Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

This situation, sent to Auntie Kate, is challenging. How would you handle it?

Messy buns are cute and au courant. Messy clothes? Never.

I have an employee that is making me so frustrated I can hardly keep from sounding off. She’s been with me for six years, but this problem has been getting worse over the past two years. She’s very dependable, likeable, self-motivated, the customers like her, there are many good qualities about her. However, she comes to work every day looking like a bum. She admittedly shops

at one of the not-for-profit thrifts in town (they always have coupons in the paper.) Her slacks are never ironed, her blouses are old styles, her shoes are usually hiking boots, her hair is usually unkempt.

I don’t want to hurt her feelings. She is a great employee except for her appearance. How can I tactfully get across to her that she needs to improve her appearance? Looking as she does would never encourage customers to buy. Help! Help!”

Auntie Kate answers:

Dependable, self-motivated, the customers like her. . . I wouldn’t want to offend and/or lose her either!

That she shops thrift, instead of in your shop, worries me. It could simply be a budgetary problem, and that can be addressed in several ways. Giving her a large enough discount to enable her to shop in your shop instead is the most obvious. Another choice is to “allot” (give!) her, each season, her selection of three or four or five outfits to wear specifically for work for the next three months. Reason you can give her for this sudden generosity? “I want you to be able to answer, truthfully, when asked where you got that cute top: Here!” Actually, this is the policy of a lot of the mall fashion stores. Perhaps you could say you read about this policy and thought it an excellent one to promote the fashionability of what your shop sells.

At the least, I’d set a new policy that clothing worn by staff needs to be “of a quality, style and cleanliness equal to what we would accept in the shop and proudly feature in our displays.”
I’m assuming that her grooming, other than unkempt hair, is acceptable. Be thankful for that!

You don’t state whether she is an only employee or one of a staff. If possible, this is what I would do: promote her. Now that she is Head Customer Service Rep or Executive Client Agent or Assistant Sales Manager (with name badge and personal business cards on the counter to match, of course), you say, she is part of management, which calls for professional attire. The new position carries with it a clothing allowance or larger discount, as suggested above. Explaining that the customers will be looking to her for wardrobe advice, state that a more “executive” look is now appropriate. If she has a hard time getting out of the house pressed and brushed, suggest she come in fifteen minutes early and “feel free to use our iron/ steamer/ lint roller before you come on the floor.”

A completely different approach is to set a specific dress code, such as starched white/ light blue/ pink long-sleeved cotton shirt worn with well-pressed black/ navy skirt or pants, polished black or navy low-heeled shoes. Or you could have the closest thing to “uniforms” that Americans will stand for: staff polos, provided by the business, embellished with the shop name. Insist on only well-pressed chinos or khaki skirt to be worn with the polos. This consistent look has the added benefit of making staffers more visible and approachable by customers.