What he said.
The image revolves around trust. The two toughest groups to win trust are the elderly and parents of very young children. You've got exactly a New York second to pass their go/no go test, even if you look the part. I have had folks spin on their heel and leave without saying a word when I failed that test. To have the same individual accept you at a later date is quite a compliment. Remember that the image is not about
YOU , it is about them and their fears. You are a nameless faceless part of the machine. Unless you can stand out in a positive manner in their mind it is better to not stand out at all.
The closer you can
FEEL to them like Mom, DAD or their third grade English teacher the easier your job is. This is why the traditional pharmacist is on a first name basis. "Hi, I'm BOB and I'm here to help." Intimacy takes the edge off of authority. But first you must establish authority. How you look is the first step. How you act is the second. Your goal is to project
competence and
confidence.
Unless you are working a shift during Bike Week in Daytona Beach tattos will make projecting authority harder, not easier. Even during bike week, heavily tattooed bare arms would endear you to the brotherhood as "He/she's cool" and there would be an element approaching you for DRUGS other than what was prescribed. Not that tattoos are required to solicite that behavior. Any social setting will attract the nervous jokes and wistful glances. Your authority is undermined and they are too familiar.
Bottom line; Marcus Welby GOOD. Tommy Chong BAD. (and I love Chong folks, just not as my health care provider)