Are you taken seriously?

[Graham]

Recently on TV here, the question was raised "does the clothes you wear make any difference to the customer service you recieve when shopping"?

Two actors and a hidden camera were employed to investigate.
The actors alternatively dressed up in suit/tie and a red suit for the lady, then later in shabby T shirt and jeans.
they went to try to buy expensive electrical items.

The result was that when smartly dressed, they were taken as serious customers and given good service, when poorly dressed they recieved very bad service.

When I go shopping kilted I sometimes wonder how seriously I am taken. However, yesterday I was returning home after collecting firewood, mowing lawns and cleaning at a house we have along the coast. I drove a van with a trailer full of firewood, when we saw a 4WD vehicle in a used car yard that we liked.
I called in bargained the price down a couple of thousand, then said "we'll take it".

I was taken seriously and at my word. The saleman was helpful and courteous.
Now I was fairly shabby, but kilted.

I think the moral of this story is that a man in a kilt always looks dressed well, even when working kilted.
It also made me think of Hamish's rule - always look your best and colour coordinated in a kilt when out, even if it's going to the shops

[bear]

I did a blog about this idea that a kilt looks dressy to the uninformed, even when we think it's casual.

Look for the title:
Metro-what?
It should be third or fourth topic down on the list.

http://macbitseach.blogspot.com/

[Graham]

and to quote you Bear:

Wearing a kilt makes a guy look, (to the uninformed), like he is dressed up. Most people won't notice if your pleats are messed up a little. Nice, huh? I can dress like the slob I am and people think I'm all dressed up.

That sums it up, nicely put!
So this means we should always get good service when shopping! (well, we hope anyway) I always get a chance to have a laugh and joke with shop assistants, and sometimes a chance at serious kilt promotion when interest is shown.

[Jewddha]

Really? I find I get taken less seriously, or people tend to blow me off more often. Odd, because now I jsut get "that guy is weird" looks and attitued as oppsoeed to "he's one of those 'teenagers', watch the merchandise" looks.

[Blu (Ontario)]

I've been to many stores in a kilt and never had a problem with staff service. In fact in some cases it's been better. On the other side of the coin, in a corporate situation involving dispute resolution, first contact establishment, or where personal credibility is a make or break factor, that kilt might be a detriment... depending on the type of business of course. Unfortunately, the corporate world is not generally as forward thinking as we lot.

blu

[GMan]

I find that I get better service while kilted. Why, I believe it is for the simple fact that I am smiling more, and who wants to wait on a grouchy person.

[bear]

Really? I find I get taken less seriously, or people tend to blow me off more often. Odd, because now I jsut get "that guy is weird" looks and attitued as oppsoeed to "he's one of those 'teenagers', watch the merchandise" looks.

I think that's more of an age thing than a kilt thing. When us grey hairs go into a shop in a kilt, we're thought of as dressed up.
A teen is thought to be rebellious.

[David Thornton]

It is absolutly an age thing.
I require a young producer to be in jacket & tie every day, not just when working with clients. They must present a better than expected appearance to gain the confidence of the potential customer. They can't sell if they can't get past the first impression.
Once established, like us older guys, there is more latitude in dress (bad pun, I know) acceptance.
David

[Hamish]

It has been so long (almost 6½ years) since I could possibly have gone shopping in anything other than a kilt, that I have quite forgotten what level of service I might have received when alternatively dressed!

On the other hand, I am inclined to agree with Bear and David, in that it is an "age thing" - much as it is when on the receiving end, or not (!), of those wonderful compliments from passing strangers. Us wrinklies and/or crumblies notice that the frequency with which compliments are paid declines as we grow older - at least, this one notices it!

[auld argonian]

We picked up some new bedclothes over the weekend and there must be something wrong with the dye lot...unacceptable - they have to be taken back to the store.

My wife asks, "Do you think that they'll give you any trouble returning them?"

"Not if I'm wearing a kilt when I take them back." quoth I.

...and I get that "oh-no-he's-actually-going-to-do-this" look.

Taken seriously? Moi?

best

AA