where hospitality people meet
If the face doesn't fit....?
Ben McEwen from Lexington Catering argues that whereas beauty may only be skin deep, raw talent goes right to bone.
It would seem that although many establishments are working hard to achieve AA ratings it would appear that there are certain others more concerned with their double D’s! Faced with legislation governing employment according to race, disability and gender to name but a few, aestheticism is arguably the last stand in weeding the undesirables out of the selection pool.
So why hire beauty over brains? Are recruiters succumbing to the halo effect; that is being influenced by the first positive traits we see in people (such as looks) and then subconsciously suppressing any negative traits, which emerge at a later stage? No surely not! Well it is possible, and actually it makes business sense to have attractive people on the front line, especially in sales positions. Look at the world of advertising, celebrities are forever being used to endorse products and we the public storm the high street in droves. I for one do not believe for a second that David Beckham is a leading authority on mobile phones or high street fashion but there he is brandishing a Motorola and prancing about in his Armani pants! The public, blinded by his looks rushes out to buy phones, underwear, razorblades, and anything else he might happen to be photographed with forgetting entirely that he is actually a footballer.
The same principal can work on a front desk, cocktail bar or restaurant – dazzle your customers with buff staff and their ability to provide good service will start to pale into insignificance…or will it?
Furthermore what is the effect on the staff members themselves? There is certainly a link to emotional labour and the idea that staff members in customer facing roles have to repress themselves for the benefit of the guest. In many hospitality and tourism outlets there are image guidelines in existence but hiring a look takes this further and companies are starting to manipulate the physical relationship between customer and the business by creating an almost entirely different exterior persona. Is this a good thing? Are we creating neutrality? Could this be classed as branding? Or in actual fact are such establishments about to lose their authenticity?
So is this actually happening in our industry? Is it more prevalent in some sectors than others; airlines perhaps? It would seem quite possible, as last week’s poll highlighted that there must be a multitude of beautiful people working in the hospitality industry as whopping 45% of hotcatUK members have at one stage taken a fancy to their line managers…
I believe that it doesn’t matter how much surgery, make up or grooming you throw at your staff there can be no match for drive, passion and raw talent, because beautiful your frontline may be, but when our discriminating guests start scratching the surface you want to be sure it doesn’t all fall apart.
(*Thanks to Judie Gannon from Oxford Brookes for her valued input!)
It would seem that although many establishments are working hard to achieve AA ratings it would appear that there are certain others more concerned with their double D’s! Faced with legislation governing employment according to race, disability and gender to name but a few, aestheticism is arguably the last stand in weeding the undesirables out of the selection pool.
So why hire beauty over brains? Are recruiters succumbing to the halo effect; that is being influenced by the first positive traits we see in people (such as looks) and then subconsciously suppressing any negative traits, which emerge at a later stage? No surely not! Well it is possible, and actually it makes business sense to have attractive people on the front line, especially in sales positions. Look at the world of advertising, celebrities are forever being used to endorse products and we the public storm the high street in droves. I for one do not believe for a second that David Beckham is a leading authority on mobile phones or high street fashion but there he is brandishing a Motorola and prancing about in his Armani pants! The public, blinded by his looks rushes out to buy phones, underwear, razorblades, and anything else he might happen to be photographed with forgetting entirely that he is actually a footballer.
The same principal can work on a front desk, cocktail bar or restaurant – dazzle your customers with buff staff and their ability to provide good service will start to pale into insignificance…or will it?
Furthermore what is the effect on the staff members themselves? There is certainly a link to emotional labour and the idea that staff members in customer facing roles have to repress themselves for the benefit of the guest. In many hospitality and tourism outlets there are image guidelines in existence but hiring a look takes this further and companies are starting to manipulate the physical relationship between customer and the business by creating an almost entirely different exterior persona. Is this a good thing? Are we creating neutrality? Could this be classed as branding? Or in actual fact are such establishments about to lose their authenticity?
So is this actually happening in our industry? Is it more prevalent in some sectors than others; airlines perhaps? It would seem quite possible, as last week’s poll highlighted that there must be a multitude of beautiful people working in the hospitality industry as whopping 45% of hotcatUK members have at one stage taken a fancy to their line managers…
I believe that it doesn’t matter how much surgery, make up or grooming you throw at your staff there can be no match for drive, passion and raw talent, because beautiful your frontline may be, but when our discriminating guests start scratching the surface you want to be sure it doesn’t all fall apart.
(*Thanks to Judie Gannon from Oxford Brookes for her valued input!)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Tom Shorney on -
Great article Ben!
Jose I completely agree with comments about grooming when you attend an interview. Although I was only in HR for a short period of time the number of people that came in to submit a resume/cv in what could only be described as 'fancy dress' Coming in in what looked like Ty-die (apologies for the spelling) t-shirts ripped jeans and clown shoes! Although this was in Whistler and often this is what some people choose to wear. As the saying goes first impressions are crucial and this from my experiences was often the first downfall of some people.
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Permalink Reply by Ben McEwen on -
I think between us we could come up with quite a few stories of outstanding interview candidates for the right and wrong reasons - even in my limited experience I have come across a few....
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Permalink Reply by Sonya Lipczynska on -
Go on then, tell all...
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Permalink Reply by Harriet Witchell on -
Really?
Lou Willcock said:Ben have you checked the mirror lately? Somehow you manage to have both beauty and talent........on the outside and within. Could this be why you are the hotest cat in hotcat?
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Permalink Reply by Bartolomeu Lança on -
Dear Ben,
Your post reminded me that:
"What is essential in life, is invisible to the eyes, only the heart can see."
Antoine Saint-Exupery
Your questions are really very pertinent. Thanks for the insight.
warm regards
Bartolomeu
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Permalink Reply by Ben McEwen on
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Thanks! Great quote!!
Bartolomeu Lança said:Dear Ben,
Your post reminded me that:
"What is essential in life, is invisible to the eyes, only the heart can see."
Antoine Saint-Exupery
Your questions are really very pertinent. Thanks for the insight.
warm regards
Bartolomeu
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Permalink Reply by Aleksandra Turner on -
I think the general attitude is very significant, even more than looks - a big smile is the most impotrant thing you need from FofH - when a person smiles and is positive, he/she attracts positive responses - so a handsome young man can come accross as not so handsome when gloomy:-), and an average looking person with a big smile and personality might capture all the attention. Also, I am a firm believer in seeing more guys FofH, as they usually enliven the atmosphere. In summary, when a person likes what they do, it comes accross and positively influences other people around them. Sometimes it has little to do with looks: I have a new Head Chef now (you met Matt) whose positive attitude has transformed the whole site.
See you on the 24th if not earlier.
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Permalink Reply by Jose Ruiz on -
Interestingly enough, while I was in Spain, a report in the news said that according to a recent study in Spain, pretty people are substantially more likely to get to the top and their earning potential is higher than that of ugly people. Who and How beauty is measured is still a bit unclear.
I guess that this explains why I have not yet made it to Prime Minister!
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Permalink Reply by Jose Ruiz on
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I got thinking about this again as I was combing my hair, brushing my pearly white teeth and moisturising this morning and thought that maybe we should go on a quest (just for fun) to find the fittest, cuttest and more beautiful people working in hotels and catering in the UK.
Not only it would be fun but it would also give us an idea of the totty factor in our industry.
So, I throw the gauntlet to you all: if you are, or know someone working in hospitality whose beauty is off the charts, send us a picture including his/her name and position (no telephone numbers, please) to thisishot@hotcatUK.com.
We will post the entries in a dedicated photo album and maybe even run a competition.
Remember, this is just a bit of fun to make us all smile!
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