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AIBU

Dress code for restaurant staff

(126 Posts)
Judy54 Mon 13-Mar-23 13:24:38

I went to a pub/restaurant for a meal recently. It's not the sort of place that you would just go for a drink, the emphasis is on the food. It is beautifully decorated and very comfortable. I was somewhat surprised that both of the staff who served us were wearing ripped jeans. They were not teenagers but thirty somethings. Maybe it is an age thing but I feel if I have made the effort to dress smartly then surely the staff should to. Don't restaurants have a dress code for staff anymore. AIBU.

Modompodom Tue 14-Mar-23 16:16:20

My granddaughter works part-time at a concession in a supermarket, where she has to prepare and sell doughnuts and pastries. Recently she was reprimanded for not wearing black shoes/trainers for work. She also has to wear black trousers.

Norah Tue 14-Mar-23 16:21:05

knspol

Ripped jeans in a gastro pub wouldn't bother me at all, pretty normal nowadays.
Did notice how scruffy the assistants were in my local bank last week which took me aback. Some wearing leggings, some in jeans, mostly wearing fleeces on top with various polo shirts etc underneath. A real mish mash and very unprofessional in a business type setting.

This^^

Leggings are so scruffy in a professional setting, or really anywhere.

Missiseff Tue 14-Mar-23 16:24:26

Wouldn't have a problem, I like them.

annab275 Tue 14-Mar-23 16:25:10

Ha ha Iam64 - I was one of those scruffy teenagers at the Isle of Wight festival in 1969. Now I am 69 I have no objections to ripped jeans, tattoos or piercings on serving staff, and recently I was served by a girl with blue hair and a pierced tongue, who was very polite and friendly. That matters more to me than appearance.

Cossy Tue 14-Mar-23 17:07:08

Really doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I’m 64 and want clean, polite, friendly and efficient staff in restaurants and good, hot, food and quiet music !

Dickens Tue 14-Mar-23 17:46:52

M0nica

nanna8 Ripped jeans does not necessarily mean scruffy. Youngsters in ripped jeans are often immaculately dressed in clean jeans, with immaculate clean white T shirts, smart trainers and socks and well-groomed.

Rather than that than a waitress or waiter in worn and dirty uniform. and flipflops.

... nailed it!

I don't think people are understanding that the rips are the point! In fact, jeans themselves were once standard wear for farmers and labourers in in France, America, etc, because of the durability of the fabric, and I'm sure people were appalled when they started to become a fashion item of clothing!

I used to love wearing faded denims and would bleach and scrub to get that 'worn out' look. In fact I've still got a pair of Levi 501s from the 60s, and because I've lost a lot of weight, I can get into them and still wear them occasionally.

NotTooOld Tue 14-Mar-23 18:06:45

Boz

The young like to flash the flesh. Peeping from those gaping denim maws are lovely long brown legs. Ditto cold-shoulder tops for flashing lovely young arms.
I am all for it as long as they cover their knickers. Seen too many clubbing with little pelmets to cover their tiny thongs.

He-he. Some hilarious comments on this thread. grin

mokryna Tue 14-Mar-23 18:13:27

A friend of mine in the 70s just out of university and working in an office was told by her line manager not to wear trousers. She told him she didn’t have the money to buy another set of clothes.
I had to wear tights in 1976 in the office also.

Corkie91 Tue 14-Mar-23 18:14:07

I went to a restaurant once where the waiter smelled so badly of BO I walked out complaining to manager on way. There was no way I could have eaten a meal there

Joseanne Tue 14-Mar-23 18:21:58

Check out Fred Sirieix starting on E4 tonight. He knows his restaurant stuff and what is required.

welbeck Tue 14-Mar-23 18:44:09

i was vaguely thinking of going to see the much advertised shen yun show; a kind of chinese musical history drama with much jumping about and wonderful costumes, colours.
then i read the booking information, where there was a paragraph about dressing up for the occasion, in respect to other patrons, many of whom are regular theater goers.
there were even pictures of the type of dressed up patron they favoured.
that put me right off. not because i wear rags, but i was surprised by the tone. very off-putting.
and a bit puzzled, as it did not seem typical of asia.
i'd assumed the show came from taiwan.
on reading further, i think it is from new york.
so that explains it more, about dressing up.

LovelyLady Tue 14-Mar-23 18:55:16

If I’m not happy with the experience, I’d not return.
I don’t like tattoos and if a waiter has them, I’d not return. Even if the food was good. I don’t like shop assistants with them either and don’t return to premises that employ staff with visible tatoos.
Ripped jeans would be enough to think the standards were low. I’d not return.

JaneJudge Tue 14-Mar-23 19:13:43

Joseanne

Check out Fred Sirieix starting on E4 tonight. He knows his restaurant stuff and what is required.

they are wearing jeans though grin black/dark jeans?

I think ripped jeans n a pub setting is fine. The last time I ate in a posh establishment (before Christmas) the only thing that put me off was the waiter asking if I wanted ketchup!

Dickens Tue 14-Mar-23 20:34:45

LovelyLady

If I’m not happy with the experience, I’d not return.
I don’t like tattoos and if a waiter has them, I’d not return. Even if the food was good. I don’t like shop assistants with them either and don’t return to premises that employ staff with visible tatoos.
Ripped jeans would be enough to think the standards were low. I’d not return.

... some hospital staff have tattoos - you might come up against a problem...

Hetty58 Tue 14-Mar-23 20:52:36

I'd be far more concerned about the state of the kitchen. A friend often asks to see where the food is prepared, before booking or staying!

NotTooOld Tue 14-Mar-23 21:55:25

welbeck

i was vaguely thinking of going to see the much advertised shen yun show; a kind of chinese musical history drama with much jumping about and wonderful costumes, colours.
then i read the booking information, where there was a paragraph about dressing up for the occasion, in respect to other patrons, many of whom are regular theater goers.
there were even pictures of the type of dressed up patron they favoured.
that put me right off. not because i wear rags, but i was surprised by the tone. very off-putting.
and a bit puzzled, as it did not seem typical of asia.
i'd assumed the show came from taiwan.
on reading further, i think it is from new york.
so that explains it more, about dressing up.

What a cheek! Are they serious?

happycatholicwife1 Tue 14-Mar-23 22:41:42

For me, the problem is that, with so many items of clothing, both men and women don't seem to have a clue how they look.

For example, if I'm looking at cellulite oozing out of the rips, or nipples and belly buttons that seem to be set on stun, it detracts from the overall experience, unless it's an absolute dive with great food, like an oyster bar on the ocean.

I don't enjoy being served by someone who is heavily tattooed and or has piercings in their nose, lips, and especially tongues. Also, don't like flip flops or Tevas with gross unkempt looking feet.

It's like looking at a train wreck, and I think it detracts from the overall atmosphere and the food. The reason it detracts from the food is that often times it gives the person sort of an unclean look that is unappetizing.

Germanshepherdsmum Tue 14-Mar-23 22:45:43

You eat in places where the staff look like that? I wouldn’t touch that sort of place with a barge pole no matter how great the food was said to be.

Wyllow3 Tue 14-Mar-23 22:52:20

I think like others it was the dress code.
As long as clean and otherwise neat.

Hithere Tue 14-Mar-23 22:53:38

Way to drown in a drop of water, disrespectful attire for a pub?

This thread reminds me of an episode of Downtown Abbey - the family does not do the standard formal sit down dinner and Maggie Smith's character loses it - in a very classy manner, of course

Some people live in the wrong century

nanna8 Tue 14-Mar-23 23:11:30

Flip flops, or thongs as we call them , are not allowed even if you are a customer at many restaurants here. Standards have to be kept,my dear.

ElaineI Tue 14-Mar-23 23:20:42

haha most of my jeans have ripped knees from kneeling so much on the floor, garden etc playing games, cars, monster trucks, superheroes. Just bought 2 new pairs in M&S 20% off and cut the legs off the old ones for summer shorts if we get a decent summer! All of DGS2 joggers are ripped at the knees too! Fortunately going up a size in his cousin's hand me downs soon. DGS1 didn't seem so hard on his clothes!

Joseanne Wed 15-Mar-23 01:21:20

nanna8

Flip flops, or thongs as we call them , are not allowed even if you are a customer at many restaurants here. Standards have to be kept,my dear.

Flip-flops are often not allowed due to the safety aspect.

M0nica Wed 15-Mar-23 07:52:29

Generally if the staff are clean and decent, and the premises clean and decent (visit the loos) the kitchens will be hygenic as well.

Anyway any eatery should have a hygiene certificate in a prominent place.

If I eat out, what counts for me is the food. I will put up with a lot for very good food. All the hygiene in the world cannot justify dull or poor food.

MillieBoris Wed 15-Mar-23 11:19:43

Totally unprofessional. I think the problem is that hospitality staff are so hard to get that they have to put up with second best. As a nation waiting on table doesn’t come naturally- bring back the Eastern Europeans.