Uniforms

[AB Lawn Care]

I am thinking of buying uniforms this year and I am wondering what you guys do.Where is the best place to buy them?Is there any thing I should know before I buy them?How many articles of clothing do I need for each person?If you guys have any answers to these questions or anything related to this subject please let me know what you think.<p>Thanks!<p>from:Adam<br>AB Lawn Care<br>

[Lazer]

I depends on your company size. For small operators, I would only get Polo shirts (no T's) w/ Logo embroidered (no screen printing) and get 3 shirts per guy. Maybe a 3 season jacket for the spring/fall.<p>I had breakfast yesterday with the guy who runs the #1 (lawn care) image company in our city and they have a uniform program that makes the US Navy look like they're just getting started. It's way overboard (IMO) but image is very important to them.<p>I'd start small but classy.

[ashlandscaping]

Well are you looking for pants and button shirts? If thats what your going for you might want to look at rental companies that take care of them. They come out size the guy up fit him then bring out all the cloths. They fit better this way. Alot of the outlots that sell uniforms sell second cuts which where miss cuts for a rental company. They dont fit right guys are not happy in them and so on. That is a bad thing when you think they are wearing them for 8 to 14 hours a day. At bottom line just get button or polo shirts and have a dark jean set. So the guys must wear black or dark blue jeans to work. Thats what we do foreman wears a polo and labors wear tee-shirts. BUT they all wear Dark Blue Jeans each day. Hell lot cheaper and still looks good.

[mattingly]

I'd put my vote in for khaki pants. They look neater(IMO). And yes you can get some good pants from Carhart(or whatever) and WearGuard. I think Polo's are the way to go also. Takes the Pro image one step further than the Tees. I know you can't judge a book by its cover but, what about when you see someone all dressed up in the office suites(suit or business dress). You immediately think 'hey they know what they are doing' Yeah I am talking psychological. Like I said I'm not saying it is always right but it is what a number of people tend to think. Take a guy in a nice uniform or the guy w/ the Pink Floyd Tee and jeans. I tend to think the former has their stuff together in more than one way. Image does sell!<p>----------<br>Integrated Landscape Solutions<br>Lexington, KY

[HOMER]

I'm going to interject here and say this: when the temp hits 98 and the humidity is 65-70%, you want the least amount of clothing on as you can get. Polo's look great, I wear them myself, but last year even a standard sleeve on my arms made me so hot I kept rolling them up. What I had to do to keep everybody from falling out with a stroke was to buy sleeveless t-shirts. We all matched and everybody was a few degrees cooler. Polo's are fine in the spring and fall I agree, but you better think about your health more than your image. IMO as long as everyone matches you will look good, and everyone that sees you will know that you have a job that is dirty and hot!<p>Homer

[Lazer]

Homer,<br>I tend to spout off input based on my situation. :( The temp seldom crosses into the 90's and almost never break 100 where we work. Obviously, Polo's wouldn't be ideal for that.<p>Speaking of heat, though: get the pique Polo shirts, they're cooler and they're cooler.

[HOMER]

I am going to be getting some more Polo's soon and I will look for the brand you mentioned. Our heat index in Alabama last summer was 110-115 degrees for well over a month. It was almost unbearable and I sure hope this year isn't as bad. When we finally got a 88-90 degree day we thought it was fall! The humidity was so bad that even if you did start at 5:00 am, by 6:00 am you were soaked with sweat. I'm looking forward to cutting again this spring but not battling the heat, consider yourself lucky if you don't have to endure it!<p>Homer

[Lazer]

&quot;Pique&quot; is the weave. It's the &quot;rougher&quot; feel as opposed to the smooth cottony finish.<p>They look nicer (cooler) and breathe (cooler).

[mountain man]

This year I am goning to navy blue work pants and t-shirts. A local supply store will take measurements for the guys and put them in the proper fitting pants. I am buying 5 pairs ($9.99 each) so the guys will have a week supply of clean pants.<p>I also can't justify the expense of the polos. In the summer when it is hot, it is not uncommon to go through 3 or more shirts in a day. I can get my shirts for $7.75 each. <p>For and average cost of less than $150 per employee, I can get them 5 pants and 12<br>t-shirts. This way I have control over the way the crews look and don't have to worry about what the guys are wearing.<p>I have not found good comfortable hats yet. Does anyone have any ideas? <p>

[jeffclc]

Look into the uniform rentals that the auto shops, ect use. They provide the uniforms, and make adjustments for the different seasons. The other advantage is that they rent them to you, and if an employee quits, you are not out the uniforms, nor are you stuck with a size that will not fit anyone else. They also pick up and launder them each week, so no more sirty uniforms, or lack of uniforms because the laundry didn't get done. They usually supply a 2 week supply.<p>A buddy in the auto busniess does this. I think that for 4 employees it is around $60/week. They even get two winter jackets.

[ashlandscaping]

Like I said before that is the way to go if your going to go full uniform hire a service. Watch the pants from anywhere that seem cheap they most times are seconds. So again they are cut wrong. High in the front low in the back or other ways. I worked at a company that we had to wear unifrom we had to pay for half the price for the service. I would NEVER buy or offer a service to my guys. The pants that is all I remmeber is boiling the boys down low. When we hit 90 and above you thought your boys would fell off. I go with jeans they breath better. We do tell the guys that they have to wear same color jeans and a clean pair each day, YES a clean pair. Ever get into your truck in the morning and it smells like BODY ODER. I have couple guys would wear same pants and shirts 2 or 3 days in a row. Now that was sick. Almost as bad as finding a 2 month old taco under seat of a truck. That was worse. Think about it from what would you want to wear. I like the image but if guys feel sticky or clothes makeing them hotter how much will you get done that day????????

[ADMServices]

Uniforms are great, but you need something that everyone will wear. We are using both polos and T's this year.

[1stclasslawns]

I am the only one in my local to wear a uniform at all. In the past it was a polo but this year Im going to a collerless polo. It still has the three buttons but no coller. It breaks the 90s here all the time and hits 100 often with heat indexes of 105+ most of july and aug. I still stay with blue jeans though, because of the durability. I tried kakies a few times and they got dirty fast. I had hunter green shirts but they faded and looked bad. This year Im going with heather gray, And my yellow, green, and blue logo on front left and across the back.<br>I would go with embrodering but got a friend in the screen printing buss. I can get my shirts for 8 bucks each verses 17 for embrodering. Just a little tight I guess, but 2 for the price of one. And Im the only one to wear them from all the guys around I am the one setting the standerd. For days when I am selling fert. I do wear a embrodered polo just to look a &quot;notch above the rest&quot; Just my .02 though Jim

[cutntrim]

Adam,<p>Since you're also in Southern Ontario you know how humid our summers can get. Unlike most, or all, of the other guys posting - we wear shorts. Khaki or brown or dark green. We get them from Mark's Work Warehouse. They look good and they keep you cool. My partner and I have collar shirts which look really pro, but during a normal hot weather cutting day we both wear T-shirts. Just like our employees. We've got 8 shirts apiece, and our employees have 5 each. We've always gone with white, grey, or sand colors. I prefer white because it's the coolest. 100% cotton is cooler than 50/50 cotton/polyester. We've also got sweatshirts and jackets for all seasons. The guys have sweatshirts but not jackets. Everyone has a few logo ballhats as well. Buy your clothing wherever you find a quality item for a good price but go to a professional for your screening and stitching.<p>Take care.<p>----------<br>Dave in S.Ontario<br>

[SLSNursery]

We issue Screen printed Tee shirts and sweatshirts to the crews. Also, screen printed Piques Polos for the managers/foremen. The screen is not as nice on the Polo types, but its cheaper and lighter than embroidery, and the shirts get beat up. We have grey and green colored colored items with logos that match the trucks, invoices, etc. Carhartt shorts and wearguard shorts are common, but not mandated (yet!). As soon as you make somebody wear something, you have to provide it for them, usually x6 (one for each day of the week). Friday we had a visit to the shoe store. My partner took the laborers, and it was reminiscent of my father taking me and my brothers to the mall!!! We paid for one type of shoe. If they wanted more costly ones, they paid the difference. As time goes by, we find out what styles and brands work, and then incorporate them into our 'uniform'. We also set up a locker room, and have installed a commercial washer and dryer. There are no excuses any more (so far). This was costly, but very effective. Crews can do their own laundry too if they want, this way they don't need to take Saturdays off for the Laundry. It was a gamble, but it paid off, and is a pretty good employee benefit that we get to write off. Hats are next, since we are out of our last embroidered batch. Embroidering costs a lot, so we are waiting a little while. I have 3 gross of hats in stock that we ordered last year (I guess my partner wanted the volume savings?!?!?). They seem comfortable - Khaki-summer weight with a soft top, Khaki/Green Regular weight with a stiffer top, and Green/Gray Wool Combo for winter. They are Yupoong and Toppers, and if you want to buy some, e-mail me for info on mine or where I bought them. I will have to look it up. <p>In closing (finally), the uniform image and logo help business, and are a requirement on some commercial jobs. People always comment on how our crews look and behave (thank god its usually good). No matter what you think is right or wrong, image does matter. You know the phrase.....'Image is Everthing'<p>----------<br>Phil Grande - Soundview Landscape Supply - http://members.aol.com/slsnursery<br>Ivy League Landscaping - http://members.aol.com/scagrider

[greenngrow]

this maybe a little late, but have to ask a question? Are you just mowing or are you applying pesticides (weed control)? If you offer weed control the best bet is get uniforms from a Rental company. There many different styles you can choose form. the big concerns is washing clothes in the family washer. I don't reccomend this. Just some words from the sprayguy.