Creating a Staff Dress Code for a Restaurant
The internet is full of advice on what couples and other patrons should wear when they are visiting a restaurant. Unfortunately, somewhat less guidance is available for those who are opening a restaurant and aren’t sure what to tell the staff to wear. Outside of chain restaurants, uniforms are becoming less common, and staff are given more discretion on what they wear. While this is great from an empowerment point of view, it can make it more challenging to set and maintain standards. This article explores some of the things that restaurant owners can do to make sure that their front of house team looks good every day of the week.
Give Advice on What Sites to Use
If you pick out a particular clothing website and flag up which sections and brands you find acceptable, this can give staff the guidance that they need to make the right decision. Websites such as NA-KD UK have a vast range of clothing types that will be suitable for almost any restaurant. Selecting a particular subcategory and giving this link to your team is an excellent way to provide guidance on what to wear without the need to be too prescriptive. You can even offer vouchers and discounts on particular websites to help your team put their looks together.
Give Notice on Particular Events
If a significant event or private hire is coming up that will require your team to look their best, then make sure that you give them plenty of warning so that they can be ready in time. Preparing clothes for an event can take a lot of effort, and they will want to make sure that they have time for you. This will help to avoid the type of negative restaurant reviews that businesses can take years to recover from.
Make Sure That You Reflect the Standards You Set
Nothing will kill a restaurant team’s desire to follow a dress code more quickly than the feeling that the restaurant owner or manager isn’t pulling their weight. This means that the senior team needs to follow the dress code that they set. So, no coming into work straight from the gym in a tracksuit. This may take a little more time on a day-to-day basis, but it is an essential part of being a leader and creating a team that wants to work hard to achieve great results. Failing to do this results in the type of lousy restaurant atmosphere that we saw time and again on Kitchen Nightmares and similar programmes.
As with so many things in life, being clear on your expectations from the outset is the key to creating an effective and respected restaurant dress code.
