CareerBuilder.com has a post regarding an overuse of perfume and cologne by employees. The author asks a good question:
Apart from sharing the story, I’m writing this to ask how you think managers should handle “strong fragrance” issues in the workplace. It seems like a sensitive issue because people wearing the cologne or perfume must not realize that it is SO noticeable for the people around them.
Let me be a little crass – I heard a funny story from a sales manager we met with yesterday. He used to work for a company where he was a sales manager for one territory and there was another gentleman who handled the other territory. This other sales manager had a relatively cold office so he tended to keep his door shut to warm it up.
Well, one day our guy is interviewing a woman for a salesperson position and when he is done, he walks her down to the other sales manager’s office so that he can interview her too. The door is closed so our guy knocks and then walks in with the sales candidate.
It took a second, but then the overwhelming funk from the other sales manager’s flatulence hit both our guy and the woman candidate. They both stopped in their tracks while the sales manager turned beat red.
Our guy, ever quick on his feet, said, “Ok, let’s do this interview in the conference room.”
Classic.