Making a Clean Impression

People do judge others by appearance. This may not be fair but often it is the only thing people have to go on, especially in the beginning. So how did my father crawl out from under a house at one service call and walk in on white carpet in an exclusive home at the next call, not leave a trace of dirt or grime and still have the crease in his pants? Here are a few of the things you can do to duplicate his performance.

- Wear clean pressed clothes, if the company provides uniforms make sure they are properly cleaned and pressed even if you have to touch them up yourself before you wear them. One outstanding technician I know takes all of his uniforms home the day he receives them and irons them all personally. Other less talented technicians have coaxed wives or mothers into doing it for them.

- Carry coveralls so you can slip them over your clothes when doing dirty work. And make sure the coveralls look decent too. Get some new ones if yours have stains or tom places. Wash them regularly. I always kept a pair of thin ones for summer and insulated ones for winter. Nothing like a pair of insulated coveralls when I was lying on a cold roof in the snow working on a rooftop package unit.

- Carry a change of clothes in your work vehicle in case you unexpectedly get into a mess. It doesn't take long to change and eliminating the bad impression you might have made is worth it. This can often be the easiest way to deal with getting dirty on one job and looking good on the next one. Although I have had days where one change of clothes was not enough.

- Carry extra shoes or shoe covers to wear when entering homes and offices after working in dirty or muddy areas. I am always impressed when workmen coming to my home take off their shoes at the front door. But if you are going to take off your shoes at the door make sure your socks are clean. Sometimes mud or grime has slopped into the inside of your shoes without your realizing it.

- Carry waterless hand cleaner and rags so you can clean yourself up after dirty or messy work. This allows you to clean up immediately and saves time since you do not have to travel to another location to clean up. Cleaning up outside at your vehicle is much better than using the customer's bathroom or other area. And if you take time to clean up before you leave a job site it is much easier to justify charging that customer for that time.

- Bathe and wash yourself regularly. Good hygiene goes a long way toward a good impression. The thing is, customers may not directly notice when you are clean but they will certainly notice when you are not. If you need to use deodorant use odorless deodorant. Some people are allergic to or offended by the ingredients in deodorants and colognes. So keep it to something mild or completely odorless.

- Keep hair and fingernails clean and neat. Wash your hair regularly. If you have long hair keep it contained neatly and attractively. I know that this can be very difficult at times. I always kept my fingernails very short so that they did not accumulate oil or grime. If you have longer fingernails take the time to clean them before confronting a customer.

So sit down and take inventory.  List the things that you already do to keep clean and then list additional actions that you can take to make a “clean” impression.  It might make all the difference in whether you or the guy on the next truck is let go in slow times.

Watch for more tips in my next Technique for Keeping Your Job.

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