Uniforms

Osun State has been in the news for wrong reasons these days. Located in the south western part of the country and ruled by a gentleman who is more known for his extreme religious beliefs than his performance in the saddle. Recently, Osun students appeared in schools dressed according to their religious tendencies. The Christians came in to school wearing priests garb; the Muslims in Hijab and the traditional worshipers in masquerade apparel! Are we for real. Apparently this was in demonstration to some of the state unpopular public policies, but it ended up creating more confusion and embarrassment to everything decent in a modern state. Students of the lower tertiary are expected and mandated to come to schools wearing their school uniforms and not what suits their fancy. Let’s leave politics and its murky waters for the saner hospitality industry.

Hotel workers around the globe wear uniforms for so many reasons and under so many conditions. Firstly, the idea of hotel staff wearing uniform came from the need to be able to differentiate the staff from the guest. Further down the uniforms are still not uniformed; as efforts are made into segmenting staff into various departments. Traditionally, core kitchen staffs are expected to wear white uniform with clog shoes and hat at all times. The white indicates cleanliness; clog with its wooden heel enhances stability on slippery kitchen floor while the head covers guard against hair falling into food during preparation. The housekeepers and laundry staff are often similarly arrayed in loose uniforms to allow dissipation of heat and free movement. Staff of both departments work under stressful conditions and they must be comfortable in their uniform to lessen the pains of physical assertion.

The front office houses the concierge, reception, cashiers and sometimes the reservation sections depending of course on the hotel set-up. Again, within the department there is no uniformity of uniforms as the concierge favours easy and loose wear because of the nature of their work. The reception appears very formal in mode of dressing and this is predicated on the fact that the desk is the official and first contact with the guests. There are no two ways of making the first impression. Same goes for all guest relations contact sections.

In choosing uniforms for staff the following advice may come in handy. Quite predictably, the brand colour is a function of the choice of uniform. When a commercial comes up on your screen, the background colour is always the first indication of the company being advertised. Secondly, you may want to consider quality over quantity as you focus on the long time durability and comfort of uniform. Culture also has a role to play in uniform aesthetics as it will not be totally out of place seeing service staff in kimono in a Japanese hotel or a waiter in adire in an Ogun State hotel. The aforementioned nature of different duties of different department may also play a role in choosing uniform.

 Above all, staff must not just appear neat but impeccable in their outlook at all times as this tell the guests a lot about the hotel. Name tags are part of staff uniform and must be worn at all times. Having a place where staff can freshen and make up will enhance overall appearance of staff too. As for Osun students whose uniformity is in question, it’s only a matter of time before they start losing their identity. It goes beyond what we see, but lets siddon look!