Do Clothes (And Dirt) Make The Tech?

by J.R. Hutchinson - published in the August 19, 2002 edition of the Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration News (the NEWS) p22.

While at a meeting of the advisory board for a local trade school, the topic of appearance came up. As part of its training, the school emphasizes proper dress and cleanliness. They actually make the students buy uniforms and require them to wear the uniforms in the proper manor.

It is very common for younger service technicians and students to want to express themselves in thier appearance. They seem to think that it is very important to dress in a unique manner, so they are often very resistant to a formal dress code.

So what do they what? They want to wear old jeans and ratty T-shirts. They want to have thier shirtails out. They want to wear baseball caps - both forwards and backwards. They want to wear earrings.

Some of these "wants" are safety hazzards.

Older technicians have been accused of the infamous "butt crack syndrome." I still remember the Saturday Night Live skit about the refrigerator repairman, with Gilda Radner snickering and saying "It looks like the moon is out early tonight."

Does the appearence of an individual affect his or her credibility in front of the customer? If you say no, then think of these two scenarios.


THE COPIER REPAIRMAN
The copier repairman always wears nice slacks, always wears a nice shirt, and many times wears a tie. He does not need to be EPA certified. He does not need to have sophisticated equipment like vacuum pumps, scales, leak detectors, or recovery units to work on the equipment. If the copier breaks, the food does not spoil or people's lives are not in jeopardy. But the industry average hourly charge for copier repairs is over $100.00 per hour.


THE DOCTOR
If you were sick and went to a doctor, how would you expect him to be dressed? Would you expect him to be dressed in a dirty pair of jeans and an old T-shirt, with tattoos on his arms and a baseballcap that reads "I'd rather be fishing"? If he were, how much trust in him or his diagnosis would you have? And what about the bill? A 10-minute visit could cost over $75. Would you be satisfied with his service? Would you go back the next time you need a doctor? Chances are you would say no.


I understand that in this business a service technician will sometimes get dirty. Dirty equipment and components like condensers, evaporators, and flues are out there. Many times equipment is installed in hostile environments. But that does not mean that we cannot try to always look clean and professional. Keeping an extra shirt and pants in the truck and changing them when your clothes get dirty can make a big difference in your appearence and in the amount you can charge for your services.

So, do you dress for your freinds, the opposite sex, the incrowd? What about the customer? The customer is the one who will be paying the bill. Customers are people that will be deciding if you or your company will be used for service the next time. Sure, there is a guy that wants the lowest price possible, but do you really want that guy as your customer anyway?

So dress for success. Dress to look good in the eyes of your customer. That translates into more business, more income and more recognition for the great service that you perform.


Hutchinson is vice president of Technical Operations for ISI Commercial Refrigeration, L.P. headquartered in Dallas, TX