I work in a technical role for a small company and spend a lot of my time on the shop floor in boots and work wear. If I get asked to go out to discuss custmer requirements I wear a company shirt and trousers so turn up smartly dressed. Just recently I have been asked to attend meetings at work with some high end customers just hours before they arrive and Im in my normal workwear and as I dont have to shave on a daily basis sometimes unshaven. When I go in to the meetings I feel a little scruffy compared to other members of staff and customers. Would it be daft to request a little more notice and that if possible to be able to change beforehand? Or am I being a bit daft and it shouldnt matter?

Shave every day.

When I did a lot of work onsite I made a point of wearing the opposite of the customer’s staff. If they were casual I wore a suit. If they wore suits I’d be casual.

Presenting yourself as different to the others can be useful if you’re the ‘expert’.

You’re not being daft but you’re not being observant, either.
If this is happening you need to either leave some smart clothes at work to change into or start dressing smarter at work. And shaving every day so as not to look scruffy.
It’s part of the process of growing up.

If it mattered, someone would have mentioned it by now. They may appreciate the input of someone who obviously is happy to ‘get their hands dirty’.

Yes, they should plan better but if it’s the nature of your business that customers come at short notice then being professional would mean making sure you shave every day just to be sure. Being given time to change sounds like a sensible plan from the company too.

A man in a suit with shiny shoes is a salesman. A man in a boiler suit is an expert.

An unshaved man in a boiler suit is an idiot. 😉

If questioned about stubble, I find the ‘between beards’ line usually causes enough confusion to work.

Dressing smarter is not an option as crawling around under and over vehicles on a daily basis.
Moses at 40 Iam grown up but possibly lacking a little confidence.
Being a small company I have to wear a number of hats.
I have always felt that people who dress smarter than I have to for work must be cleaverer. Possibly an inferiority complex.

5th element Why just because I dont shave on a daily basis am I an idiot?

I have always felt that people who dress smarter than I have to for work must be cleaverer.

That’s why the do it. That’s also why people buy posh cars.

Emergency smart clothes and a leccy razor at work – simples.

Otoh, if you wear work clothes out of necessity then they call you into a meeting, no-one can really complain, so I’d not worry too much.

Presenting yourself as different to the others can be useful if you’re the ‘expert’.

What utter drivel.

That reminds me of a ‘creative’ presenting at a conference once who made a point of telling us he was creative because he was wearing odd socks and therefore dared to be different.

No – you are just a clown.

Why don’t you ask the boss? If s/he’s ok with it, then so should you be.

Oh, and I wear a tie and shave every day, and I’m definitely an idiot…

That’s also why people buy posh cars.

Funny because I always see someone looking flash (car, suit, whatever) and tend to think that it suggests that they’re not as good at whatever they do as they want to be/should be and are trying to cover it.

I think you’ll find the ‘creative’ was wearing odd socks as he was on the tail-end of a 48 hour coke binge, and they were the nearest thing to his sofa as he fumbled around in the dark trying to remember where he was meant to be in half an hours time

Funny because I always see someone looking flash (car, suit, whatever) and tend to think that it suggests that they’re not as good at whatever they do as they want to be/should be and are trying to cover it.

You have them sussed. 🙂

I think you’ll find the ‘creative’ was wearing odd socks as he was on the tail-end of a 48 hour coke binge, and they were the nearest thing to his sofa as he fumbled around in the dark trying to remember where he was meant to be in half an hours time

😀

I find ridiculous suits a good way to spot estate agents and wunches.

I have always felt that people who dress smarter than I have to for work must be cleverer.

As above, that’s why they do it.
I apologise for the “growing up” remark.
I used to have a similar role, in which I had to change regularly from boiler-suit to business suit. As above, get some clothes to leave at work in a suit-hanger and if yuo don’t wear boiler-suits for the grubby work, get some. You can keep whatever’s underneath or changed out of clean.

I work as an AV technician often working with local suppliers and crews. When we have pre production meetings I always know that the more smartly dressed the company representative is the less they know about the technical aspects of the job. They are basically sales people and the answer to most questions you ask them is I’ll have to check on that. Now when someone turns up dressed in show blacks I’m almost certain to be able to get an answer to my questions straight away. An awful lot of people out there are hiding in a suit.

Moses, no problem I did think some people may presume I was just a young kid.

In Scandinavia everyone attends high-meetings in jeans and t-shirts – and by everyone I include directors and CEOs for public listed companies.

I wouldn’t worry about it – you are just ahead of the curve.

Molgrips has the answer, of course. Keep a spare set of whatever you need at work in case of emergencies. However,

Would it be daft to request a little more notice and that if possible to be able to change beforehand?

I’d say you should absolutely request more notice, but it’s nothing to do with getting changed and everything to do with respect. Are you not too busy to drop everything at a moment’s notice on someone else’s whim? They’re treating you like the office junior, I sure as hell wouldn’t be putting up with that.

Cougar thats how it feels they get the opportunity to prepare (super duper 21 page power point presentation)I get thrown in at the end to bail out what they have agreed to but cant deliver on. For what its worth I think power points are very old hat and at 21 pages too long but dont know what the modern day equivilant is.

wunches

had to look it up but i like that! 😆

(for anyone else as slow/out-of-touch as me, “wunch” is the new collective term for bankers, as in “bunch”)

PowerPoint isn’t necessarily old hat – the content and delivery often is though.

grow a beard.

HTH

Have you thought of suggesting to your boss(es)that they involve you more in preparing these presentations from the beginning so that you can play a more positive role in the meeting with these key clients? You obviously are an important part of the team, otherwise they wouldn’t invite you in to the meetings, and perhaps you can make a bigger contribution to your company’s success by more involvement in such presentations.

Congrats that you are being asked to attend more meetings, Management respect your voice and it’s good for the customer.

Ask Management to give you more time, they should, it’s in their QMS.

Also, since you skills are being required more frequently, you should start to prepare more. Shave, keep a fresh polo shirt in the locker that sort of thing.

Well done, you are being appreciated for your hard work

Cheers Travis looking at it from that angle helps a lot. Rather than the are they trying to just make me feel inadequate.

This is why they invented those blue overshoes. It’s so that you can saunter into the office, sit with your boiler suit around your ankles (to keep the seats clean) then be back in the workshop before the kettle needs boiled again. If people don’t understand why you can’t wear a shirt and tie every day you have to admit it, you’re already better than them…

It’s what’s on the inside that matters..

Thank **** I am out of the management game.

I never, ever shave – trim my face with the same clippers that trim my head. I did this when I was a senior manager and still do as the boss of my own company. FFS, I’ve worked with chairmen of multi-million pound companies that have beards and stubble – it’s 2011, not 1985.