Appearance, Uniform & Behaviour

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2 Appearance, Uniform & Behaviour Stylish appearance and a smile: Uniforms have a tradition at Lufthansa. We get in touch with uniforms every day in all walks of life. Uniforms have a long tradition in the professional world. We are all familiar with them. Uniforms help us to identify people of certain professional groups. There have always been uniforms at Lufthansa, too. Then as now, the uniform underlines the professional and individual service offered by Lufthansa. Uniforms are worn in our company by people who have direct contact with customers. They enable our customers to recognise us as Lufthansa employees and are a component of our corporate identity, the personality of our company. Uniforms reflect the contemporary requirements of the respective field of work. Popular designers have always played a major role in developing uniforms for all major airlines. Evolution instead of revolution : The current Lufthansa uniform The uniform has always reflected the traditional values of our company such as reliability, respectability and esteem with regard to passengers and employees. As the last uniform was greatly accepted by those employees obliged to wear it, development of the latest uniform was based on the principle of evolution instead of revolution. Retaining the Lufthansa colours of blue supplemented by white, silver, grey and yellow was a key specification within the framework of a competition among excellent designers. The German designer label Strenesse convinced the project team, the design jury and executive management with its designs and basic line for the ladies collection. A decision was made in favour of Etzkorn for the men s collection. By including employees from a wide variety of areas within the company airports, cockpit and cabin designs were subjected to thorough examination in practical tests enabling minor problems to be detected and improvements made on the new uniform before it finally went into serial production. 48

3 Your well-groomed appearance and professionalism stand for our success. The current Lufthansa uniform worn since January 2002 is distinguished by a clear, characteristic and timeless line which excludes neither cool objectivity nor warm naturalness. The uniform our business card As a uniformed Service Agent, you are a clearly visible business card which we as a company pass on to our customers. And our business card at Lufthansa bears four important characteristics: Respectability Care Friendliness and Service competence. These basic values are reflected by the unobtrusive yet classical elegance of the actual uniform. But these characteristics also need to be brought to life: without the personality of each individual wearing the uniform, the new collection merely remains stylish packaging the first moments of customer contact often characterise the service relationship : Four service characteristics are distinctive: Attention to detail Respect for status and culture Personal touch Stylish performance and appearance. The uniform a firm component of your working life The uniform your uniform will accompany you in your future working life and support you in performing your respective tasks. It will help you to fulfill your role as a Service Agent. And the feeling of being dressed well and fashionably will also give you the confidence for your professional performance. There s truth in the saying that fine feathers make fine birds! Even at home, shortly before commencing work at the airport, your uniform will enable you to detach yourself from your personal environment thus facilitating your transition to the professional world. Of course, this is also true the other way around. When you get home, you relieve yourself of much of what you have experienced at work along with your uniform until it s time to wear it again. At the same time, the Lufthansa uniform is an element which unites across the world. It makes your colleagues identifiable those people with whom you will be working closely for certain periods of time and on whom you will be able to rely. You will no longer need to ask yourself questions such as What will I wear to work today? or Are my clothes suitable for work today?. Your uniform will always provide you with the safe and correct answer. 49

4 It all depends on the overall impression. It goes without saying that the aim of the Lufthansa uniform is to present a standardised image representing our quality features in public. For this reason, we have designed a binding dress code for uniforms giving you some individual freedom in combining certain uniform items. At the same time, it also ensures that despite this freedom of design, a standardised image of all Lufthansa employees is achieved in public. On the other hand, your appearance would not be complete without flattering make-up or the appropriate hairstyle. The dress code also provides some clear instructions in this regard. Financing your uniform As ordering and financing procedures lie in the responsibility of the local Lufthansa Station Manager, you will be informed by your local management which regulations apply to you. As a Service Agent, you represent Lufthansa. Please remember: regardless of whether you are on your way to work, at work or on your way back home in your uniform, you represent Lufthansa and are always in the eye of the public. Please be a real Service Agent then, too! You also represent Lufthansa whenever you are in contact with Lufthansa Customers even if you don t wear our uniform. If employed by one of our various service partner companies, you might wear a different uniform. For our customers, however, you are the person to deal with and they expect the same support and friendliness at every airport all around the world. Clothes are however only the packaging: what really counts is the person wearing them. If good clothes are complemented by good manners, the combination creates a harmonious overall impression. As we attach particular importance to good manners, we have compiled some important and useful information on this issue in the Need to know section. 50

5 Good manners: a key to success Whenever people interact, it is on the basis of conduct. Over time, each culture has cultivated its own rules regarding interaction in order to make such action as pleasant as possible. These rules have evolved from natural characteristics such as sociability, willingness to help, tact and consideration. A knowledge of standard manners will enable you to conduct yourself in a wide variety of situations in such a way that you do not hurt the feelings of others. But this in turn will command respect for you which is also a sign of acceptance. Good manners are subject to continuous change. They are based on the values and standards of the time and culture. Furthermore, there are always varying interpretations and opinions, sometimes even contradictory rules. Within the framework of your tasks as a Service Agent, you will be a representative of our company and will come into contact with an international public from a wide variety of cultures and social classes. It is important that you handle our guests carefully and respectfully to ensure that you don t step on their toes. This is not always that easy, especially when you are treated inappropriately. In such situations in particular, it is important that you show how professional you are. Your conduct in dealing with our customers consistently characterises the image of our company. It goes without saying that nobody is expecting you to be familiar with all of the rules governing good conduct around the world. Achieving the right tone requires tact which is a real challenge. If you have knowledge about good German manners and practice them with our German clients, you will be more than successful. And when abroad, good manners will also provide you with a good basis for coming across as polite and courteous. We would now like to provide you with an overview of the most important German rules of conduct, enabling you to examine your own skills. Benefit from a courteous and interested appearance. A polite and interested approach is the basis of good manners. Simply turning towards someone is an indication of your interest in what the other person has to say. This posture implies openness as well as willingness to talk and listen. Good manners can enable you to win people over whether at work in terms of customers and colleagues, on business trips as a representative of Lufthansa or among your friends. Knowledge of social hierarchies help you to choose the appropriate code of conduct. In all societies, there are certain social standards from which the code of conduct is derived. In the western world, the following apply as a general rule: Ladies first, then gentlemen Older people followed by younger people Foreigners followed by countrymen Strangers followed by relatives Superiors followed by employees Customers followed by colleagues A greeting is an indication of being cultivated and friendly. A greeting is a communicative gesture directed towards others in passing, so to speak. By greeting someone, you show that you live according to a good code of conduct as well as being cultivated and friendly. At the same time, it indicates that you accept the other person. When passing people you know, you should always greet them, whereby a spontaneous greeting given by the person who sees the other one first is always right. Failing to greet someone sends a negative signal and is proof that you do not perceive the other person, are perhaps even ignoring him. 51

6 This may hurt the other person s feelings and this is exactly what is supposed to be avoided by good manners. Particularly where so many strangers converge, there are situations in which polite individuals greet others: e.g. when entering a lift, a waiting-room, a train compartment or shop. When entering an area, you can greet those already present. In the case of spontaneous greetings, the following rules should help you: Those arriving greet those already present Men greet women Younger people greet older people The minority greets the majority Employees greet superiors As you can see, the social standards play a key role here, too. Turn your greeting into a handshake. A greeting is interpreted as a verbal acknowledgement accompanied by a handshake. Greetings are always appropriate where you stop to exchange a few words with people you know. In German culture, shaking hands is a sign of politeness and interest in the other person. The rules you are already familiar with apply for greetings, albeit in reverse order: Ladies greet gentlemen Those already present greet those arriving Older people greet younger people Superiors greet their employees Introductions: create a personal atmosphere. People generally only shake hands with people they know. If you do not yet know someone, call them by their name first and then shake hands. Introductions dispense with the anonymity of encounters and you know who you are dealing with. It is however easier and more effective if you are introduced by a third person. In the case of private or less official occasions, this process is referred to as acquainting people with each other whereas we refer to introductions in the professional area involving customers. Within the framework of your tasks as a Service professional at the airport, there will always be situations in which you are obliged to make the introductions, e.g. when you are talking to a customer and are joined by a colleague who is included in the conversation: May I introduce my colleague Karin W. She would be delighted to advise you on connecting flights. When introducing and acquainting people to or with others, the following rules should be of assistance: People in junior positions are introduced to those in senior positions Individuals are introduced to groups Married couples are introduced together Those arriving are introduced to those already present Younger people are introduced to older people Men are introduced to women When introducing someone, please ensure that you introduce him/her properly, i.e. always mention their title as well as their name. 52

7 Make other people feel good: address them by name. One thing is certain: customers like to hear their names being said. Nevertheless, many people find it difficult to address strangers by name. At Lufthansa, addressing people by name is a firm component of our service culture, particularly when it comes to our status customers. For this reason, do not waste any opportunity in future to address our customers by name. The high art of addressing people: titles combined with names When someone has an academic title, aristocratic title or high official title, respectful and polite manners entail combining such titles with names. Here are a few examples: Dr. med. (medical doctor) Jürgen Meyer is addressed as Dr. Meyer. Professor Dr. med. Ernst Fass is addressed as Professor Fass. In the case of aristocratic titles, the von is part of the name, e.g. Isabell von Gerlach is addressed as Ms. von Gerlach. If the person also has a title in their name as well as the von, the title replaces the von when being addressed, e.g. Katharina Gräfin von Wedel is addressed as Countess Wedel. Public personalities are also addressed using their title, e.g. Horst Köhler is addressed as Mr. President or President Köhler. Show your best side. Your personal appearance is a particular focus of the public s eye thanks to your uniform. Not only when working at the airport, but also on your way to work or on business trips, customers and observers watch how you behave with interest. On the one hand, it s fun to represent an international company such as Lufthansa in uniform. On the other hand, you are automatically bound by an obligation: we expect you to be wellgroomed and to conduct yourself accordingly. Poor or inappropriate conduct and loud or conspicuous behaviour in uniform has a negative effect on the image of our company. The area of good conduct comprises many other areas of life which we are unable to present to you in full within the framework of this Manual. In order to come across as cultivated, stylish and polite, you must be aware of certain codes of conduct as well as subtle and tactful behaviour. Your choice of words, posture and the extensive subject of table manners allow other people to establish very quickly the extent to which certain basic rules are in place. What was applicable in the past still applies today: although good manners are not a guarantee of professional and social success, they do represent a great opportunity for both. 53

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