Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!microsoft!stevebr
From: stevebr@microsoft.UUCP (Steve BRANDLI)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Dress code
Message-ID: <56255@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 2 Aug 90 00:42:26 GMT
References: <847@meaddata.mead.UUCP> <6610003@hpclapd.HP.COM>
Reply-To: stevebr@microsoft.UUCP (Steve BRANDLI)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 39

In article <6610003@hpclapd.HP.COM> defaria@hpclapd.HP.COM (Andy DeFaria) writes:
>>/ hpclapd:comp.software-eng / mcmahan@netcom.UUCP (Dave Mc Mahan) /  9:45 pm  Jul 26, 1990 /
>
>>>Would  you really consider,  say, an
>>>accounting firm, unprofessional   if  they   walked around  in  jeans and a
>>>T-shirt but GOT YOUR TAXES DONE ON-TIME AND SAVED YOU BIG BUCKS?  Of course
>>>not.    (Or, for  that matter,  am    I, a   software engineer,  considered
>>>unprofessional because I don't wear a suit?)
>
>My point is that a lot of people feel like you and I -  that there dress is
>mandated by the company, they would be more comfortable if they could dress
>casually, they don't personally care if the company  they deal with dresses
>casually  as long as  the work  gets  do professionally  (and  this is  not
>necessarily limited to engineers and non-engineers). So why does  the dress
>code remain?

We really don't have a dress code at Microsoft.  (I'm currenty in my jeans
and bare feet.)  But then we are not very visable to the people that buy our
products.  And even so, it is interesting to note that we are often referred
to as the "nerds in Redmond, Washington", or something similar, and our image
is as people not very interested in what the customer thinks or wants.

So, I'm very sympathetic about those companies that do require dress codes.
When I decide whether or not to buy someone's services or products, I may very
well base part of my opinion on an intangible feeling of professionalism,
which I would interpret as a willingness to make sure that things are done
right.  And that intangible feeling may be heavily influenced by how the
people selling the service or product dress.  The logic behind the feeling
goes something like this:  If they are willing to dress up for me and look
neat and tidy, then they may be more willing to satisfy my needs.

Sound ridiculus?  Possibly.  But companies must base their decisions on the
profit motive.  That is what they are there for.  And if customers are
noticing how it's employees appear, then this must be a concern.  Microsoft
has decided that making it's engineers comfortable is more important than
putting on a good image for it's customers through a dress code.  But a
company with more visible employees may be faced with a different tradeoff.

/Steve