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Body Art and Employment |
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Part 2: Body Art Detracts from the Customer's Experience?
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Join the Discussion
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"Last week this girl came in [that] already had her tongue pierced before she started working at McDonald's. Well, the manager told her to take it out,so she did. I asked if she made the food and she said no, the managers were afraid that it would fall into the food. I told my manager I dont make food with my face, and my piercings will stay where they're at!!"
HECATE3000
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I talked with a few managers of some well-known chains to see if I could gain a little insight into corporate thinking. Jacki, who is a former manager of a McDonald's and currently assisting the manager of an Arby's in Pennsylvania, said that although she personally has nothing against body art or piercings, policy states that employees must remove their jewelry or wear a bandaid over their piercings. The reason? "That's not company policy, that's food safety policy. In Pennsylvania where I am from, the Health Department is also combined with the Department of Agriculture.
.[The jewelry] would have to removed or secured with a band-aid ... for "appearance" and food safety reasons. In theory the piercing (dealing here mostly with ears) could fall out into the food."
In theory? No kidding! Has anyone bothered to test that theory? Oddly enough, the back of stud-post jewelry can fall off a lot easier than the ball of a captive bead ring. To this day, I have yet to hear of someone losing their captive bead or the ring as a result of normal daily activities.
Does body art detract from the customer's experience? McDonald's thinks so. Jacki said that she would be reluctant to hire someone with heavy jewelry or tattoos simply out of fear of getting in trouble with the company. She mentioned one particular case when they "hired this awesome guy who happened to have a few small visible tattoos on his hand/ wrist area. Even though he was in the kitchen not in the direct sight of customers, we got in tons of trouble by our supervisors."
Yes, and I am sure this was "food safety" policy, too - I'd hate to see the guy's tattoo fall off into someone's salad.
Adam is a manager of one of the Radio Shack electronic stores and he said that he will hire someone with body art, but it has to remain covered up when the employee is working. "It's not that I mind it at all, but there are a lot of my customers who have somewhat biased opinions about people who have body art." Again, it is the stereotype that body art somehow endangers a good customer experience - no matter how capable the person may be.
How do the pierced and tattooed find employment with this kind of prejudice running rampant among employers? It isn't easy, and it has caused some to decide they have to sacrifice their love for body art just to be "accepted" in Corporate America. On the message boards, Nzen writes, "I know I cannot risk getting facial piercings if I want to expand my job potential. Most offices are NOT going for non-religious nose piercings or eyebrow piercings. I'd love to get an Industrial in my right ear, but that's risky in a lot of work places. Let's face it, unless you're gonna be a tattoo artist or a piercer or a computer whiz who can write their own ticket, you're not gonna get very good jobs with a face full of metal and tats that show." My question is why the hell not? Why should tattoos and piercings have any effect on determining if we are capable of handling a job? Why does a person wearing jewelry and art scare people? Ignorance.
I don't know if the day will ever come that the body art community will be embraced by the professional world with open arms, but the good news is that some are starting to come around and see body art for what it really is. Some of them recognize the intelligence and the skills these people have and accept their appearance as something beautiful or at least acceptable. It might not be easy finding these employers, but they are out there. Personally, I made a decision long ago that if someone didn't want me for the way I am, I don't want them either. My body art is a part of me - take me as I am or leave me the hell alone.
Go Back > Page 1 Band-aids Aren't Just For Boo-Boos Anymore
