[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by MDED

I work at a Public Sector Bank and here you can't address your seniors as Hi Mr XX! It has to be at all times SIR only.

Professional workplaces and temples are places where you just follow the rules, whether they are written or unwritten.

I think this incident should be termed as harassment. I don't see why shorts is seen as obscene clothing. I've been treated respectfully at banks while wearing shorts.

[MDED]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I think this incident should be termed as harassment. I don't see why shorts is seen as obscene clothing. I've been treated respectfully at banks while wearing shorts.

I never mentioned that wearing shorts is an obscene way of dressing. In fact at my workplace we never discriminate any customer on the basis of attire. Be it a lungi clad local trader or a customer dressed up in crisp clothes.

If you are in service industry, then I don't think so attire should be of anyone's concern or of paramour importance. In a manufacturing organization or an industrial where lot of heavy machinery operate, such units warrant certain set of dress code owing to the hazards it possesse.

[Jaggu]

Utter nonsense once again, will an IT folk say no to an american customer walking in shorts?

Somehow the Govt folks don't get the idea that they are also in services stream and we aka the mango people aka the common man are their customers!!

Should be sacked on the spot.

[WorkingGuru]

Your complain is valid.

Its of a specific kind of importance.

If the Indian population of 1.2 Billion people stood in a queue for their complaints with importance based on necessaries of life, you'd be asked to please go stand right at the BACK of that line.

Be patient & wait. Aap quataar mein hain.

[amitoj]

Couple of things:
1.

And from the article: ""It was a Saturday morning, so I was dressed in casuals. "

THAT, sir, is not "casual". That's just outright shabby dressing. There is something to be said about clothes make a man.Good manners is a way of showing that you respect the other person. And walking into a government office, you should be oozing respect. It is hard to ooze respect when you are dressed like that. I can't believe that a 28 year old entrepreneur would not know that.
But having said all that, this was no grounds for judging whether he should be given a driving license or not.

2. Reading the article, it is amazing how vehemently the senior officials are denying that this incident even took place The transport commissioner, the deputy commissioner and senior RTO (whatever that is) are saying that this never happened as if they were present in that RTO office the whole day that day!

All in all, let's not blow this out of proportion. In an ideal world, Sai Srinivas's application should have been accepted, even if his hair was rainbow colored and he was wearing a skirt. Who knows, a skirt might have actually sped up the process
Anyway, we dont live in an ideal world and those who dont believe that, should go to a government office in shorts and get a reality check!

[HalfOctave]

I do agree on the point that sanctity of an office should be maintained and RTO officer must have said it on the same lines. However, wearing shorts is completely someone's personal choice. Till the time it is not vulgar, no one has any right to turn him down for license.

What is next then? Round collar tees not allowed, Loafers not allowed or similar?

[vivek.ks]

Went to Indiranagar RTO this weekend wearing short and sandals due to summer heat. I guess it was personal choice of RTO Officer to not entertain a casually dressed person.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by AWD

but if you go a step further reading the mindsets of people who wear them all the time, it shouts semi-educated, rural, rigid mindset, backward at times, its like living in stone age or a place where time is frozen.

They have to reminded that they are "public servants" live on the salaries that are paid by the people, so the least they can do is respect their real masters turning up for work. So in reality its the babus who need a lesson on "while in Rome", interpret it like this "these are your masters & you are here to do their work irrespective of what your masters are wearing(acceptable clothing)". Now people past their prime may toe the babus line 99% of the time but the new generation, the ones in sync with times, ones who are aware, know their rights, ones who want to see a change in the country, ones who want to be the change, the rebels, they will never take this lying down.

I disagree totally with your statement connecting "Traditional Dress" and "semi-educated" etc.

I agree completely that the "Babu's" are Public Servants and that they need to serve those who are paying taxes and thus their salaries.

But I disagree totally that one has to take a "confrontationist" attitude to these people.

It might feel good to be confrontationist but it is completely counter productive because sadly they will just hide behind miles of red tape and delay your process until you come off the high horse you have mounted. It is really a question of "who blinks first".

And my time is far more valuable to me, than to waste it by spending countless aeons in the corridors of babudom, trying to get my work done.

If by dressing moderately, I am able to speed up the process a bit or at least not cause "stares" and "controversy" then so be it.

Maybe as you say I am past my prime, being 45 years of age and perhaps I "toe the line" with these Babus if ever I do go to a Government Office, but I submit that it is much easier to get a job done in a pleasant manner than by using a confrontationist attitude, irrespective of how much one may believe "right is on one's side".

In ref Babudom and Bureaucracy, there are some other countries which are notable for the same - France, Spain, Italy and North Africa, Egypt, Morocco etc + South East Asia, Thailand and Vietnam and Laos etc. It is not only in India that we encounter Babudom. In general it helps to be non confrontationist.

After all, it is not as if we were all born "Westernised" and "Short and T Shirts" are not really our "National Dress" or "preferred clothing right from birth" or something...

All I am saying is that while there may be nothing wrong per se in Shorts and T Shirt, please wear them by all means, but as the occasion demands.

I d be surprised if any one of the advocates on this thread of the Shorts and T Shirt lifestyle, will actually wear these clothes along with those plain sandals, to office or to a wedding or to the temple or other place of worship....

[vb-saan]

Sending the guy back because of his attire was really bad, but I must say that he got an extremely bad dress sense to go to an office like that. Adhering to a proper dress-code is a good practice, especially when attending business matters. If this was for a visa application in a consulate, he probably would have dressed up in the most formal way, even on a Saturday morning!

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by amitoj

That's just outright shabby dressing.

Looks like he just got out of bed. He needs a shower too.

Originally Posted by vb-san

If this was for a visa application in a consulate, he probably would have dressed up in the most formal way, even on a Saturday morning!

RTO & Consulate - both are public places, where people are interviewed & judged. Why the distinction?

[sgiitk]

Let the RTO deal with a dhoti or lungi clad guy. We will see how they react? If it happens to be a neta all hell can break loose.

Yes, in my IITK days I was not happy with people coming to class/lab in shorts, but essentially tolerated it!

[Jeroen]

How people dress is first and foremost their own choice. Not up to me to call it casual, vulgar or any other name. There is no accounting for taste and taste is very personal.

I strongly believe that public offices can't and shouldn't be allowed to differentiate how they deal with the public based on what they wear.

Having said that, I agree with some other members that you might consider dressing up for other reasons.

People the world over are, very often unconsciously, sensitive to appearances. Right or wrong, that's how it is.

You show up sharply dressed you are likely to get more attention. It shouldn't make a difference but it does! In all honesty, I have no qualms about making use of it. You decide to treat me differently because I Wear a suit and tie over somebody wearing shorts and a T-shirts, that is your decision.

Whenever I have to visit any Indian official I will put on a suit and tie. Gets you through the crowds, it's like Moses parting the Red Sea.

Public servants anywhere in the world respond better to someone in a suit and tie then T-shirts and flip flops. Not fair, I would be the first to agree. But it's an unfair to start with. These officials have things or can do things to me I'm totally dependent on. I have to register with the RTO, there is no alternative. I need a drivers license and there is only one place to get it etc.

So I put on my suit and tie, put a big pleasant smile on my face when I enter these official office. If they want to treat me better, deal with me faster because of how I look the joke is on them.

Principle incorrect but I can't be bother to fight for my principle to wear what I please. It's easier to dress up for an hour and think I outsmart all those public servants!

The above is very much about dealing with officials, public servants etc. Some comments were also made around businesses and dress codes. I was very surprised to find out the other day we had a dress code and in a recent employee survey, most of our staff felt the need to have a dress code enforced. I dont like these sort of policies. Policies are often management just not doing their job of enforcing just normal common sense. I don't want to see policies that I believe deal with what I can just expect from individuals as common sense, appropriate behaviour and such.

You don't understand you need to dress appropriately for a customer meting, you need a policy to tell you what to wear, you are going to have a huge problem with me. Because to me, professional people understand that sort of stuff without it being written down in policies. It's not, like the above, about free individual choice, you are representing the company. Learn to deal with it, or resign and find a different employer.

Jeroen

[arun_josie]

This is just a generation gap.
Shorts, 3/4th, Jeans torn at the bottom, sleeveless t-shirts are all considered as hippie behavior by the older generation. Some are more acceptable to these attributes than others in that generation. Its your luck who you are going to be dealing with ,on that day in that govt agency.

[Nav-i-gator]

What you wear, is your choice. However, if you are meeting me, and I am not comfortable with what you are wearing, it is perfectly fine to let you know my discomfort.

Having said that, 1) I can not deny the service to you, 2) I can not be rude and strongly opinionated, 3) I can not be ambiguous (means, if a foreigner/young lady/influential person/neta is coming dressed like this, I am OK,but not with you, the common Indian)

It is all about respecting others' choices while being true to your own.

[Skyline_GT]

Moral Policing at it's Best!
Not at all shocked with this incident. I myself have been at various times a victim to this kind of behaviour. To begin with they have no right to deny service let alone judge someone by one's attire. For they are the employees who get paid to work rather than deny service to customers. No matter what the work enviorment may be as long as one isn't employed at that place, he/she has every right to wear any clothing of their choice.
Even the more uptight and more formal work places like a bank for example wouldn't dare confront a customer based on his/her attire. Then why does RTO really care?

It doesn't count when these same"conservative" minds who point fingers at our dress codes when they sit at their desks with half of their shirt buttons open cause the weather is too hot?