Dees Uniforms: Local Feel, National Service

By Susan Derby

Dees Uniforms is perfectly situated in the heart of the United States. Its location just outside Tulsa, Okla., reflects the best aspects of the company as a whole: Dees has the flavor of a family business in a Midwest town, but its also right in the middle of everything and serves a national customer base.

For more than 50 years, Dees has carried uniforms for police, fire, EMS and public safety officers, but its specialty is U.S. Postal Service (USPS) uniforms. With approximately 700,000 postal employees across the country, Dees has perfected the art of local service on a national scale.

Stan Klein is the current owner of Dees Uniforms. The original owner a man named Dee, of course opened the store back in the 1950s. That was about the same time that Stans dad, Max Klein, was running his successful mens haberdashery store in Pennsylvania. Its also about the same time Stan himself was landing his first contract bid.

My first big order was a bid that I worked on for my high school band uniforms in my senior year back in 1955, Klein says. I won the bid for the whole band, including the color guard, the majorettes, the whole nine yards. So Ive been doing this for a while.

Klein seems to have had uniforms and tailoring in his blood even before that time. His grandfather, Jacob Klein, was a tailor in Hungary and began making uniforms for the soldiers of World War I shortly after he came to New York City. Jacobs son, Max, continued in the family trade, selling made-to-measure suits and uniforms from his store. Stan says he was in that store from the time he could walk, so its only natural that he continued in the uniform industry too. Klein sold uniforms to anyone who needed them, from police departments and postal workers to a pipe and drum group that needed everything except the kilts.

Klein says, Dee wanted to retire back in 1982, and I was looking to move out of the Pittsburgh area. I was tired of the winters there. One of the suppliers got us together, and I bought Dee out. Ive been happy ever since.

Klein and his wife, Klara, moved to the Tulsa, Okla., area to run the store. Klein says the transition from the Eastern city to the Midwestern town was an easy one.

I didnt lose a step. The only thing that was different was the colors of the uniforms. Back East, it was mostly gray. Here in Oklahoma at that time it was mostly brown and tan. A uniform is a uniform is a uniform, so I didnt have any trouble making the transition.

After 50 years in the industry, Klein still loves the work he does. Though he is turning 70 this year, Klein has no plans to retire. Instead, he and his wife have welcomed the next generation to help run the store and learn the trade. Kleins daughter Randi helps in the store whenever possible. Her husband, Paul Brodsky, works full time doing marketing and management for Dees and has become Kleins right-hand man. Anything the two couples cant do is handled by area vendors.

We are able to utilize people locally, Brodsky says. Instead of having a seamstress on staff full time, we are able to use a contract seamstress, someone who is right here in our area who also has her own business. Shell get the job done as quickly and as well as it ever was in the past, and it is run more efficiently over all.

Efficiency is key in every aspect of Dees Uniforms. Aside from the lean staff, there is also the new location, a 4,000-square-foot showroom and warehouse building. Its slightly smaller than the building Dees occupied six months ago, but Brodsky says it has led to a more efficient and rapid order fulfillment process.

He says, We were one of the first ones in the postal industry to have a website where postal employees could order their uniforms online. Because of that, we have been able to get away with not having a big retail front, and were able to service people just as well if not better.

The website accounts for about half of all sales. Casino security, police, fire, EMS, university security and postal workers all can find uniform pieces via the site and order securely. Dees Uniforms is careful to verify that only those individuals who qualify for the uniforms get them. For example, postal employees use USPS-issued credit cards pre-loaded with their uniform allowance. The card numbers are specially coded so Dees knows the order is coming from a verified employee. Alternately, if the customer is using their personal credit card, Dees Uniforms sends the merchandise to the post office at which the person works so the postmaster can verify that persons employment.

The robust website includes a full online catalog. Many other uniform retailers rely on walk-in traffic for sales, but Dees actively promotes its website, referring customers there to ease their shopping experience.

Particularly with people who need uniforms, during the day they are on the job, says Brodsky. With some exceptions, they really arent able to run out for an hour and take care of buying uniforms. So having that ability to order what they need online, by phone or come in the store means however they want to shop, we can accommodate that. Its really evident how much they like the online ordering when I see how many orders come in on the weekends or at odd hours like 2 a.m.

The site also allows Dees to reach out to customers in new ways. Though Klein initially resisted the cost and time commitment of creating the site, it has allowed the company to reduce catalog costs. Customers can get updated product lists, prices and information without having to keep a hard-copy catalog on hand. An electronic newsletter also alerts customers to new products or services and keeps them coming back to Dees with more orders.

One of the things the website cannot replicate, however, is the personal attention and service of an in-store visit. Because of Kleins extensive experience and Brodskys growing knowledge, visitors to the store get some additional help selecting the right apparel for their expected use. Dees Uniforms offers a depth of product knowledge that the big chain stores cant.

And theres something else customers just cant get from a website.

Theres nobody who can fit uniforms like I do. I have people who come from 100 miles away just because they know they can be fitted properly, Klein says. Last Friday we had a guy come in from Fort Smith, Ark., which is about a two-hour drive. If they are running late, they call us and we wait for them. We dont close by the clock; our hours are flexible.

Klein is protecting his secret for proper fitting. It is a family secret that he hasnt shared with anyone, not even the next generation yet. He compares it to a chef not giving away the secret ingredient in a signature dish. He says he can fit the smallest and the largest person, usually getting the size right just by looking at the person as they walk in the store. Customers may place orders by phone or Internet, but many come in once a year to be re-measured by Klein for a proper fit.

And while they are in the store, many customers enjoy a Tootsie Roll or two. There is always a basket of the candy on the counter, and a few Tootsie Rolls are included with every order shipped out as well. The tradition harkens back to Kleins fathers haberdashery store of the 1940s and 50s.

Above the store was the Klein apartment, and it was normal for Max Klein to close the shop, have dinner with his family and then reopen the shop for a customer who had spent the day working. Customers became friends and often would visit with the family in the apartment for coffee or dessert. Stans mom loved Tootsie Rolls and always had some on hand for the customers who stopped by to say hello.

Brodsky says, Weve hung on to that as a small way to honor her memory and keep that tradition going. It became a fun way to connect todays hustle-and-bustle pace back to a time when things were a little different.

Klein is proud of the tradition of his family trade. He is often called upon to help police departments and security firms develop their uniform programs because of his strong understanding of uniforms and fabrics. Big bids and contracts arent the goal; he just wants to help them create a uniform that is functional, comfortable and practical.

We specialize in uniforms. We dont sell holsters and leather. We dont sell light bars and handcuffs, says Klein Most of the other places promote all that hardware. Its too hard to ride two horses at the same time. I feel that we are doing a very good job with uniforms, and I dont want to spoil it.

Klein has such expertise that hes not afraid to turn away an order that he knows wont satisfy the customers needs. Klein says he would rather sleep well at night than suffer the frustration of an unhappy customer. Brodsky attributes it to choosing the right customers even after the customers choose Dees Uniforms. Customers often come back to Dees once they realize their mistake and appreciate Kleins and Brodskys intense knowledge.

So the plan for the future of Dees Uniforms is to simply stay the course. The long-time customers are proof that what Dees is doing is a recipe for success and continued growth. From the tradition of the Tootsie Roll to the more efficient location, Dees Uniforms mixes the old and new brilliantly. Its a company of which both Jacob and Max Klein would be proud.

Dees Uniforms Inc.
1912-C N. Willow, Ave.
Broken Arrow, OK 74012
Phone: 918-838-3337
1-800-DEES-INC