just saw competitor using female tech.

[juniorc82]

I was going to a job and saw one of my competitors in a driveway down the road. I drove past slowly and there was the tech, at first all I noticed was a long feathered mullet and some oakley style sun glasses. then as I looked closer it appeared to be a very butch woman. I thought it best to get out of dodge as my best judgement told me that the mullet lady could probly kick my ass. I have a female who helps me here and there and although she is not beauty pagent material she is professional in appearance and fits the image of a normal girl her age. Not comenting on the techs lifestyle which was made fairly obvious by her appearance which btw I have no problem with. Do you guys think it to be ok to put a over feminine male or a over masculine female out in customers homes? am I old fashioned because a lady with a mullet that looks like a pro wrestler doesnt fit the image I want my company portrayed as.

 

[tmdry]

At least once a day I see techs that look like they should not be in anyone's home. Either in our industry or most white service vans around town. I find it hard to understand who in the right mind would hire people that look like that, but they do. Whenever I go to any iicrc courses I see the same type of people you've described in the classes.

 

[carpetcleaner]

A few years ago, I was moving. I hired movers at the last minute instead of having friends and family help me move. My wife didn't want to let the two guys that showed up in the house. They looked a step above homeless. One of them was smoking as he walked up to my house. I had no choice, so she took the kids and left while me and the movers got my house packed up. They turned out to be nice, friendly and very hard working. They took really good care with my stuff and house. I have referred them lots of time, even to me parents. I always warned about how they looked.

These 2 guys are one reason why you see some scary looking people driving service vans. Sometimes the appearance can fool you. If the customers will open the door for them, they might just be leaving a cheerleader behind.

 

[truckmount girl]

What's wrong with hiring gays or lesbians (or those who appear to possibly be such)? Are they less trustworthy? Are they more likely to steal, rape, destroy company or customer property, use drugs, smoke, etc.? NO. Who cares who the person sleeps with as long as they are courteous, reliable, respectful, technically proficient, honest and willing to do the job to your standards.

Really people....really... Ivebeensold

Take care,
Lisa

 

[-JB-]

woe.
who said ANYTHING about gays or lesbians?

 

[truckmount girl]

woe.
who said ANYTHING about gays or lesbians?

Not comenting on the techs lifestyle which was made fairly obvious by her appearance which btw I have no problem with. Do you guys think it to be ok to put a over feminine male or a over masculine female out in customers homes?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[juniorc82]

There is nothing at all in the world wrong with gays and lesbians and I know a tech can be just as skilled and be an asset to the business no matter what their sexual preferance. But being guilty in a court of law and a court of public opinion is two different deals. When I said her lifestyle I was being more crtical of the appearance being considered a white trash look. Come on ,would you want a chick with a feathered mullet reppin your company lol! Professional is professional I could care less about someones personal beliefs as long as they are professional. The public image of your company is in large determined by how the employees present themselves in the field and execute the job. Let me ask all of you somthing would you feel 100% satisfied if you hired a contractor and when they showed up they looked like a bunch of convicts? the answer is no, and I have had several customers compliment me and my staff for being clean cut and having a neat appearance . Please dont put words in my mouth and turn this into somthing its not.

 

[juniorc82]

Ok and to also make clear another thing when I also say over masculine or over feminine Im speaking on it from a customers point of view. I would feel the same way if there was a female tech parading around like a slut , or even the typical macho male douchebag . Customers are scared of what they dont understand or cant identify with so thats why the conservative professional look is the best to have . The pro. look can be achieved by anyone regardless of race,sex pref, or gender

 

[truckmount girl]

So......if you hired an interior decorator and he was "overly-feminine" would that be a problem?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Ryan]

What's wrong with hiring gays or lesbians (or those who appear to possibly be such)? Are they less trustworthy? Are they more likely to steal, rape, destroy company or customer property, use drugs, smoke, etc.? NO. Who cares who the person sleeps with as long as they are courteous, reliable, respectful, technically proficient, honest and willing to do the job to your standards.

Really people....really... Ivebeensold

Take care,
Lisa

Lisa he lives in Missouri, I live less then half a mile from the border of his state. Trust me hiring a gay or lesbian ANYWHERE in the bible belt will seriously screw up your business. These people are seen as social deviants and "sinners". I personally have no problem with them as long as they aren't weird acting (you know what I mean). If I were to hire a gay/lesbian in this small town I could kiss my business goodbye.

 

[truckmount girl]

I think your fears of customers reactions only perpetuates the backward attitude and discriminatory hiring practices.

Give people some credit, it is 2010 you know.

Some people may have such views, but they are (thankfully) in the shrinking minority, why cater to them?

An excellent employee in all other aspects is definitely more of an asset to your company than a narrow-minded prejudiced customer.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Ryan]

Lisa you live in a totally different world then we do. It may be 2010, but the majority of people are anti gay.

Hiring a openly gay tech (flamer) in the bible belt would KILL your business. Maybe if they were very discreet about it, you could get away with it.

I don't care if I'm perpetuating discrimination or not I'm not risking my lively hood.

 

[truckmount girl]

It takes courage and conviction to change the world.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Dolly Llama]

It takes courage and conviction to change the world.

Take care,
Lisa

Lisa, like it or not, fair or not, there are realities of life.

I don't think this thread is about being anti-gay/lez.
I think it's about being anti-normal "looking"

a guy or girl tattooed from head to toe might be normal at the biker bar, but not so normal in a soccer mom's white bread home.

a Punker, Goth or Emo dressed and spiked/studded may not turn a head at the Saturn Cafe, but would get a few looks at the Olive Garden


I'm all for letting the "freak flag" fly if they choose, but it comes with financial risks for a biz owner (or the job seeker) that deals with the public in mainstream middle America.
Which by and large are moderate to conservative folks with traditional values and prefer traditional "norms"


3]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7nH_y5xzXE3]


..L.T.A.

 

[Tony Neville]

Actually I think she might be the owner, and she has been cleaning carpet for a long time.

I disagree about the gay/lesbian thing I think they would do very well at any business that involves communicating with people, even in the bible belt. We have an insulation co locally called Nemow which is women spelled backwards and they do a great job and are well respected in the community.

Tony

 

[Studebaker]

Jon,

Good god give me some paragraph in those posts

 

[truckmount girl]

In the 50's you couldn't hire a black person for your service biz...but people changed that by not being afraid to take risks and hire them. It's long overdue that the same standards apply to sexual preference.

Buck up people, quit cowing to the establishment and do what's right...not neccessarily what is easiest.

Take care,
Lisa

 

[juniorc82]

Lisa I think it has been established that the sexual preferance does not matter , the only element in question is the professionalism of the person. I think with so many people being from so many differant orgins a conservative mainstream image is your best bet.I have to agree to an extent with ryan that for lack of better words a flamer could scare off certain custys. And the funny thing is I have known several men and women that lead an alternative lifestyle and you would never know unless you asked them. Just like I said above I would not want to hire anyone with an extreme personality weather it be goth, redneck, ghetto,ect. Our employees are the image of our company. It is for this argument that the military makes people all dress the same and act the same because with so many differant backgrounds you are bound to offend someone so professional is always your best bet.

 

[ACE]

You are sending out people to your customers homes. Everything about them needs to make the customer feel comfortable. That lesbian would probably sue an employer that told her to lose the mullet and well look normal but you could tell a straight to stop looking like a freak or hit the road with no problem.

 

[amazingcleansc]

It takes courage and conviction to change the world.

Take care,
Lisa

I feel like a tech has a job to do and its certainly not to force a customer to make a value judgement about whether or not they agree with someone's lifestyle, whatever that may be.

The gay and black thing is not a very good connection in my opinion, because it doesn't matter how professional acting a black person may be, race discrimination could follow that person around. A gay person, however, DOES have the option of acting professional and then it would never be a problem.

I love Rock music, and I play the guitar. Most rockers have shaggy hair and stubble. However, I choose to have short hair that I comb to the side and I shave my face everyday. Why? Because I want people who live outside of Rock music to take me seriously.

The same applies to Rap music. If a someone wants to emulate a rapper and dresses like a thug with his hair braided and pants pulled down to his knees and came to my door to clean the carpet, I wouldn't let him in. Is THAT discrimination?

Professional doesn't exude anything except business. Not sexuality, not anything.

The opposite extreme would be, if you want to make it a sexuality thing, "an overly straight" gruff acting guy. He doesn't say anything wrong, but his manner intimidates a customer while he is trying to sell products and services to them. They would probably feel uncomfortable communicating with him.

They would likewise probably not feel comfortable with a man prancing around like a 15 year old girl except he won't turn his lisp off. That's not a sexuality thing, that's a professionalism thing.

While you are in someone's home, YOU are the professional. It is your JOB to have the class and restraint necessary to make that person like/respect you enough to want to do business with you again and again. When they like AND respect you its called rapport.

Lets take an example, everyone knows Ellen Degeneres is a lesbian but almost everyone doesn't care because she ACTS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.

So me personally, no to mullet lady but also no to a ton of other possibilities too.

But, like they say, good help is hard to find.

 

[truckmount girl]

i just don't see where a mullet or a lisp is offensive or scary or "weird". Come on, really guys. How threatening is a butch woman or an effeminate man? Is it symbolic of violence, drug culture, lawlessness? No, it's only symbolic (and even then it's just stereotype not necessarily reality) of sexual preference. Not gang membership, drug use, violent lifestyle or anything that would cause legitimate fear.

People balked at long hair because they saw it as symbolizing the drug culture.

(shakes head in disbelief and disappointment that so many here have this attitude and perpetuate it.)

Take care,
Lisa

 

[amazingcleansc]

Lisa, its really funny to me that you assume I have a problem with homosexuals.

Did you even read my whole post in which I described 3 other scenarios that could possibly make a customer uncomfortable that have NOTHING to do with what a customer might perceive about stereotypes of people's sexuality?

I, along with almost everyone else here on this whole thread, was talking about being professional.

By the way, I have gay friends that I talk to regularly. I believe 100% that gay people should have equal rights under the law, be able to adopt children, and be able to be comfortable when they walk down the street.

I'm not discriminating by saying that I think anyone, gay, straight, bi, black, white, brown, etc... Will do better in the real world the better they learn to act professional.

I don't even understand your statement about long hair. Its would be like me attempting to make the point that people balked at homosexuality because of AIDS.

You are talking like, "we should really make the customers think!"

Its not my job to make a customer think about anything except their carpet. So if its fair or not, anything that gets in the way of me and the customer having good open dialog is not professional. So I shower, and comb my hair, and tuck my shirt in, wear khakis and speak clearly and confidently with my customers.

Not because dressing like a stuffy dork describes me as a person. Its because its me as a professional.

Would I hire a person if I knew ahead of time they were gay? Sure. Would I expect them to act and dress professionally? Absolutely.

I don't care if its 2010, 2050 or 3010. As long as people have to live around each other and have tolerance for one another, if you do a service for someone and they are PAYING you to do it, then it will be unprofessional for you to wear your own lifestyle on your sleeve when you do your job, ESPECIALLY if your lifestyle is different from the person that is paying you.

 

[rhino1]

It's long overdue that the same standards apply to sexual preference.

Buck up people, quit cowing to the establishment and do what's right...not neccessarily what is easiest.

Take care,
Lisa

This is surprising to see from someone who is supposed to be an experienced businessperson.

How's alienating customers (most of whom are older, grew up with a certain set of beliefs, and have dozens of choices for a service provider) going to play for the success of ANY business? Insult, embarass, alienate, and frighten the customer and you will lose.

I find it sad that you have decided to become the morality police on this board and judge people who don't share your views of life. Your last few posts have contained nothing but contempt for others values/ideas while shrilly promoting your own agenda of liberalism to people that at one time or another would have/could have been customers otherwise. (or are you not in business anymore?)

I wish I could have found a kinder way to say that but I am in a group of people you seemingly find to be disappointing and stupid. A former customer.

 

[truckmount girl]

PEOPLE, SINCE WHEN IS A MULLET-TYPE HAIRDO ON A WOMAN FRIGHTENING, INTIMIDATING, EMBARRASSING OR INSULTING!!!??? Was it dyed green or something even? Should she get a makeover?? Come on! It's a tough, physical job and if you think you're going to get your average petite woman with stylish hairdo, heels and makeup and polished nails to do it, you are wrong.

Is her appearance really that scary to you, or a client?

Most don't wear make-up on the job because the sweat would make it run! Hair needs to be out of the face, because long hair will stick to your face and neck when you sweat and can get into the machinery when working on or near the TM. So most either tie it back in a ponytail or cut it short or cut the front short so it doesn't interfere.

It may not be pretty or feminine, but it works.

I'm not talking about hiring people who will frighten your clients.

I mean come on, it's not a swastika tattoo.

And if you owned an interior design business would you feel the same way about hiring an effeminate man? Would you be afraid your customers might be put off by him?

Take care,
Lisa

 

[Desk Jockey]

To me it comes down to how good a cleaner you are and how professional you can be in the home. I wouldn't worry so much about looks unless they were dressed in a manor that might scare my customers (good reason for uniforms).

I'd rather have a technician that can clean before a technician that looks like he could but doesn't have the eye for detail or the ability to be efficient enough to be profitable.

We've hired several butch girls over the years not because they were lesbian, but because they were they best applicant at the time. I'd always rather have the best person for the job, White, Black, Indian, Asian, Mexicans male or female.

Looks help a lot, but most customers will appreciate a hard worker and be a little forgiving on the looks. Hell, look at what a successful business Marty has built and with that dog face!

 

[Jim Pemberton]

I've watched hiring and firing for 40 years, and have done it myself for nearly 30.

Pittsburgh is a tough town for people who seem on the fringes in any way, but in the end people are judged on the work that they do. We've had "butch girls", "stereotypical gay acting males", most minorities, and some people who were just, well......very ugly.

We might have lost a customer or two (cleaning service business) over the years over one or the other of them, but most of our problems came from employees who behaved like jerks in the home at one level or the other.

Our gay employees (both genders) and black employees were among the most popular with our customers. I think it was because they really tried harder than the guys who thought they were doing us a favor by working for us.

The funniest story is the guy who had a vaguely eastern European accent (he was from what is now Slovakia), dark features, large nose, and wore glasses.

The Jewish customers always wanted us to send back that nice Jewish boy.
The Italians wanted the Italian guy
The Greeks wanted that hard working Greek fellow
And he was a hit with the Lebanese and Syrians who somehow thought he was one of them.

Little did we know that not only did he look the part, but when possible passed himself off as each ethnic group. We didn't know this until he left, but it was an interesting study in what people want to see.

 

[Ken Snow]

LOL Jim, we have numerous people from the middle east who often o the same.

We are very proud to have been on the forefront of offering same sex benefits to gay employees. We have always tried to balance the desire to be a good social citizen with the wants and needs of our customers. We do ask that our male employees not wear earrings on the job as it can alienate a customer who is offended by that. We also have appearance guidelines in terms of Uniforms office attire and hiding of visible tatoos.

Ken

 

[Lyman]

I for one will do everything in my power to keep gays were they belong, in california. You can have em, they are not welcome in upstate new york.

 

[Desk Jockey]

 

[tmdry]

Mullets and 2010 definitely do not go together! LOL