Pitfallls of Casual Friday
Imagine this: You walk into a prominent, international business
office, up to the receptionist's desk - and you see she's
wearing flip-flops and blue jeans with holes in them. How do you
react to this? I bet your opinion of that business just dropped
quite a few notches, right?
Do you think this is an extreme example of some people's taking
Casual Friday too far? Do you think it would never happen in
your office?
My husband didn't think so - until it did happen in the
office of his place of employment, an international, very
prosperous company.
He's told me several stories of the inappropriate attire the
receptionist has worn to work on Casual Friday over the years
such as the aforementioned flip-flops and ripped blue jeans.
Also she's shown up wearing a feather boa, tight T-shirts,
shorts (during the summer), and miniskirts, among other
unacceptable items of clothing.
And it's not just his workplace. I've seen many other examples
of this type of dress in other places of business. I admit I may
be too old-fashioned, but it seems very wrong to me when I am
much more better dressed than the receptionist working in the
office I'm bringing my business to. I don't care if it is
Casual Friday; if the receptionist looks like she just rolled
out of bed and threw on whatever was laying on the floor, that
business just lost a customer in me. Right or wrong, it is
indisputable that how a person dresses will affect another
person's opinion of that person, and in this case, the company
also.
The receptionist is the first person one sees when entering a
business office; she is the image of the business. It doesn't
matter in the least what all the other company workers wear on
Casual Friday. The receptionist, as the spokesperson for the
company, should always be appropriately dressed and
well-groomed.
I'm not saying she must always wear a matching jacket and skirt,
but I do believe she should never wear anything more casual than
what she'd wear to church. In other words, a non-revealing dress
or slacks with a dress shirt.
And, please, don't forget the pantyhose, and leave your sneakers
in the closet.