Neck tattoos and gold chains at the 7-11

     I was in line at the 7-11 this morning, behind a good number of folks that clearly walk many different paths in their daily lives.  Some folks were white-collar as me, some in gym clothes, some in their Dickie's on the way to work and some that proudly (or not so proudly) wore their employer's name plastered across the backs of their paint-stained T-shirts.  All made a statement- whether they wished to do so or tried their best not to do so.

     It's hard (really hard) to avoid judging someone based on their 7-11-line appearance.  Think for a minute:  How do you look at folks in line?  Does their dress draw you to them, or does it push you away?  Does that company name on the back of a guy's shirt prompt you to jot it down for future reference, or lead your internal voice to say "Man, this guy must be dumb as a box of rocks if all he can do is wear that dirty uniform and do his manual labor"?

     Back to the neck tattoos.....Yes, one young lady in line had a rather large tattoo on the side of her neck.  As best I could tell, it spelled out someone's name.  But even the best script fonts don't seem to turn out that well when you're dealing with neck tattoos, and the wording could've been something I'll never have the pleasure of understanding.

     There is a point to my message here- in case y'all were wondering.  If I'm taking a few moments of 7-11 line-standing time and noticing small details about a number of folks around me, we have to know that the clients and client prospects we meet each day on the individual level are taking in that 1st impression of us.

     Our look, dress and demeanor can draw folks and their business to us, or it can send them elsewhere. 

      So think about it...how's your 7-11 line look?