Dress to Impress, UBS Tells Staff

[AngryAmish]

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576019783931381042.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_MIDDLETopStories>

"First impressions count. This is the message Swiss bank UBS AG is sending its Swiss retail banking staff with a 43-page code dispensing advice on how to impress customers with a polished appearance.

Echoing rules applied at Swiss boarding schools, UBS's guidelines go beyond a list of dress "do's" and "don'ts" by providing hygiene and grooming tips often dotted with aphorisms worthy of fashion and beauty magazines.

The move is part of a test UBS is carrying out in Switzerland across five pilot branches. It follows a recent advertising campaign aimed at re-establishing confidence in the Swiss bank's brand and mending relations with clients.

As if taking a cue from style manuals, which often stress the importance of well-cut basic outfits in neutral colors, the bank expects its retail banking staff to wear suits in dark grey, black or navy blue, since these colors "symbolize competence, formalism and sobriety."

read the whole thing.

I maintain similar rules, but without writing them down. Am I bad?

[arthritisR_US]

1. No, you are not bad, imo. n/t

[closeupready]

2. It is important to dress and behave professionally.

Some of these printed rules are sheer silliness, though. And I say that from personal experience, having worked briefly for the New York branch of a European-HQ'ed business (Switzerland, I think, but not UBS).

On edit, no, HQ is in Paris.

[Bunny]

3. A 43-page manual may be a bit much, but I have no problem with

a company setting standards for dress and decorum. Especially in the more staid industried such as banking. I have no money to speak of, but if I did I'd feel more confident if the person managing it looked mature, dignified, and professional.

[OutNow]

4. Oh yes - a well dressed banker would never steal your money

Unlike, say, a shabbily dressed street person. /sarcasm off

As Woody Guthrey wrote during the last great depression

Yes, as through this world I've wandered
I've seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.

(Pretty Boy Floyd)