Design and Distribution of Uniforms in the Restaurant Trade Requires Finding a Balance of Style and Function

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There is definitely a stigma about working in a restaurant. The attitude is that most of the work involves entry-level positions held by individuals that will work for a while and move onand as a uniform problem, when this happens, it means several shirts, perhaps an apron and even a cap have walked out the door as well.

The myth, unfortunately, is borne from certain realities. The National Restaurant Association (NRA), an often quoted and leading numbers cruncher in the food service industry, points out that operators of restaurantsespecially in the quickservice category continue to list labor issues as a top challenge. There is some short-term good news. The economic downturn has apparently eased the pressure somewhat for finding 16- to 24-year-olds the prime labor pool employed in the fast-food game which has momentarily pushed turnover rates of hourly employees downward.

When thinking about apparel sales and inventory, these are no small matters for consideration. The majority of both fullservice and quickservice food operators expect their business revenue to be up in 2003 from 2002. This is the outlook from an industry that has already seen 11 consecutive years of growth. Pundits are gushing over the anticipated $426 billion in sales the restaurant industry expects to ring at the registers this year.

The number of people it takes to prepare, serve and manage this volume of food traffic is also on the rise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs the total U.S. employment level for food preparation and serving related occupations somewhere just shy of 10 million workers. This includes everyone from the sexy hostess in heels to the sweaty dishwasher in slip-resistant footwear.

In fact, the NRA further boasts that the restaurant industry remains the largest private-sector employer in the United States. The number of restaurant locations in the country is calculated to be around 870,000.

Made To Measure Magazine interviewed three restaurant operators who reflect the enormous potential and unique challenges to be found in this segment of the uniform industry. These companies reflect the wide spectrum of restaurant operations out therefrom modest to enormous. All three firms have multiple locations. How apparel programs and their management become a highly visible, and at the same time subtle, confirmation of the organizational cultures is fascinating.

 

BURGER KING

On the one hand, a company such as Burger King Corporation reaches across many physical and corporate boundaries. The firm is responsible for how approximately 360,000 people dress for work. To put this in perspective, take the countries of Iceland and Granada, combine their collective peoples and then figure out what they can all wear. And you might consider offering them a few options (or they may choose to go live and work elsewhere). And while on the subject, remember that the clothing you choose must be appropriate to wear in about 58 different countriesthe current number of nations with Burger King restaurants.
A bit easier to manage, though still a clothing task of sizable proportion, are the 23,000 employees who work for Steak N Shake. Restaurant locations for this chain may be found in just one countrythe United States. But over the decades, locations have spilled through the Indiana borders into 18 other states. The options for apparel are kept to a clean minimum herealthough your stylish, required-to-wear bow tie does come in both red and black. The apparel program at this company showcases the profound (and successful) sense of functionality that permeates the restaurant chains entire operation.

Over in the Washington, DC, and Maryland area, there is a six-location operation called Austin Grill. Its solution to just the right clothing for the casual dining experience has landed its employees in t-shirts. While there are other elements to the non-uniform looking uniforms, the focus of attention is on the artistic images across a servers chest. Unlike what the infamous restaurant chain Hooters chooses to highlight on the body, the fronts of these servers offer an ever-changing display of colorful Tex-Mex designs.

We do a lot of research in the retail market,begins May Payne-Cvengros, the individual directing uniform operations for the entire Burger King Corporation global workforce. We look at what is happening now in fashion and what is likely to happen in the future. When we roll out a uniform program, it takes quite a long time for it to come to fruition. It is typically a full year or longer to get a product in the system.

Any plans also must include keeping a watchful eye on the current programs inventory levels. Plans for designs and the manufacturing of a new program must allow for the transition of inventory to avoid getting stuck with too much old merchandise. Cvengros is officially the Manager of Operational Services, meaning uniforms are just one of the items she oversees. She has managed uniforms for Burger King Corporation for 13 years in various roles from marketing to strategic planning.

Really, my office designs and writes the specifications. Then this spec is sent to the different regions that manage operations around the world. We operate in 58 countries, and I send the spec out currently to nine different regions.

The critical reason for dispensing a spec internally is that, for Burger King Corporation internationally, all the product does not come from one source. Items in any program are sourced according to their region. For instance, the Latin American market may source from vendors separate from those manufacturers who outfit the U.S. workforce.

This may go against the conventional wisdom that buying more from one vendor improves the supply chain and bottom line, but even at these high-volume apparel scales, there are valid reasons behind the approach. Yes, we outfit for 360,000 people, but goods are sourced differently for each market for a number of reasons. For example, there may be a tariff in Canada for goods coming from China. So because of that, they potentially can source more economically at a regional level than automatically using the source chosen to produce garments for the U.S. market.

There are some variations in the product by country. What is first put together is the core programa spec based on using the U.S. program. Then, purchasing and marketing people in countries around the world may put a spin on the items according to their different regions. For instance, if alpha sizing is a problem in a particular area, the manufacturers will be asked to go by a blended sizing (i.e., 8 /10, 12/14).

Putting the uniforms in the hands of so many people in so many places is a logistics puzzle. Burger King Corporation solves this once again by dividing the world by regionsso distribution again is handled by at least nine different parties globally. As an example, King Uniform handles the U.S. market distribution. This firm, operating from a large Atlanta, Ga. warehouse, is a separate company from Burger King and considered the master distributor for all domestic required uniforms.

The actual uniform items are sourced from various manufacturers who send product to King Uniform, based on a King Uniform-issued purchase order. King then manages and distributes goods to the end-user (in this case a restaurant). All the franchisees call and/or fax King for product.

There is also a separate company that handles all the purchasing, explains Cvengros. We write the specs and the RSI Company makes the purchases. They direct King Uniform, who then handles the distribution.

The current uniform program has been running for three years.

There are major changes planned for later in 2003. Designs are still in focus groups. Burger King typically will develop two or three programs and take them all out into the field for review. The road show for the apparel involves a lot of touching, feeling and surveying. Based on the survey tallies, field responses, upper managements opinion, and what Cvengros and her staff recommend, this ad-hoc committee makes a determination on which program to move forward with.

If Cvengros has her way, Burger King will in the future be phasing in one or two garments at a time. Ideally, I would change the program in stages, a garment or two every year to 18 months, instead of changing the whole thing every three years. That way, the program will always be evolving, instead of static for 36 months at a time. Although, we never officially decided our programs would last exactly three years, it has by chance happened that way during my tenure.

Cvengros desires continuous evolution to help maintain freshness. She says there is considerable expense in rolling out a new program or even introducing a single new item. There is a large challenge to be met in making her idea a reality. Perhaps the biggest hurdle will be how to make ongoing changes appear like they are integrated into the current restaurant apparel program.

There are currently eight types of crew shirtsall of different colors and styles. On the managers side of the current program, there are five shirts. Other significant components include sweaters, vests, neckwear, insignia and headwear.
We are not looking at including more pieces in the new program than we currently have. The managers program may have an extra shirt option and get a little brighter as well, a little more professional. You will see long-sleeve shirts come into the program, for example. We are anticipating some fun embellishments to headwear in the new program as well.

This last program did achieve some primary goals. It was brighter, more retail in style, and the colors were more reflective of the Burger King brand. We are going to take it further this year, with more colors, such as royal blues, reds, golds and balanced, as always, by black. We are going to brighten the program. However, it is still going to have to function in our environment, so we cant go too far out there.

To bring these new items into the system, Burger King Corporation does wear test, although only when there is a change that requires such action. If an item was a knit program and the replacement only changes in color or style, remaining essentially a knit program, there are no wear tests. However, if there is a special new trim or collar added, then wear tests are integrated into the design process. Time is the biggest factorweighing the balance between cautiousness and the need to deliver.

All the products in the Burger King uniform program are wash and wear, which has presented no problem. The spec does include that fabrics are treated with Teflon.

How often does an employee get issued or need a new uniform?

That is the $100,000 question, laughs Cvengros. I have been looking for that answer for a long time. It depends really on the franchisees business practice. Some issue new items quarterly, others every six months. There is no set standard.

To even attempt to write a standard, Burger King Corporation must first identify some sort of benchmark. While all the garments are designed to last an average of 50 washings, the calendar life of a garment depends on many other factors. Whether the employee is full or part time, how often the individual worker washes the uniform and what crew functions the employee typically performs on the job are all conditions.

Whether a new employee should get two, three or four uniforms when first hired is a complex question as well. Will the employee stick around?

This is a big issue in the Burger King system and frankly for the industry as a whole. Some franchisees may provide one uniform to new hires, while others issue employees three. For people to look better, we realistically can not just issue one uniform, especially if they are working full time.

A reality influencing decisions in this area is many (if not most) employees in crew positions do not have washing machines in their home. If issued only one uniform, they are going to wear it and likely not wash it as often as they should because they only have one. However, because uniform costs are the burden of the franchisee owner, profit margins are balanced in this complex debate.

The Burger King system is more than 92% franchisee owned, and managing inventory for their restaurants is part of the skills required as an operator. Burger King Corporation tries to guide franchise owners, but there are no set quantities they must maintain.

On a summary note, Cvengros calls for fresh approach overall.

In the industry (quickserve restaurants), I have not seen a lot of innovation. I am seeing the same materials, and the same colors. Every program is just a polo shirt and a pair of pants. This could just be the industry at largepeople are used to wearing polo shirts and thats all they want. Typically, our industry wears clothing that is dark so it doesnt show stains. At Burger King Corporation, we are trying to brighten up the uniform. We are trying to add more retail elements to it, but still be cognizant that we have staining issues on the clothing.

 

STEAK ‘N SHAKE

We are a classic American diner, states Vic Yeandel of Steak N Shake. The whole nostalgia idea is a big one for us. But, unlike some of our competition, the uniform premise is not part of some theatrical concept. We are a theme restaurant, and the theme is we are a restaurant.

The attitude is not meant or delivered as a clever marketing gimmick. There is a real functionality to the design of the apparel and, by extension, all the design choices at the restaurants. Yeandel points to the use of the classic bow ties as both a branded solution (the style) and a legitimate holder (the function) for restaurant staffs service and training pins, insignia which is attached right on the neckwear.

Yes, we are trying to set a tone, and the paper hats are another great example, but it is all about functionality for us. The apron has functionality that is quite obvious. And even the white shirt has a function. You might think that the white is a poor choice because it picks up more dirt. But, much like the white, gleaming tile interiors of our restaurants, we believe the white encourages cleanliness.

Steak N Shake is one of the oldest restaurant chains in the United States. Its approach to apparel style, in truth, was chosen in the 1930s and has worked well for the organization ever since.

In fact, the energy and concept of the restaurants is that dining and service is just like it was in 1934.

But old fashioned is not the point. Steak N Shake, for example, was allowing female employees to wear pants very early on at a time when everyone else was still big on jumpers. This practice is a good example of the functionality mindedness of the uniform program. A positive apparel approach for working with food was always the primary consideration.

Associates wear a crisp white shirt, bow tie and embroidered black apron.

Embroidered manager shirts also are available, although many employees arrive at work wearing their own long sleeve dress shirts. Managers are not technically dressed in uniform but rather are encouraged to dress as a business professionalcrisp shirt and tie (stopping far short of a suit).

All the garments are wash and wear (except for the paper hats, obviously). The employees typically bring their own black pants. Pants and shoes are made available, but most employees prefer to just wear their own.

Steak N Shake views employees as its most valuable asset, so there is an effort to put associates in comfortable clothes. But management also feels the pull between trying to be a guest-based culture and an associate-based one.

So, yes, we have looked at the polo shirts and the open collar and all of the other typical uniform treatments for restaurants, confesses Yeandel. But we are not necessarily fast-food. We are a sit-down restauranta classic diner that comes with an expectation. Customers expect long pants and nicer dress.

But, given the labor challenge that every restaurant chain faces and how that can affect growth plans, how can Steak N Shakein the age of baggy jeans and visible undergarmentsfind enough young employees willing to dress in a bow tie and paper hat every day?

With 23,000 employees at 408 locations, there are bound to be some employees that dont like to wear the paper hats. But some employees are not required to wear hats, although we do require that hair be restrained. It is all about presenting a clean, neat and wholesome image. The better point, frankly, is that if the server is presentable and attentive to the guests, their compensation as a tipped employee is higher.

Distribution is handled from one central locationall company- and franchise-owned locations order from the same source.

In an anecdotal moment, Yeandel offers an amusing interpretation on restaurant uniform trends. The idea is to help the guest identify the servers. The classic blunder for the restaurant industry is you are walking though a casual dine restaurant and someone says Excuse me, can you help me? And you say, I dont work here; Im just wearing a polo shirt.

 

AUSTIN GRILL

Like the city its named for, Austin Grill combines Mexican tradition, a little bit of Texas cowboy and a touch of big-city flare to create a dining experience that comes straight from the heart of Texas. All six-restaurant locations are in the Washington, DC./Maryland area. Menu items are created from scratch each day, including more than 25 salsas, sauces and dressings using more than a dozen different chile peppers.

Fun. Great music. Casual dining. The we dont need to take it all too seriously atmosphere was the goaland both patrons and critics agree the mission is accomplished.

Now, how do you imagine the employees should dress for such an eatery?

We design our own shirts! reports Chris Patterson, Austin Grill president and chief operating officer.

Servers all wear short- and long-sleeve t-shirts featuring colorful designs based on Austin, Texas, themes. For the past 15 years, the company has developed original designs and rotates them every three months.

The art is colorful, creative and a subtle statement. It is just enough to identify employees and not too much that it feels like one of those big chains. We are different and not too worried about it. Thats the message this apparel sends.

But the company does not go so far as to give up all functionality requirements. There are also black, three-pocket half aprons that compliment the white t-shirts. Below the waist is everyday blue jeans and slip resistant footwear.

Kitchen staff is outfitted in Austin Grill ball caps and white chefwear with three-quarter length sleeves. The chefs wear white aprons.

The kitchen apparel is distributed and laundered by a local commercial cleaner. Except for the t-shirts, the distribution equation is entirely outsourced. Even the approach to the t-shirt distribution is handled in a casual, no pressure manner.

We provide the first two shirts for new employees, says Patterson. After that, employees purchase their own whenever needed or the mood strikes. Some of the employees decide based on the designs.

Patterson relates a story that they even held a contest once for all the employees: design the winning t-shirt and win $100. In that case, every team member received a free t-shirt featuring the winners design.

Making their own art, with their clothing and menu items, is also extended to decor. Each restaurant is uniquely decorated with stencils, sculptures, murals and Texas doodads created by the restaurants artists in residence.

 
Above story first appeared in MADE TO MEASURE Magazine, Spring & Summer 2003 issue. All rights reserved. Photos appear by special permission.
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