he title of this article may be a little misleading
Tappearance
to you- let me explain what I mean. Your
is the first line of credibility. Let’s
say you’re facing some legal issues and you
want to hire a lawyer to represent you or your
company. You go to lawyer one and he is at
his desk in a finely tailored suit. His hair is
neatly arranged, and he exudes no noticeable
smell, good or bad, and has an extremely clean
appearance. For good measure, you decide to
check out a few lawyers so you can be sure that
you choose the right one. So lawyer two, you
walk into his office and he is in sweatpants and
a stained up shirt. He smells like cigarettes and
his hair is wild and unkempt. There is even a
little bit of dirt on his hands. Which lawyer are
you going to choose? Now, this has absolutely
no bearing on either lawyer. Lawyer one might
be the biggest jerk you’ve ever met and lawyer
two may be a saint who volunteers at shelters
while he isn’t working, but that isn’t what we are
asking of you. We are asking which lawyer are
you truly going to trust to handle your case based
only on the knowledge of what you have seen
with your eyes. Its going to be lawyer one. Every
single time.
Your second thought to this may be “Well, I’m
not a lawyer, I’m doing physical labor that won’t
accommodate a nice suit.” And you’re absolutely
correct. You can’t wear a suit cleaning carpets
and flooring. But if you take the time to adhere to
these tips, you’ll be a well trusted, well respected
professional that has repeat clients for years to
come.
Don’t let your scent proceed you. You’re
coming into someone’s home to eliminate odor,
not to contribute to it. While you’re on the clock
you should avoid smoking of any kind- you
may not be able to smell it but rest assured that
others can. If the smell is strong enough, it can
even linger in someone’s home. Make sure you
come to work showered, there is nothing more
off putting than a person in your home that
has overpowering body odor- keep a stick of
deodorant in your truck if its an extra hot day
or if you have several jobs to do in a day. On
the flip side of this, don’t show up bathed in
your cologne. Some people have very sensitive
allergies and you don’t want to be the source of
your customer getting ill. Some people just don’t
like being around people who wear too much
cologne in general- and if you’re one of those
people they will remember how strongly you
smelled and they won’t call you back. 100%.
Take care of your appearance. It goes without
saying that bathing on a regular basis is a
social requirement. But take it a step furtherwhat you look like is your company’s calling
card! Own it! Keep your hair trimmed and
even- you can wear long hair but do so that is
becoming of a professional that is coming into
someone’s home and cleaning their belongings.
Facial hair is also fine, but keep everything
trimmed up and flattering- beards are all the
rage right now! If you choose to wear your face
smooth, keep it that way- halfway never looks
professional, I mean you’re not a brooding rock
star (assumingly). I would even suggest to keep
an eye on your fingernails. Keep them clean and
trimmed. If you can’t keep yourself clean, then
why should someone trust you to continuously
keep their home clean?
Dress the part. As I stated earlier in this article,
you can’t clean someone’s house in a suit and tieand that is totally fine. Depending on if you’re
the owner of your business or you’re working for
a pre-existing company, you may want to make
some choices on the apparel that is donned by
you and your employees. If you already work
for a company and they provide your uniform or
suggest one to you, make sure you keep it clean
and pressed- don’t look like you picked your
clothes up off the floor and put them on. If your
employer doesn’t suggest a uniform or if you
work for yourself, don’t dress inappropriately.
Don’t wear clothes with holes in them, don’t
wear bleach stained clothing. The list of clothing
that IS NOT okay to wear could literally go on
forever, but use your judgement- you know what
is okay to wear and what isn’t ok to wear. And
your customer will too. You could do the best
job in the world, but if you make your client or
their family uncomfortable they will NOT hire
you again. If you do own your own company
that employs people more than just yourself, pick
out a uniform for them to wear- unity is the sign
of a strong business; a business doing so well
for themselves that they have the ability to keep
employees employed and dressed professionally.
These are just a few tips to ensure that you are
able to do your job to the best of your ability
without having to be concerned about anything
else- if you have these things taken care of, all
you have to focus on is doing a killer job for
your customer, securing their business for more
than a one time gig.
BUSINESS
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