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Nexstar Coach’s Blog:

When Clean Cut Doesn’t Cut It

By Julian Scadden
March 14, 2014
Julian Scadden
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.

Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS →

KEYWORDS: HVAC service contractor technicians

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Julian scadden

Julian Scadden is President and CEO of Nexstar Network, a member-owned organization headquartered in Bloomington, MN, serving over 700 independent Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical home services companies since 1992. Nexstar’s mission is to help the world’s best tradespeople become the world’s best businesspeople. Follow Julian on LinkedIn here.  

Recent Comments

Great article

Agree Completly

Butch Welsch

People who really want the job are the...

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