Since the beginning of September 2000, customers at the United States Postal Service (USPS) retail stores have been noticing a few changes. In an effort to enhance retail postal operations, the USPS has decided to pursue a brand new uniform direction for their window clerks, who now bear the title "Sales and Service Associates." The new uniform program will be implemented in several stages. Last autumn marked the beginning of the first phase of "Operation Switchover," in which the new uniform shirts, neckwear and name badges were introduced. The men's shirts come in two fabrications; a 65/35 percent poly/broadcloth and a 60/40 percent cotton/poly blend. The blue and grey striped button-down oxfords are available in long- and short-sleeves. The left chest pocket has reinforced corners and a hidden pen slot. Reinforced name badge eyelets complete the new shirt.

The women's blue and grey striped sport collar blouse is likewise available in long- and short-sleeves. It features concealed buttons and a casual looking sport collar with a drop design for a more comfortable fit around the neck. As with the men's shirts, there are two fabric selections for the women's blouses. "We wanted to give our employees a choice of two different fabric blends so they could decide between the two, which would be more comfortable," explains Donna Gill, acting manager of Retail Workforce Strategies for the USPS.

What prompted the new uniform program? "There had been no restyling of the postal uniform for ten years," notes Gill. "We had complaints about the old uniform not being comfortable and the fact that they were somewhat military looking. As uniforms go, it wasn't particularly appreciated, neither by the public nor our employees." In addition, whereas the previous uniforms were based upon a "one-size-fits-all" pattern that was adjusted up or down to fit the individual, the new line features a range of sizes including petite, misses', regular, tall and plus, which gives a much better fit and range of functionality.

With a choice of four-in-hand or clip-on ties in regular or extra long lengths, the neckwear for male personnel includes two patterns the USPS logo in navy with a red pin-dot style or simple red, white and blue stripes. The women's neckwear features knotted loop patterns with an extender piece for comfort, designed in the same pattern selections as those of the male sales associates.

The entire program will include trousers in two different colors, skirts, skorts, dresses, jumpers, sweaters, vests (long and waist-length) and sweater vests as well. "We made the decision to roll out the entire line in phases because we had so many items in the program to introduce, but at the same time, we wanted our employees to look uniform throughout the process. So we released the above-the-waist components first, which have the most visibility, then the next phase, beginning in April of 2001, which will include the bottoms." Gill says that they are issuing feedback cards along with the new apparel to gauge employee reaction. "Then we'll send them pictures of some of the other pieces in the program and get their feedback on what they would like to see next."

Of the Postal Service's 460,000 uniformed employees, the new apparel is earmarked for the more than 66,000 retail workers. Gill points out that a representative from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) worked with them in every facet of the design, development and selection process.

To orchestrate this complete revamp, the Postal Service turned to Crest Uniforms. This uniform program didn't materialize overnight; in fact, it has been in the works for well over a year. Ellen Rose, senior designer of national accounts for Crest, explains that the Postal Service challenged them to come up with a professional business casual look that reflects their changing ways of doing business in a retail environment.

"Representatives from the Postal Service attended the NAUMD Convention," recalls Rose, "and wrote down the names of all the companies that were major winners of uniform industry awards, Crest being one of them. So they contacted us to see what our capabilities were and if we would be interested in going after the design bid. There were 10-12 companies bidding on the Postal Service program, and we had to submit company capabilities, our portfolio and a preview of the vision we saw for the USPS."

In addition to designing the new apparel, Crest Uniforms hosted focus groups--with customers, supervisors and retail employees--to get a sense of their preferences as far as comfort and style were concerned and to see which designs evoked the most favorable response from the public. "Then they made up a series of designs and we tested those items in a number of postal facilities," explains Gill. "Before we initiated the wear testing, we conducted a survey to ascertain the specific styles and designs postal personnel preferred from the various selections submitted. We surveyed managers, supervisors, retail supervisors and a lot of the other employees to get a sense of which items they liked more than others."

In the new USPS retail environment, employees will not necessarily remain behind a tall counter (where a customer's view is only waist up). Since sales associates will be on the selling floor interacting with people, Rose says that Crest envisioned the apparel to be more ready-to-wear oriented from head to toe. "The main message we heard was that employees were becoming less satisfied with white shirts," she remembers. "They work with inks and paper and they get dirty. The white shirt can look fairly shabby after a short amount of wear. And after a decade of the same uniform, change was desired--with a shirt that had a lot of color coverage being at the top of the list."

Another item that has been redesigned for a consistent look across the board is the USPS name badge. Since there had never been a national policy for name badges, different postal locations had the option of ordering name badges for their employees, but it wasn't a requirement. Gill states, "Postal personnel will be able to choose from a number of name formats, including commonly used nicknames, first name, last name, both, or Mr., Mrs., or Ms. It's at their own discretion." The plastic, silver badges feature the USPS logo of the eagle's head in flight, with the employee's name to the right in capital letters.

The reaction to the uniform makeover has been very enthusiastic. "Of course," Gill admits, "with over 66,000 employees [wearing the new apparel] you get a lot of people who like it and a few who don't. But because of the time we took in rolling it out, and the input so many employees gave us before we settled on the final items, we are confident it will please almost everybody."

In addition to the April 2001 debut of trousers, skirts and skorts, future phases will include red box-stitched oxford shirts in both short- and long-sleeves, additional neckwear choices, navy knit long-sleeved cardigan sweaters and sleeveless vests, coordinated vest and pleated pants, women's over-top vests, tunic-vests, pleated pants, pleated skirts and A-line jumpers. Accessories such as tie bars and logo'd button covers with polished and matted silver will accessorize the updated postal uniform.

"We already have new lobby designs, new in-store signs, new packaging products and new services," says Patricia Gibert, vice president of the USPS's Retail, Consumers and Small Business division in the USPS Midwest Area Update: September, 2000 issue. "Now it's time for a new look for retail employees. We'll be informing our customers that our products, our service and--most importantly--our people are up there with the best: knowledgeable, helpful, professional, and proud."