of the TV watching the cartoon network then they ever see in the 10 seconds while checking out. If we all dressed in suits with our blond hair and blue eyes it would be a very very boring world….

 

[musclecar_72]

Wow I am surprised by the amount of people that have difficulty when someone looks different from yourself! I own 6 retail stores and in no way would I ever ask an employee change who they are. I myself am tattooed and pierced and yes they are visible and yes I work with the public and yes I work with substantially wealthy clients. My 2nd in command sports a Mohawk and plugs! If anything it makes people remember us. We sell a product that is not very different from place to place, so instead of selling the product we sell ourselves. We provide good service, knowledge and fun! (When you walk around a home show do you actually remember the differences in the product or do you remember the people who you were talking to?) Besides I have a few older clients who are Vets…you should see their tattoos. In all seriousness I think a child sees much worse in the countless hours in front of the TV watching the cartoon network then they ever see in the 10 seconds while checking out. If we all dressed in suits with our blond hair and blue eyes it would be a very very boring world….

Looking different and sporting a naked woman on you arm are two very different things.

 

[disneysteve]

Wow I am surprised by the amount of people that have difficulty when someone looks different from yourself!

It has nothing to do with looking different. It has to do with what is and is not appropriate in a given situation. I wouldn't show up at a formal wedding in a t-shirt and jeans. I wouldn't go to work that way either. If I had a large visible tattoo, I wouldn't display it when it wasn't appropriate to do so.

 

[Pigeon]

I'll be honest. I hate tattoos. I work at a university where I see dozens of them daily, and I've yet to see one that is vaguely attractive. Yeah, tattoos can make you be remembered, but that may not always be such a good thing.

I'm not surprised that a clerk would have tattoos in a place like that, but I do think that getting tattoos that cannot be covered will likely limit one's choices of employment opportunities.

 

[KristaTX]

She has one on her calf of Mickey Mouse smoking a joint and holding a bottle of whiskey. Her newest one, that she just loves, is on her lower back. It is Tink and Pinocchio in a postion that I REALLY don't want to have my kids or any other kids see and have to explain it to them.

The naked lady one is bad enough for children (and many adults) to have to suddenly notice on a check-out guy's arm. Just think what the "lady" will look like in 30, 40, 50 years on that guy's arm . But lots of people have naked ladies, skulls, etc. - so much so that while still unattractive and disturbing to many people, they are somewhat commonplace. They just need to be displayed at the appropriate time and place, and covered at other times.

But those tattoos that your coworker has??? Those just sound warped and disturbing .

 

[RealMickeysGirl]

Can you require him to wear long sleeves without requiring other employees to do so?

It seems like a "dress code" would have to be mandated for all employeess to prevent that.

You can require that tatoos be covered while working with customers. I didn't know this until I was at a restaurant and one of our waitresses (it was a work birthday lunch so there were 20 or so people there so we had more than one server) had a bandage on her forearm. I asked if it was serious (it was that bright colored tape like they use at blood banks) she said no - she just had to cover her tatoo while at work.

I also have a friend who used to work for a city agency and their tatoos had to be covered also - as in... if you have a tatoo on your upper arm you can't wear sleeveless blouses. She has one on her ankle and had to put a bandaid over it if she wore a dress to work.