What Employees Think
The traditional ASI uniform is a “cheddar” yellow shirt (PMS #123) or sweater offered in several variations (see below). “ASI Staff” is embroidered on the left chest of all tops. Employees are instructed to wear black pants and dark shoes along with the top they’ve selected.
The traditional ASI Show uniform is a red shirt (PMS #186), vest, jacket or sweater offered in several variations, each topped with a red, cowboy-style hat made of a plastic material that employees refer to as “faux felt.” “ASI Show Staff” is embroidered on the left chest of all tops. Employees are instructed to wear black, navy or khaki pants along with their choice of top. Here are all of the possible current combinations, along with comments from the wearers.
ASI Uniforms
Alice Higgins, sales rep, cardigan with yellow T-shirt, both 100% cotton:
“The good thing is the uniform is comfortable. It’s soft and easy to wear. But it’s not professional enough to transition off the show floor. I don’t have time to go back to the hotel and change before a client dinner, but I also don’t want to wear this to dinner. I need something that is more versatile.”
Jake Krolick, marketing manager, long-sleeved cotton twill shirt:
“I don’t like the color: I realize that you need something recognizable, but this color is just not professional looking.”
Jim Padilla, sales rep, golf polo, 100% cotton:
“This shirt doesn’t fit right. It’s so tight in some spots that you can’t lift your arms, yet the sleeves themselves are too full.”
Cindi Mann, sales rep, 100% cotton T-shirt:
“This shirt’s not long enough for us full-figured gals. It needs to be long enough to cover the belly. Also, a darker color would be more slimming.”
Kim McCunney, administrative assistant, mock turtleneck and cardigan, both 100% cotton:
“I don’t think many of us like the mock turtleneck style. I’m certainly not crazy about things tight around my neck.”
Barbara Ambrose, executive assistant, mock turtleneck, 100% cotton:
“There are too many variations of yellow that people are wearing, even in what’s supposed to be the same exact shirt. The color needs to be more uniform.”
ASI Show Uniforms
Randi Bromberg, director of marketing, long-sleeved shirt, 60/40 cotton poly blend:
“The red color really stands out well on the trade show floor. But we currently have too many options on what we can wear, so the uniformity of it all is somewhat lost.”
Tom Fryer, senior graphic designer, long-sleeved shirt, 60/40 cotton poly blend:
“The shirts men wear are hot and constricting for working on a show floor. I’d like to see a polo for men.”
Donna Klesh, controller, cardigan with T-shirt, both 100% cotton:
“The only option I like is the tailored shirt. These twinsets are bad because they end up looking sloppy by the end of the day.”
Karen DiTomasso, director of sales, 100% cotton polo, 100% cotton sweater vest:
"We need to make the look more professional, more tailored, perhaps by adding a blazer. The look we have now may be good for some jobs at the show, but for sales it’s not professional enough. Also, I think we need more standardized slacks. The look can change dramatically depending on the color of your pants.”
Mickee Chai, director of information services, red/black jacket, red shell is 100% polyester; black shell is 100% nylon:
“Wearing the hat for eight hours during a day is a big challenge. It’s too hot.”
Cheryl Childers, director of human resources, 100% polyester fleece jacket:
“I agree that the hat makes us recognizable, but not everyone on the staff likes them. We sometimes get bad comments from show-goers and it can be really demotivating.”
