Would this improve your shopping experience in any way?

[Snoopymom]

I shop at a Hallmark close to my work during lunch and I can't recall what they wear, but they are nicest people! To me attitude is everything! I don't care at all what they look like or what they're wearing as long as they're clean and neat! Plus, it might be difficult for some to afford special clothes for a low paying part time job.

(I just have to say that I love this store! There was a very fragile looking older lady doing her Christmas shopping for her whole family from the Grandkids on up, and the employees basically picked out everything for her and wrapped it with lots of care, and because she was so sweet and grateful, the manager gaver her a few of those promotional items they have for free. It really put me in the Christmas spirit watching them!)

 

[Snowysmom]

I really don't care what the employees are wearing as long as they are clean, neat, identified as employees by a badge or corporate logo, and have a good attidtude. I like the idea of the apron with Hallmark on it so you can identify an employee if you need help. Sometimes it is hard to ID an employee since they are dressed similarly to some customers and there is no logo on their clothing. If I wear my red polo shirt and black pants into Staples in our area, nine times out of ten other customers will come up to me to ask for help. It is too confusing so the logo marked apron makes alot of sense, not this new dress code. Also, employees need to be able to wear comfortable shoes. Some athletic shoes do come in black and look alot like dressier shoes so that could be an option for them. Reebok and New Balance have some nice styles. Corporate staff need to go out into the trenches for a while to get a reality check.

 

[cardaway]

I do think it's a good idea for stores to have their employees wear something that makes them stand out as employees of the store. Other than that, I don't really care what it is, and that includes not making managers wear ties. I don't care how well they are dressed as long as they stand out from the public and are wearing clean clothes.

 

[rascalmom]

I don't care what the employees at my Hallmark store wear as long as they are friendly & helpful.

There is a Hallmark store in the same shopping center as my dd's dance studio. I am there at least 3 times a week. There is another Hallmark about 3 miles further away - but the employees are much more friendly & helpful and the register is always adequately staffed so that there is not a long wait. Care to guess where I shop?

I have no idea if there is a dress code at either store, and I'm sure it would not affect my shopping decision. The "friendly" store is independent and the other is one of several owned by one franchiser.

 

[declansdad]

I could care less what they wear, as long as they don't have multiple piercings, pierced eyebrow or tongue and bare arms with tons of tatoos.

What difference would these make? Are these the signs of a poor employee?

 

[declansdad]

duplicate post....sorry

 

[Tigger&Belle]

As long as employees don't look shaggy in their clothes I don't care what they wear. The most important thing to me is being able to recognize who the employees are. I hate walking up to another customer and asking them a question. And I've had plenty of people ask me questions thinking I'm an employee. (And I usually, whenever possible, just answer their question as if I do work there ).

 

[pixiemomma]

Nope. Nametags are nice though, so you can tell who is staff and who is not.

 

[Nancy]

Honestly, some parts of your post dont make sense

I've never been in a hallmark that has concrete floors, they've always been carpeted. And I've never seen a employee just "standing" for 8 hours- they're moving, bending, walking etc.

I also dont know of any associates that would unload a tractor trailer truck- usually the driver unloads the shipment, but eh...

onto the dress code. I like to see dress codes- for the simple reason that not everyone dresses correctly for positions in the public. I've seen employees at stores with stains on their shirt- holes in them, nasty pants etc..

it wouldnt change whether I shop there or not, but it would impress me that the company cared enough about its image.

Good luck to her
Brandy

Most stores that have regular flooring have it put over concrete. It is very hard on the back and feet. There is no "give" to concrete.

Being on your feet for 8 hours whether walking or standing still is still being on your feet...feet don't leave the body when walking around

Look in the back room of any store, associates unload the truck. The driver pulls up to the dock, opens the back and then goes to the breakroom for a cup of coffee! I have worked in a grocery store for 15 years, our drivers are company drivers, not outside delivery and they do not unload trunks, or even help. The only people that unload their trucks are the vendors, like Pepsi and Coke.

I also like dress codes, just not the white shirt part of it. (probably stems from wearing a white shirt of 14 1/2 years..we just went to colors!)

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

I used to work for ULTA. We had a similar dress code you just described. White or black shirts (no sleeveless), black dress pants, and black closed toe/closed heel shoes. For the last 2 years I was there, we were given a smock to wear which was a help. I understand your wifes pain about warm clothing not being available in white. In the wintertime I only wore black sweaters because I couldn't find any in white. Oh and my store had that cheap carpeting and my feet would kill by the end of the day. And guess what, the last year I was there they removed the carpet and put down ceramic tiles! Oh what a joy those where when nail polish dropped off the top shelf. (I also did inventory which was removing things from the truck. I flat out refused to wear white shirts and dress pants doing that. They finally agreed to let us wear whatever we wanted then.)

Honostly, I don't think the black and white dress code did anything to make the employees look nicer. I owened some really nice shirts and pants in different colors but couldn't wear those. So I wore cheap pants and cheap shirts to work everyday. IMO, as long as the employees are dressed half way appropriate it doesn't matter what colors they wear. And they should be allowed to wear nice looking sneakers. Dress shoes give no comfort to your feet when you stand around for 8 hours a day. But corporate gets to sit in an office states away so they don't know what it is like.

To make matters worse, the District Manager used to come into the store to help out and she would NEVER be dressed in the dress code. She would always be wearing nice things but in colors. Thank g-d she was nice and never yelled at me for wearing my sweatpants and tshirts when I did inventory. I worked from 4am-12pm, and the store opened at 10am. I told the managers I wasn't there to be customer service those days so I wasn't coming dressed nice only to get it filthy. The customers never seemed to care either, as long as I was nice and helped them out they spent the same amount of money.

 

[CheshireVal]

I like it when stores have a "uniform" because that way I can easily identify who works there if I need help with something.

In the case of Hallmark, I think as long as they were all wearing the aprons, there should be no problem. It's appropriate for the store and its image, and makes the employees easily identifiable. I don't see why the whole white/black thing is necessary, because that doesn't really fit my image of that store.

 

[Chicago526]

As long as they are easily identifiable as store employees and neatly dressed, I could care less what they wear. I used to work retail, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to wear just about anything you want. I worked at target and we could wear anything, as long as the pants/skirt was kahki color and the shirt was red.

 

[Planogirl]

The black and white outfit sounds too dressy and formal for a Hallmark Store. I prefer the idea of something comfy and warm because that type of dress makes me feel more comfortable. Corporate Hallmark sounds kind of goofy and out of touch.

 

[CheshireVal]

As long as they are easily identifiable as store employees and neatly dressed, I could care less what they wear. I used to work retail, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to wear just about anything you want. I worked at target and we could wear anything, as long as the pants/skirt was kahki color and the shirt was red.

There have actually been some days when I've worn a red top and khaki pants to work, and have refused to go to Target on the way home because I knew everyone would think I worked there and I'd be asked a million questions in the aisles! Instead, I'd go out of my way to go home and change first. How silly am I?

 

[KristaTX]

I don't like to see employees look sloppy, so I like that they have a dress code. I also like to be able to identify employees easily (preferably with a name tag with their position listed on it). I hate having to ask, "Do you work here?". For instance I like how at Target I know that anyone wearing a red shirt and khakis is an employee. And at Home Depot I know that anyone with an orange apron can probably help me out.

But if I worked at her Hallmark store, I would hate the new dress code, too. I don't really like to wear white, and I don't think most people look good in it unless they are dark skinned. And a lot of times it can be sort of see-through (bras, etc). Plus that whole dirtiness factor . And I have to wear comfortable shoes if I'm going to be on my feet all day.

As for managers, I do like to be able to identify who the managers are in a store. But as for the dress code for them, it depends on the style of tie and shirt for males and on the style of black jacket for the women (can they pick their own?). There is such a thing as over-dressing for certain jobs and it just looks incongruent. But also if a male manager had on short sleeves with a tie, then I'd think he looked really dorky. That's like having a sign around his neck that says "They make me wear a tie" .

 

[KristaTX]

There have actually been some days when I've worn a red top and kahki pants to work, and have refused to go to Target on the way home because I knew everyone would think I worked there and I'd be asked a million questions in the aisles! Instead, I'd go out of my way to go home and change first. How silly am I?

Not silly at all! I've chuckled to myself a few times when I've seen people wearing red and khaki in there.

Not that there's anything wrong with that . I just am the type to notice it.

 

[minniecarousel]

Oh for heavens sake! The apron easily identifies an employee. It's not like it's a big store like Target! Since some Hallmark stores are corporate and some are independently owned, it only points out which is which if corporate enforces a dress code. I don't care and I don't want to know which are corporate and which are franchises. sheesh! Somebody at corporate has too much time on his/her hands!

 

[jbdreamer]

I could care less what they wear, as long as they don't have multiple piercings, pierced eyebrow or tongue and bare arms with tons of tatoos.

Then you do care what they wear.

What difference would these make? Are these the signs of a poor employee?

How does that make them bad employees?

My sister has multiple piercing including a tongue ring and tattoos. She works at a shoe store and is very professional.

Tons of people have their tongue pierced, you probably just don't notice because they don't stick their tongues out at you.

I have been served by many "professionally" dressed people that are snooty, mean and rude. I don't think what they are wearing make a difference at all.

I just ask that you are clean, well groomed and friendly.

 

[Cthia]

As long as they have something on them that shows they are employees who cares what they are wearing underneath.

As for the managers outfits, what does it matter if they have to look so professional.

I think if an employee wears things they feel uncomfortable in you won't have productiive employees. Who wants to worry about keeping a white shirt from getting dirty all the time and I couldn't imagine being on my feet for 8 hours wearing heeled shoes. As for the person who said the employees move around so their feet won't hurt, sounds like they have never worked in a place with concrete.

I hope they can come to a mutual decision.

 

[cruiserkaren]

I ran into a Hallmark just before Christmas to pick up something for my MIL. I don't shop in a Hallmark on a regular basis. As I was standing in line to pay I noticed what the cashier was wearing. I remember thinking "I can't believe she is allowed to wear that to work". It was a pretty grungy looking green sweatshirt. She had on black jeans. Her hair looked nice, had on nice makeup and quite a bit of jewerly. The sweatshirt was faded out and was obviously old. The shirt didn't match the rest of her look. Not sure what it was all about. She was very polite and nice.

I don't normally pay attention to that kind of stuff, but this really stuck out like a sore thumb.

Agreeing completely with the post about going to Target. Last time I was in a Target I had on a red sweater and black pants. I was asked twice if I worked there! Won't make that mistake again.