Mystery Shopper Tip – Measuring Staff Grooming & Hygiene

For every retail business, staff is the front face for the customer. In this blog post, we will talk about the importance of maintaining high standards of grooming and hygiene in retail.

The marketing and advertising teams could have burned a lot of money on building a brand name, creating desire and eventually making the customers enter the store. But once the customer is in, the sales representatives and other staff becomes the ambassadors of the brand and it is now up to them to carry the brand ethos.

Among other aspects, being properly groomed and maintaining appropriate hygiene is the first step to start building a positive image of the store and the brand. There are certain universally applicable rules when it comes to acceptable grooming standards.

In case of Males:

• Hair should be well combed and should not fall on face
• Facial hair should be clean shaved, a well maintained beard can also be sported
• Uniform, if any should be clean and ironed
• Hands should be clean with trimmed nails
• Jewellery should be restricted to a ring and a kada at most
• Black formals, sneakers or sports shoes should be worn as appropriate
• The representatives should always be wearing any necktag/nametag provided by the company

In case of Females:

• Hair should be well maintained and should not fall on face
• Jewellery should not be worn on nose, tongue or eyebrows
• Necklaces can be worn but they should not be visible
• Shoes revealing heels or toes should not be worn
• Nails should be evenly cut and well maintained

Other common grooming guidelines are usage of mild deodorants and getting rid of ‘tobacco breath’ before the staff starts to interact with the customers. Chewing of paan or gutkha is also a strict No.

A well-groomed individual wearing a proper uniform is acceptable anytime and helps as an enabler for the next steps of need identification & appropriate solutioning.