(AS PUBLISHED IN THE 2024 EDUCATION GUIDE TO NURSING)
Jody Weise grew up in the back of a station wagon, traversing highways and byways as her parents built The Uniform Shoppe brand.
She remembered at the time the last thing she wanted to do was grow up selling scrubs and apparel.
But what she didn’t know was all those trips and those relationships her parents forged would leave a lasting impression.
Sixty-two years later, Weise says her company’s lasting success is the result of those relationships, in particular, the ones the family has with their employees.
“Our Customers like that we offer a wide variety of brand names, styles, prices and colors,” Weise said of customers. “A lot of people also come because they like to shop with the people who work with them when they come in.”
“They can get the uniforms anywhere. If they need navy blue they can go anywhere to get navy blue. We get a lot of comments and reviews about when walking in to The Uniform Shoppe our associates make it such an easy way of finding what they need. They don’t have to do anything but walk in and they get personal attention to help find what they are looking for.”
“Many of our customers come back because of our employees.”
Large stores and large selection have always been the hallmark of The Uniform Shoppe as trends continue to evolve.
“But it’s our employees that really keep them coming back,” Weise said. “I think our most important product is our employees. It’s been like that for a long time. I’ve been doing this for 44 years and it was happening before that.”
Weise says it’s her mom and dad that started that personal touch philosophy when they traveled to hospitals and clinics sizing employees and offering them an outstanding selection.
“My parents went out and made connections with people, established relationships with people. Long-time customers trust what we do. They have confidence in that we’re not going to stear them in the wrong direction or take advantage of them in any way,” Weise said.
Nowadays, there’s not a lot of customer service out there. It’s buyer beware.
“I have such a wonderful staff of dedicated employees,” Weise continued. “There’s so much devotion and loyalty our staff has for the company.”
Since 1962, The Uniform Shoppe has been a family affair.
Albert and Elaine Weise opened The Uniform Shoppe in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
They traversed the Oklahoma highways and backroads bringing comfortable, affordable quality to nurses at their facilities.
Riding in the back seat was Jody.
She learned the business from the best and now co-owns and manages the Company.
While the styles on the rack may change, little else has changed about this Oklahoma gem.
The Tulsa location moved around the corner to 6044 S. Sheridan Road a while back and the Oklahoma City store is still located at 10503 N. May Avenue.
The Uniform Shoppe has hands-down always had the largest stock of scrubs for nurses, health care workers, day care workers – every profession that requires durable yet professional attire while working with people.
Service has always been the focus.
“We work with many schools to get their students started on the right track – nursing, dental, cosmetology, culinary, veterinary, physician assistants, physical therapy, chemistry, health careers and information, paramedics, lab tech, nutrition, occupational therapy, pharmacy, radiography, respiratory and surgical,” Weise said. “We’ve even had quite a few adolescent classes of ‘future leaders’ going into scrubs and lab coats”.
And behind it all is the staff. All told, there is decades of experience at your service whenever you walk through the doors.
Even growing up watching her mom and dad and her aunt and uncle, Weise never really believed she would go into the family business.
Every time the family took a trip there would have to be a stop at a uniform company or store. Working her way to the top of a big company in Houston, Weise always felt something was missing.
A fire at one of the Tulsa stores brought her back home.
“I’ve been here ever since and every day is a new day,” Weise said. ““Who knew we would be in business this long. Who knew a mom and pop like this would endure during the good and bad, the pandemic, the economy – who knew we would still be in the business with our same family.”
The Uniform Shoppe is located in Tulsa at 6044 S Sheridan Road, and in Oklahoma City at 10503 N May Ave. or visit online at
https://theuniformshoppe.com.
