leadership dot #1927: complete

I was in line behind an off-duty UPS driver and noticed he was sporting UPS-branded socks that made the “outfit.” I thought it was impressive that a company which has shorts as part of its uniform was wise enough to have low brown socks as part of the ensemble instead of having drivers show up with white athletic socks or worse.

When I commented on them, the driver just laughed. “Funny you mention them,” he said. “UPS provides everything else for us: shorts, pants, shirts, coat, hat and mittens – but if we want UPS socks we need to buy them ourselves.”

I realize there are tens of thousands of UPS drivers so even one pair of socks would be a hefty expense. But why exclude just one small item when it really did make a difference in the overall appearance?

If you are going to brand your employees in a uniform, don’t sock it to ‘em with additional expenses to complete the look.

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