He can't do anything about it!?!?

[Misanthropical]

I had it up to here with my co-worker who uses a whole bottle of perfume at a time. WTF smell is she trying to cover up and why the hell hasn't she gone to the doctor for it?

I asked my supervisor to talk to her about her bottle a day habit. He told me he couldn't. He is not allowed to say anything to anyone about too much perfume and/or body funk.

Why must the rest of us suffer just so someone who refuses to bathe and/or drench themselves with perfume don't get their feelings hurt? Where are my rights not to have gag on their smell?

I turn on a fan anytime I see her coming, but she just thinks it's because I got too hot. NO, YOU COMPLETE MORON! IT'S BECAUSE YOU REEK!

This woman gets all pissy and runs to supervisor if someone looks at her wrong and tries to get that person written up. So, why the hell can't she be written up for being a walking air pollution?

Maybe if I spray air freshener at her when she walks by she will get the message, but I doubt it. She will probably try to get me written up for offending her.

She has 6 kids. How her husband got near enough to her for that is beyond me! And, how the hell does her house, kids and husband smell?

How many bottles of perfume does she go through in a week? Take a SHOWER and you won't have to worry about your nasty funk! STOP WEARING A WHOLE BOTTLE OF PERFUME YOU COMPLETE WASTE OF SPACE!

She is not old, so there is NO EXCUSE for her wearing bottles at a time. Last night, I swore she smelled like she used a whole bottle of Lysol on herself. Yes, she smelled so strongly of Lysol that my friend's throat was burning from it.

[Becks]

Take your flamethrower and see how far away you can stand from her and still set the air on fire from the fumes.

[Hello Kitty]

Take your flamethrower and see how far away you can stand from her and still set the air on fire from the fumes.

That totally made me laugh. Seriously though, I would think HR could do something about perfume lady....or just start making retching noises when she walks by and tell your boss she's making you ill.

[Emrld]

(background info . . . I am a former smoker so I have been on the other side of this fence)
I was in a Dr's office waiting room this morning.
A lady walks in and joins a lady who is at the very least mid 70's and another lady.
I am now highly allergic/ sensative to the smell of smoke. I get a shortness of breath and gag reflex kicks in.
So I start to use my bookmark and fan my nose.
The older lady looks at me and says "oh to be young again I am just freezing and you are too warm."
I look up and say -"Actually Ma'am I am not hot I am highly sensative to smoke." and return to reading my book.
The two ladies with her look at each other and the lady who came in says something about just having had a smoke outside.
The older lady looks at her and says something about maybe she should quit because it effects other people.
I had to go up to the receptionist and tell her I would be in the hall so that I could breathe.
The type of Dr. office - it was a breathing clinic.

And, yes I made sure the trio heard that I was going to go stand in the hall so I could breathe.

The next time this lady comes past start caughing and sneezing. If she asks if you are ok . . .flat out tell her you are allergic to her perfume.
I would also check with HR (not just your boss) about how the environment is effect your health. (Health of an employee is supposed to trump topics of discussion)

[Gerrinson]

I would also recommend checking with HR about it. I never gave it a second thought when other people wore too much cologne/perfume because it was just something you couldn't control. Until I worked in a scent free office, due to two employees who were highly allergic.

Now, I very much miss the scent free office, even though it meant I couldn't wear my precious Drakkar.

[JLRodgers]

You mean they actually allow perfume to even be worn?!? That's becoming something not really allowed at workplaces anymore due to allergies and sensitivity (of customers mainly, but to the rejoice of the co-workers).

But I sure do know what you're talking about in the reeking sense.... used to have a customer that put on so much about 20 minutes after she left (after an hour walkthrough of the warehouse) we could follow her steps from the stench she left behind from everything she got near. I swear she must've swallowed the stuff and it was coming out of her pores. It was actually perfume, one of the jewelery counter workers used it (and commented on it otherwise I never would've known).

[tropicsgoddess]

If your boss says he "can't do anything about it" talk with HR . It's not right that everybody, especially people with allergies or breathing problems have to deal with a co-irker who dunks herself in a vat of perfume everyday. If your place doesn't do something about it, soon they'll be faced with employees coughing and gagging like mad or worse and that's NOT gonna be pretty.

[bainsidhe]

Wait, didn't we have this conversation before? Don't know if you've contacted HR yet, but you definitely need to. And if that doesn't work, take it a step higher. If you work for a larger company with a corporate office, take it even higher if you still don't get results. I'm not allergic, but I am sensitive to smells, especially things with perfumes such as perfume, detergeant, dryer sheets, etc. I'm fine IF I CAN'T SMELL IT (like when I had a cold), but smelling it can give me a headache and make me queezy. You don't need to be allergic or overly sensitive to become ill from the amount of perfume some idiots wear.

Failing all that, even if this woman is a crybaby, how much trouble can you get into if you start making passive-agressive snarky remarks in her general direction? This is petty and childish, but I have little patience for someone so inconsiderate for so long.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Come to work wearing a gas mask. Or just tell the offender "You smell bad! BAD!"

Oh, and go to HR, and hope that they don't prove the axiom "You can't spell 'who cares?' without HR"

[Misanthropical]

She walked by me tonight to talk to our supervisor, so I pointed my desk fan right at her and turned it on high.

My supervisor sits near me, so I know she saw what I did, since she was facing my direction when she was talking to him.

My fan was turned totally away from me, so she knows I didn't turn it on because I was too hot.

[Andara Bledin]

I was doing a little search on perfumes in the workplace, and one article I found mentioned "perfume is becoming the new cigarette smoke" regarding how now that the workplace is smoke-free people are more sensitive to other things such as perfumes.

My workplace has a policy in place as part of the dress code that discusses hygiene. If you are unduly malodorous for reasons not related to health issues regardless of whether it is due to lack of bathing, or excessive perfumes or colognes, you can be disciplined.

I think every workplace should have such a policy.

^-.-^

[Raieth]

I'm so allergic to some scents that once when a bottle of fabreeze burst on the till next to mine I had an anaphalaxic (sp?) reaction and they had to phone an ambulance. I'm damn lucky I managed to say "FABREEZE!!" before my throat closed over.

Scariest thing ever!

[Bella_Vixen]

I couldn't wear my precious Drakkar.

I think I love you. I that stuff.

[draftermatt]

"perfume is becoming the new cigarette smoke" re

I'd rather smell cigarette smoke than some of these perfumes people wear. I've gotten to the point that if I'm in a store and someone has too much on I'll audibly cough and say "goddamn do they bathe in it" or something to that affect.

It's one of the few times I don't care if I'm being rude, that's just ridiculous.

And don't forget, everyone saying "go to HR" some companies (like mine) are so small they have no HR department.

[MystyGlyttyr]

You know, my mom taught me that if you're going to wear perfume, you spritz twice into the air and walk through it. That's IT.

Who's teaching what to these people?