Subscriber Discussion

How Many Integrators Wear Uniforms At Work?

TG
Tedor Gligorich
Jul 20, 2014

Is it better to wear a uniform, one bright brown or dark yellow all-in-one around town, with my name built from curvy stitched red letters sewn from scratch on it? Or is there a trouser-less professional looking manner that you can describe to me for me to copy, right down to the nity-grity!

Poll

Or may I try a regular threaded suit with the open tails tucked slightly together? What is a standard for dressing with our co-workers that anyone will agree? English or Both or Serbian letters, one name over each breast pocket to-go?

Help will be over-appreciated in advance!

JH
John Honovich
Jul 20, 2014
IPVM

I added a poll and targeted this for integrators, as I believe this is the context requested and will get clearer answers.

In my experience service / field techs usually wear a company branded shirt as 'official' dress. With others (e.g., sales) it is optional.

At Avigilon, the uniform is a suit.

Avatar
Jack Zhang
Jul 20, 2014
IPVMU Certified

Our company uses dark blue colored polo shirt with stitched logo and no breast pocket. Later on we will add name tags with title instead of having name stitched on the shirt. It is avalible and required for everyone in the company. However, I think all field techs should aways have a set of "logo free" uniform, just in case if they are coming in as third party.

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Jul 20, 2014
IPVMU Certified

I work in a very 'informally dressed' part of the country. Most technicians around here (no matter if they are security integrators, telecos, or even copy machine repairmen) wear logoed company polo shirts and jeans ...or maybe dress pants for salesman.

There are exceptions to this, but it seems the be the most flexible and inexpensive way to maintain company branding and worker appearance. A logoed short like this costs <$30 USD:

TG
Tedor Gligorich
Jul 20, 2014

Is the POWER logo hand-needled or painted on?

RW
Rukmini Wilson
Jul 20, 2014

True story: Company A I worked for had a problem with the authentication/login component of their b2b website running IIS, which was sold/created by NetInfinitz*. First day they sent a red-shirted logoed tech, but to no avail. Each day of this show-stopping problem they sent one additional uniformed tech, each new redshirt presumably more capable than the last.

By day four the server room vaguely resembled the bridge of the Enterprise. The last tech seemed to be better than the rest, and after four hours standing at a rack monitor and keyboard, he impulsively removed his ill-fitting, and no doubt hastily borrowed, red and logoed shirt to reveal a collar-less white Microsoft corporate one. The NetInfinitz guys were obviously OEM'ing him. It felt like Clark Kent changing in to Superman, and soon the problem was of course resolved.

*or something very similar :)

GW
George Whittaker
Jul 21, 2014

OEM'ing a person, what a concept!

Avatar
Ari Erenthal
Jul 21, 2014
Chesapeake & Midlantic

My dad's company has black polos or t shirts for installers and white polos for salespeople. Installers also get ball caps and jackets or hoodies, and the salespeople usually wear a nicer version of the hoodie as well. All company vehicles have logos, and salespeople have magnets with the company logo on their cars. They also try to get small lawn signs and stickers on every installation (subject to customer's approval), large signs on every construction site, and large signs at the entrance to every new development close to the road. Also, they run ads in heavy rotation on a popular local radio station in his home town, which includes a popular web stream, and they have experimented with other advertising methods, such as joining and sponsoring equipment for a local citizen's safety patrol, sponsoring a bike registration drive, and others.

If I were still working there, I'd change the phone number or email address on every form of advertising, so we could quantify and track which forms of advertising are most effective, and what types of customers respond to what kind of advertising.

JH
John Honovich
Jul 21, 2014
IPVM

Ari, good feedback.

Curious: Is there a reason why installers wear black and sales people wear white shirts? Is it because installers get dirty more easily doing real work or?

Avatar
Ari Erenthal
Jul 21, 2014
Chesapeake & Midlantic

Because black doesn't show dirt. They experimented with blue and dark gray, and they still looked nasty before lunchtime.

Sales wear white because it shows off the logo nicely.

JB
Jeremiah Boughton
Jul 21, 2014

When it comes to Residential Alarm Dealers, the Tech's wear branded outfits for reasons other than just advertising. One of the main reasons is for security and to give the customer a sense of comfort that the person is a worker and not a crazy from off the street.

As far as commercial integrators/contractors, it can be tough. Usually a branded t-shirt in summer months and branded long sleeve shirts in the winter months, but they usually have to wear High Viz Vests over it, so the hardhat is branded.

Office people usually are just business casual and will occasionally wear branded apparel or if doing a conference of some type, then putting on company apparel. Sales people are usually the same way.

Sometimes commercial integrators/contractors do not wear branded clothes, like someone stated above as they are 3rd party workers or they are non-union and want to protect themselves from ridicule and/or having their equipment damaged.

JG
John Grocke
Jul 21, 2014

Many companies providing bright florescent lime green t-shirts with company logos for installers that work on construction sites so they don't have to wear the required colored safety vests.

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