How would you handle this situation?

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M

ManiaStar

Senior Member
#1
Nov 14, 2015
381
29
28
#1
I work in retail as one of my jobs. About 3 weeks ago they stuck this 1 lady w/ me to help me w/ a specific task. Thankfully, I only have to be around her for an hour before I clock out for the day, but, this lady has a very bad odor coming from her body and, the last few days, the smell from her has gotten worse each day. It's absolutely horrible and I've been gagging bc of how bad it is. I've been trying to either give her something to do to keep her away from me, or, I'll go out on the floor to do something in order to get away from her for the hour. I just cannot deal w/ being right next to her or I may throw up bc of the smell.

Apparently, a couple months ago, other co-workers complained to managers about her smelling, and they called her into the office. She apparently took care of the smell (aka showered) for about a week and then they said the smell started to slowly come back. I complained as well and they said they were going to take care of it but, so far, nothing seems to have been done as her smell is just getting worse and worse.

I'm not the type of person who will blatantly come out and say yo you smell really badly, you need to shower. I only do that if i'm friends or super close w/ a person but, am not sure how to handle this w/ this lady. She does wash her hair. You can definitely tell that about her, she takes good care of her hair but, not the rest of her.

What's the best way to handle this situation w/o offending her and w/o trying to get her in trouble w/ managers.

My mom says she may just have a problem that she cannot help but, if she was able to get rid of the smell for a whole week, that tells me she doesn't have any problem, she just chooses to not take care of herself and makes everyone around her suffer.
 
U

Ugly

Guest
#2
#2
Simple answer. Stop worrying about offending her or getting her in trouble. Go to your boss and say something. If she's got reasons she can't do better then she needs to discuss it with the bosses. There is no magic way to get someone to clean up their body without telling them. She needs accountability.
 
C

coby

Guest
#3
#3
If someone smells at the office they just make jokes in general or say: Can someone open the window please? One guy smelled so bad. They gave him a room for him alone. Poor thing.
My brother had a guy like that who worked in a book store and noone dared to say anything. Then finally someone told him he should use deo and the problem was solved. They don't smell it themselves I think. Or just give her a nice present with Axe for ladies. Hint hint.
 
C

coby

Guest
#4
#4
If it's that horrible maybe it's mold although that's only on your feet I thought. An ex had that. My goodness and he was too lazy to just do something about it. If he put off his shoes the whole house smelled worse than a house with huge dogs who haven't had a shower for weeks and just came out of the rain. That smelled lovely compared to that.
 
R

ramx2016

Guest
#5
#5
Ugly said:
Simple answer. Stop worrying about offending her or getting her in trouble. Go to your boss and say something. If she's got reasons she can't do better then she needs to discuss it with the bosses. There is no magic way to get someone to clean up their body without telling them. She needs accountability.
Click to expand...
Agreed! No reason to be at work AND miserable....

Tell you boss! That's what they get paid for...
 
C

coby

Guest
#6
#6
I bought you a little present.


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M

Miri

Guest
#7
#7
It depends on the person, is she reasonable, has she worked there for
a while, is she married or single. Does she live on her own or with
parents etc.

There are a couple of possibilities, including that:-

She does not care about herself very well
She might have a medical or hormonal problem
She lives a very isolated life at home
She could be depressed
Maybe she has a very disorganised home life
Maybe she is struggling financially and trying to save on water
bills, soap etc.

By the way, a well known solution used in elderly care homes and
hospitals, is to buy some Vick Vaseline the sort that smells very strong
and dab a bit on your upper lip, it masks any smells.

If you can do that it might help you to cope a bit better and maybe
get to know her a bit better. Maybe ask if she might have a problem and
can you help. Is she ok at home, is she looking after herself properly etc.
Maybe you could say you are a bit concerned about her etc.

If management have spoken to her before, she will hopefully understand
what the problem is but will see that you want to help her rather than report
her.

It depends really what you know about her and what her personality is like.

We had a man at my current place of work who always came to work really
disheveled, sometimes unwashed, he use to bring in out of date food,
forget to comb his hair etc but he was a really sweet harmless person.

It turned out that he lived alone and just had no incentive or motivation
to look after himself. Although he was in his 40s he still took his washing home
to his mothers house once every 6 weeks and she would wash it for him.

His line manager took him under her wing and use to sort of look
after him at work. She use to say it was like trying to look after a young teen!
He was actually very intelligent but had suffered depression and mental
breakdown in the past and was just a bit lost.

But you know what, he was one of the most loyal members of staff. Some
people just need to be looked after a bit, even though they are adults.


In another place there was a really nice middle aged lady who was going
through the menopause and who had strong body odour. She use to wash and
use lots of deodorant. In the end she went to the dr who suggested some sort
of special deodorant and also treated the hormonal imbalance.
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#9
Mar 2, 2016
8,896
113
0
#9
Ask her if she is a zombie. If she says no just say, oh, just wondering cuz you smell like you're dead. If she says yes...zombies lives matter.
 
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C

coby

Guest
#10
#10
Sirk said:
Ask her if she is a zombie. If she says no just say, oh, just wondering cuz you smell like you're dead. If she says yes...zombies lives matter.
Click to expand...
hahahahahahaha
 
Utah

Utah

Banned
#11
Dec 1, 2014
9,701
252
0
#11
If she's of a certain culture known to smell, and you say something, it could be deemed a hate crime. I'd say something because I'd rather have three hots and a cot than suffer indefinitely with the funk.
 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#12
Jun 30, 2015
25,075
13,606
113
#12
Keep a small container of Vicks Vapo-Rub at work, and when she comes in, just dab a tiny bit under your nose. You won't smell anything else, and you can wipe it away when it's no longer needed.
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#13
Mar 2, 2016
8,896
113
0
#13
You could always dowse her with Fabreeze I suppose. Or wear so much perfume it makes that ladies eyes water.
 
Utah

Utah

Banned
#14
Dec 1, 2014
9,701
252
0
#14
Dino246 said:
Keep a small container of Vicks Vapo-Rub at work, and when she comes in, just dab a tiny bit under your nose. You won't smell anything else, and you can wipe it away when it's no longer needed.
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You know I respect you, Brother, and you indeed share good advice here, but the issue I have is that vapor rub won't resolve the real problem but rather it will only mask the symptoms.
 
Utah

Utah

Banned
#15
Dec 1, 2014
9,701
252
0
#15
On edit: When did we fall so far down the abyss of political correctness, aka, intellectual tyranny, that we are unable to lovingly but directly tell someone that have body odor? Mania, I'm not directing my question directly to you, but in general.
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#16
Mar 2, 2016
8,896
113
0
#16
Utah said:
On edit: When did we fall so far down the abyss of political correctness, aka, intellectual tyranny, that we are unable to lovingly but directly tell someone that have body odor? Mania, I'm not directing my question directly to you, but in general.
Click to expand...
It's sad....if someone smells like a hot foot forest people don't say anything for fear of offending them. Heck, I feel like I'm helping someone out by telling them they have a booger on their face.
 
Utah

Utah

Banned
#17
Dec 1, 2014
9,701
252
0
#17
Sirk said:
It's sad....if someone smells like a hot foot forest people don't say anything for fear of offending them. Heck, I feel like I'm helping someone out by telling them they have a booger on their face.
Click to expand...
You better darn well tell me if I ever have a bat in the cave. :D
 
C

cmarieh

Guest
#18
#18
I realize this is a very touchy subject however my best friend and I talk about female stuff constantly whether it be our favorite body wash, lotions or perfumes and it also helps we go in and get our nails done together.

How about talking about her favorite scents and find some reason to buy her a bubble bath set or just say a girls got to have a way to relax after a long day of work? By doing this you are bringing it up but not in a direct or hurtful manner...just an idea
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#19
Mar 2, 2016
8,896
113
0
#19
Just come to work with a clothes line pin on your nose. The only bad part is that the stench will have to pass over your tongue.
 
Lynx

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
#20
Aug 13, 2014
26,731
8,969
113
#20
Hmmm... I work in a small space with a lot of people, and some of them are very, shall we say, outspoken. If someone stank he would hear about it from multiple people very fast.

Maybe get a coworker, one who has no vested interest in the situation (thus no consequences for causing offense) to stage a visit for the purpose of bringing up the topic of body odor. Let's call this hypothetical coworker Joe, from Accounting. Ask Joe to come by for some random reason and, while he is there, mention to the coworker that she smells.

Just a thought.
 
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