Julian Scadden

There has always been the belief our residential service technicians need to be as professional in appearance as possible. I stand by that, and I actually believe it to be true in all walks of life.

But what does it mean to be “professional”? Recently, this definition of “professional appearance” has become a more gray area. My definition of professional may not be the same as what I’ll define here as “traditional.” We are operating in an age of growing self-expression, with facial hair, body piercings, and tattoos becoming more and more prevalent.

Where do you draw the line for a technician’s appearance? What do you allow for self-expression, while still reflecting your company as a whole? Do you carry this same professional appearance standard for your office staff?

As younger generations enter into our customer base of homeowners, we see more customers with “non-traditional” hairstyles, visible tattoos, and piercings. I bring this topic to the forefront today to start an open conversation, not to provide what I believe to be the correct answer.

Learning what others are doing to embrace the younger workforce and customer base, while maintaining a professional image is of great interest to the residential HVAC manager and owner. I encourage you to share your thoughts in the comment section below.