Sharp-eyed families may have noticed a subtle difference to our staff’s attire at the last few funerals that we’ve conducted – in the shape of their smart new ties.
For the last couple of weeks our funeral teams, including our directors, have been wearing new ties bearing either just the Gillotts’ British racing green colour, or with the addition of silver and gold instead of their previous plain black ties.
Four years ago, we broke with tradition by introducing a range of colourful ties, including lilac, blue and yellow, alongside our traditional black, to colour-match the brighter shades our families were choosing to make their loved ones’ send-offs more upbeat.
The change – especially when our pall-bearers and drivers turned up wearing the pink ties – went down a treat and we have now decided to make another break by replacing black with ties that reflect our brand.
So far the reaction has been very positive and, although we will wear black if families request it, the new ties – which are being worn in conjunction with matching handkerchiefs in top pockets – will become our default choice from now on.
Anthony Topley, a partner in Gillotts Funeral Directors, said: “Our company uniform has featured black ties for more than 100 years but although we do have the colourful ties to use on occasion, we felt it was time for a change.
“Of course, funerals are sad occasions, but the days when it was customary for everyone to wear mourning black are long gone, so we decided that it would be more fitting for us to be smart and business-like, rather than unnecessarily sombre.
“We’re very proud of our corporate colour scheme and we think that incorporating it into our staff’s uniforms this way is fresh and modern and sets us apart from other funeral firms.”