Dress for Success

“Dress for success. Image is very important. People judge you by the way you look on the outside” 
~ Brian Tracy, Consultant for Fortune 500 companies

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Security Officers must dress for success. Crisp, clean uniforms make a great impression on the public you are serving. Here are a few tips from professional looking security officers we found in the field. 

They were asked, "How do you keep a sharp appearance?"

James, 10 year veteran - "I haven't always looked sharp. When I first started I was young... my uniform was more than likely wrinkled because I threw it on the floor. Now I take my uniforms to the cleaners and hang'em up. People treat much different when my uniform is pressed. I like it better too.Some people made jokes when my uniform was a mess. They don't now cause I look good."

Mary, 5 year veteran - "Your appearance makes a difference with people. They treat you with more respect. They know you mean business when your uniform and gear looks good."

Shanti, 6 year veteran - "I work outside and it gets hot. I bring an extra shirt and change on my lunch break. Since we work outside most of the time. When she (supervisor) see's we take care of our uniforms she gets us an extra shirt or two. I feel better too. Having an extra shirt when you have to wrestle someone or chase someone is good. It's really hot and a clean shirt helps. You know most of the people we see are wearing suits, men wearing ties, even when they dress casual they are professional looking. We gotta fit in. How you look is important to a woman. It's really important when you're an officer."

Jamal, 2 year veteran - "I was a marine. It's second nature to me. I have mine dry cleaned, pressed. I work in air conditioning so I wear pants twice a week. Saves money. If you don't look sharp in uniform, then you're not disciplined. If your uniform looks bad, you don't want to do what you're doing. Find another job. Look good, do the best you can, always."

One supervisor, refused to give a name said, "When my officers look good in uniform they make the public happy. If the public is happy, we all get good evals. Good evals means more cash in our pockets." (Now that is motivation to keep a clean uniform)

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