MALLS

Employees: Every Calcutta mall — be it Forum, City Centre or South City — has a strict dress code for its employees. Floor managers, housekeeping staff, engineering department officials and security personnel all wear uniforms.

“The various departments are required to wear different uniforms so as to easily distinguish one from another, as also from those working for outlets in the mall,” says a member of the City Centre management. Badges with the mall logo and identity tags are mandatory. Employees are discouraged from donning the uniform outside the mall premises. Smart casuals govern the dress code of the back office staff; on Saturdays malls like Forum relax rules to allow them to sport jeans.

Visitors: If malls are really firm about a dress code for employees, they are quite flexible when it comes to visitors. With GenX footfalls flooding the mall, casual footwear and clothing — from Osho chappals to Bermudas — dominate. And none of the malls seem to mind. “A mall is a young place where people come to have fun. Although we do have a screening process at the entrance, people dressed in chappals and casual clothes are not barred,” says Khushboo Saraf, the senior manager (retail leasing) at Forum.

The rules are not that relaxed for those who are clearly there to just kill time (and maybe eye women). They are often found to be “inappropriately dressed” and “not in keeping with the image of the mall”, but rarely is someone stopped at the gates. “We don’t have the right to refuse anyone who wants to enter. However, if there is anyone — assessed on the basis of attire or behaviour — who one feels can create disturbance, his movements are monitored by the security staff,” says Saraf.

City malls do have a screening process in place to weed out the indecently or obscenely dressed. “Such a situation has not arisen so far, but if we find someone indecently dressed, then action will be taken. After all, malls attract family crowds and we don’t want people to be uncomfortable,” adds the City Centre employee.

INOX, Forum

Shoppers’ Stop

Crossword

Venom

MULTIPLEXES

Employees: From selling tickets to handing over popcorn to ushering a patron to his seat, customer interaction at almost every step is an integral part of plex work ethics. So what they wear is a serious matter for those manning the multiplexes.

At INOX, red T-shirts and blue jeans by starry Mumbai designer Narendra Kumar (yes, the one who often clothes a certain Mr John Abraham) is the uniform for almost all boys and girls at the floor level. “T-shirt-and-jeans reinforces our image of a young entertainment company,” explains Y. Murlikrishna, the vice-president (human resources) at INOX.

The plex is strict — or rather stern — when it comes to what its employees cannot wear. “Vivid nail polish, dangling earrings and over-the-top make-up are not allowed. Employees also cannot wear more than one ring on each hand,” explains Murlikrishna.

Men are discouraged from sporting beards or long hair, although rules are occasionally relaxed for “local culture and sentiments”. The two Fame multiplexes in town almost duplicate the INOX grooming rules.

Viewers: Multiplexes have no dress code when it comes to movie-watchers. Shorts, chappals, short tops, almost everything goes — as long he/she has a ticket. “If the mall has allowed a person in, we have no problems since the patron has to come through the mall first to enter the plex,” explains Murlikrishna of INOX.

Fame, however, insists it can exercise the Rights of Admission Reserved clause anytime it feels a patron may offend others coming to the plex — through clothes or conduct.

STORES

Employees: Walk into any big store and what often catches your eye before the goodies are the shop assistants in smart uniforms. The Shoppers’ Stop attire of grey trousers, white shirt with dark-blue stripes and tie with the chain’s logo is mandatory for all employees interacting with customers. On Saturdays, every employee at the Forum store — cutting across hierarchy — sports the same uniform. The store’s grooming rules prohibit too much make-up and heavy jewellery.

“Our staff members are discouraged from wearing anything that may not be aesthetically appealing to our customers. ‘Shopping and beyond’ is what we promise and the grooming and etiquette standards of our employees go a long way in ensuring that,” says Naveen Misra, the unit head of Shoppers’ Stop, Forum.

So ear studs for males and loud make-up for females are a strict no-no. Spencer’s and Music World — both with an overdose of orange — also have a grooming and uniform guideline in place. Long nails, unkempt hair and visible tattoos are discouraged. “All Music World employees have to be well dressed and well groomed at all times,” says Kasturi Sen, the floor supervisor at the chain’s Park Street outlet.

Shoppers: All are welcome as long as the store authorities are convinced that he/she will not be a source of social disturbance. “We do not distinguish between customers on the basis of their clothes. We welcome everyone,” smiles Misra of Shoppers’ Stop.

Pragati, a training initiative for Spencer’s employees, stresses the need not to distinguish between customers on the basis of appearance. “Ours is an established brand and the kind of people who walk in are in keeping with the image of the store,” says Samar Singh Sheikhawat, the vice-president (marketing) at Spencer’s Retail.

But like at malls and multiplexes, security personnel manning the stores are trained to keep a watch on any customer who looks like trouble.

NIGHTCLUBS

Employees: If the retail sector advocates minimalism and restraint, nightclubs swing the other way. The uniform is casual in the form of T-shirts and jeans or informal trousers. Funky hairstyles, junk jewellery and tattoos are seen on most employees.

“An employee’s funky and cool attitude, reflected in the way he dresses, reinforces the fun image of the club,” explains Amit Hathiramani, the manager (marketing and events) at Underground. Even the uniform at Underground reflects the attitude of the HHI address — the Tees have sound equalisers that move with the music! Venom, the Camac Street night address, even takes its employees for regular grooming sessions to Bridgette Jones.

Partygoers: A nightclub is one place where the rules almost appear more relaxed for hosts than guests. Men in open footwear and shorts are denied access to most party places. Underground takes it a step further by debarring men wearing sleeveless T-shirts (it ceases to be a T, you see!) and three-quarter trousers.

Other nightclubs are less stringent. “We now sometimes allow sporty clothes into the nightclub, something which was a strict no-no till a couple of years ago,” says Anirban Simlai, the executive manager at The Park, which houses Tantra, Roxy and Someplace Else.

Women have it a lot easier with no specific dress code, although most nightclubs are quick to crack down if a dress violates decency levels. “We have refused admission to women wearing really low necklines or very short skirts,” says Hathiramani of Underground.

Bunty Sethi of Venom recalls showing a sari-clad woman the door! “The sari was worn in an obscene manner and we had no choice but to deny her access.”

STAR HOTELS

Employees: Five-star hotels in the city have clearly laid-down rules, with separate uniforms for different departments and special committees supervising grooming standards of each employee.

“ITC The Sonar Calcutta has a comprehensive and in-depth guide called Welcome Standards that lays down grooming rules for employees — right down to the acceptable shade of lipstick and nail-polish,” reveals a spokesperson for the Bypass address.

Business suits worn by Hyatt Regency employees must be black. Most city hotels have a tie-up with city salons for employees to avail free or subsidised grooming services. Minimal make-up and jewellery for women and short hair and clipped nails for the men, besides a long list of do and don’t is the norm.

Guests: No specific dress code, within some parameters of presentability. “We generally discourage people wearing shorts and chappals from entering the more formal restaurants like Westview Bar and Grill,” says the ITC spokesperson.

“The lack of a separate banquet entry poses a problem sometimes with inappropriately dressed people making their way into the lobby. They are guided through a separate entrance,” says Simlai of The Park.

At Hyatt, however, a guest is rarely stopped on the basis of appearance or attire. “Since we don’t have a nightclub, our rules are relaxed,” smiles marketing communications manager Neha Arya.

RESTAURANTS

Employees: Besides the rules pertaining to make-up, hair and jewellery, there are some specific to restaurants.

“Our workers are not allowed to wear watches for the risk of food contamination. We also permit only one ring per hand since too many rings on a serving hand may not go down well with our patrons,” says Arvind Bhatnagar, the head (operations) at Ivory, an ISO certified restaurant.

Mainland China, too, emphasises the need for well-groomed employees — from valets to managers. “Our grooming standards are pretty high and uniform across all outlets,” says regional business manager Debashish Ghosh.

Diners: A discreet eye on a diner’s dress code — ranging from the formal to the funky — is the order of the day. “There are exceptions, though. Three years ago, we denied access to some boys who came wearing lungis,” recalls Bhatnagar. “And the manager can ask someone to leave if the person is scantily dressed and may cause offence to fellow diners.”

“We generally have provisions to allot a table away from the crowd if someone walks in inappropriately dressed,” smiles Ghosh of Mainland China.

(Are dress codes needed in fun zones? Tell ttmetro@ abpmail.com)