Dear Customers,

This year marks our 16th year in business and we appreciate all the loyal support we continue to receive from you. When I started this business in 1992, one of my very first focus areas was to make sure that the experience of working with Unitex Direct would be pleasant and appealing to you as uniform and career apparel purchasers looking for great service and prices. Thanks for your support! We will continue to be here to fill all of your uniform needs. Next month we start operations in our new facility across the street at double the size!

Dan Mendelson,
President, Unitex Direct
ext. 230

P.S. We’ve redesigned our monthly e-newsletter. Tell us what you think about the changes or if you’d like to be considered for the customer profile. Just email us!

Increased U.S./Canada
Border Crossing Requirements
The Department of Homeland Security is requiring stricter documentation of those traveling between the United States and Canada. Oral declaration used to be sufficient for entry between the two countries, but requirements now call for either a passport, passport card, enhanced driver’s license, military ID card with travel orders, or a Native American or Tribal card. Alternately, a state-issued driver’s license or military ID card will be accepted if the individual can also provide one of the following: birth certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, Citizen ID Card, Certificate of Citizenship or Canadian Citizenship card.

:: Learn More

Employee Hiring Tips
Security Executive magazine, a publication of NASCO, offers some great advice for better hiring in this high-turnover, small-candidate-pool industry.

• Review minimum requirements - remove those that aren’t as essential, but keep those that are not negotiable

• Consider in-house training

• Increase compensation and/or benefits – think outside the box like birthdays off, providing food like bagels or fruit, or supplying uniforms or transit stipends

• Offer a more flexible schedule for hourly employees

• Boast about advancement potential and job stability

• Advertise your job openings – use the newspaper, but also include online job sites, college job fairs, police department sources, and your current employees

:: Learn more in the current issue of Security Executive

STT Security
Denise Robertson, HR Director

STT Incorporated employs approximately 350 uniformed security officers across the United States. STT has 30 years of integrity, providing security officers, private investigators, collection/repossession services, inventory service, and shoplifting detection for its clients. Uniformed security officers for STT can be found in medical centers, shopping malls, retail stores and more. There are different uniforms for different duties, but officers are most commonly issued a jacket, two pair of pants, three shirts, tie, leather duty belt and leather keeps, and a hat. STT is one of Unitex Direct’s longest-standing customers – over 14 years and counting!

What are some of the common problems you deal with as HR Manager for STT?
“We find our industry is a stepping stone to law enforcement, so we usually lose our best officers to local police departments and that can be frustrating – but we recognize it and deal with it just the same. We are proud of our employees and want them to achieve their goals! We also find we attract the younger crowd and the work ethic does not seem to be the same, so we spend more time training them and educating them on what is acceptable behavior in the workplace.”

What do you find are important factors in attracting applicants?
“Be open and honest and set the expectations right up front. It is much easier to paint a not-so-rosy picture of the job, and then when they actually get in there and do the job they are saying, 'Well this is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.'”

Why did you choose Unitex Direct as your uniform supplier?
“We chose Unitex Direct a very long time ago so I cannot remember how we became affiliated, but it is a decision we are very happy we made, as we have built a wonderful relationship with them! Unitex Direct has been an important part of our success because our uniform expense is at the top of our list in terms of costs and they have been a very good company to work with. We feel they have been fair and appreciate our business. We appreciate Unitex Direct’s flexibility and helpfulness the most - Nancy is a gem and we are lucky to have her servicing our account!

Nancy Clanton
General Manager, Unitex Direct
ext. 221

Job Duties: “Customer service is my primary job. I oversee the sewing room and all the orders each day to make sure everything is done correctly and shipped on time. I make sure all the employees have plenty of work to keep them busy all day. I also do some purchasing.”

At Unitex Direct: 11 years. “I started part time in the sewing room for the first 6 or 9 months and then went to full time. I just added to what I could do until I became General Manager.”

Likes Most about working at Unitex Direct: “I like making the customers happy. I like making sure their orders go out on time and correctly. I really like talking with them on the phone. With email, it’s a little harder. It was definitely more fun before when I got to talk to many of our customers regularly on the phone.”

Family Life: “I’ve been married for 36 years and have four children, two grandchildren and two more grandchildren on the way.”

Hobbies: “I love sports – playing tennis and golf. I love to travel and am going to Chile in a week. I’ve been to Alaska, Hawaii and Australia among other places. I just love cruises. Alaska was beautiful. We went one July and it was the perfect time to go. We could hear the glaciers crackling.”