Body Odor Problem

Our offices are being re-done and seating assignments have changed. Our assistant (nice girl) now sits in the adjacent cubicle. The problem is she smells like fish (not kidding). Advice or thoughts on how to handle this diplomatically.
Thanks.

 

Start leaving dead fish in her desk drawers. She'll get the picture.

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

I thought about putting a fabreeze airfreshner under her desk but think it might send to strong a signal. Also, she might perceive it as offensive. What do you guys/gals think about sending her an anonymous e-mail? Do you think I'd be suspect given that she moved her seat next to mine? Am I being too big a pussy here? should I just tell her.

The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. -James Baldwin
 

Don't do the anonymous email. It will be obvious it's you.

Also, you can't really just tell her, as it's quite an awkward topic and she likely can't do anything about it. Your best bet is an air freshener in your cube (maybe on top of the border between your cubes?)

- Capt K - "Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
 

All good suggestions. I think I'm going to try placing an airfreshner at the corner of my desk and tell her that the carpet is producing a musty smell (no pun intended)

The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side. -James Baldwin
 

She probably has Trimethylaminuria (TMAU), or fish malodor syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimethylaminuria

If that's the case, I pity the poor girl. Her life is going to be shitty because of something she's born with.

But I think normally the odor from TMAU is really strong, spreading over an entire room. May be she has it under control already, or her case is mild.

 

Are you SURE it's her? You do know that carpets themselves smell and hey, it could even be YOU. Let me tell you something, you do something passive aggressive and she's going to kill you. Just get one of those febreeze scented glass things and put it on your desk. No one notices them. DON'T put anything UNDER her desk (??), because obv she doesn't know and she's going to know that something is going on and could complain about you, but put something on YOUR desk. BE cool, BE diplomatic.

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********
 

I once knew a girl who smelled like fish, so as I began sniffing around, I realized it was her leather bag that had the fish odor. Does she have a leather bag?

Philos
 

I know I will need sensitivity training after this comment but here goes: In school, during informational rounds of interviews, and even at previous jobs I have noticed that the Indian kids seem to really smell bad. Is this girl Indian?

Anyone have any advice on how to tell the Indian kids that it is unacceptable to not shower?

 
x35109:
I know I will need sensitivity training after this comment but here goes: In school, during informational rounds of interviews, and even at previous jobs I have noticed that the Indian kids seem to really smell bad. Is this girl Indian? Anyone have any advice on how to tell the Indian kids that it is unacceptable to not shower?

It's not because they don't shower. I know an indian kid who told me they shower with curry powder and other special indian spices and that's why they smell a little different.

 

tell her to wash out her snatch

------

"its the running joke now, we now have fair trade with china so they send us poisoned sea food and we send them fraudulent securities."

------ "its the running joke now, we now have fair trade with china so they send us poisoned sea food and we send them fraudulent securities."
 

Funny :-)

I remember one time the admins ganged up on a temp because the temp wore this obnoxious perfume. Someone complained to HR that the overdose of perfume was distracting and giving people headaches. HR took the temp aside and spoke to her. So maybe you should do the same. This is critical stuff. Drop a note to HR and suggest that there's a body odor issue :-)

Bear in mind... perhaps it's a seasonal thing. Some women wear heavy boots to work in the winter with/without socks and then change into office shoes. Your feet sweating inside heavy fur boots causes foot odor. Even I probably have smelly feet right now. Thank god no one's complained yet! LOL

 

Shower with curry powder and spices? Odd. This can't be true. What's wrong with a bar of soap?

Someone somewhere one time, can't remember who, said the reason Indians or pakistani folks have such strong BO is because they eat a lot of lamb and garlic?!? Whatever.

Just bathe people!

 

Verno, the fact that you think hygiene is a white thing cracks me up. And above that that everyone from Wisconsin smells good. If you ever do make it over to the states, please wear some deodorant. Cheers stinky!

Talk to HR. I've seen it happen before and then HR will handle it diplomatically.

Also, everyone: I'm pretty certain the person saying that indian people shower with curry powder, was joking. Use a little common sense.

-------------- Either you sling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot
 

BSD mocks me for pointing out the ignorance of this group, then he goes out of his way to confirm that Indian people don't shower with curry. I ain't Indian and I'm still offended by the stupidity of the people on here sometimes.

I don't think hygience is a white thing. I think ignorance is. Breathe deep, it's free, baby.

 

Dean think of it like the locker room, man up!

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 
seville:
Place a cologne at their desk with a post-it attached saying "anonymous". that should be do!

Back in high school we gave this kid a "gift basket" full of soap, deoderant, shampoo and cologne. Probably hurt the kids feelings but it got the point across.

 
SECfinance:
Dude, just tell Coach Bombay to stop hitting the Jack Daniels and put some Old Spice on.

If he didnt hit the Jack Daniels, he never would've been my coach...Catch 22 there brah

I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
 
Old Grand-Dad:
But if you take them aside and you're nice about it they'll probably appreciate it. I would want to know if I smelled like shit so I could fix it. You can't fix a problem you don't know about.

but thats the point...do people not realize they smell like shit?

I eat success for breakfast...with skim milk
 

Officia nostrum a minima vero itaque aliquam. Earum necessitatibus quia facilis magnam suscipit vel ut. Voluptatem incidunt ipsa asperiores aut id rem deleniti. Vitae velit repellat a nobis asperiores. At eos earum porro quis maiores.

Minima voluptatibus itaque neque beatae doloribus. Eum dicta dolorum harum eos vel voluptatem. Ipsam dolorum aut consequatur rerum. Ipsum placeat molestiae quos dicta cumque sed est. Sed voluptas quia quaerat porro molestias consequatur a aperiam.

Ea incidunt ad laudantium vel deleniti minima. Molestiae sint quo sequi et. Quas necessitatibus sed officiis qui. Cum et voluptas quam doloremque.

 

Sit eius quo voluptas illum neque minus quibusdam consectetur. Quibusdam qui corrupti impedit quo velit voluptas aspernatur. Nulla ipsam accusantium exercitationem et voluptates ea doloribus. Sint dolor assumenda possimus omnis. Voluptatem ea dolor iusto omnis quidem est. Laudantium ut distinctio et tempora quas architecto. Architecto aliquid quam ea quasi et aut.

Vel illum exercitationem eius suscipit eos maxime. Autem necessitatibus iste voluptates neque repellat libero. Non eius earum quis consequuntur. Repellat sint nihil enim rerum. Non qui minus tempore eaque ipsam.

 

Debitis eum quos qui delectus ratione harum eum. Veritatis qui libero ut velit libero. Aspernatur in odit est ea sunt.

Aut aut deserunt totam natus. Quis dolores et similique explicabo dolorem voluptatem nostrum.

Eos sit voluptatem enim minima itaque tempora. Sunt debitis et magni debitis itaque enim. A nobis est est voluptatum. Velit eum officiis facere impedit omnis.

Exercitationem voluptatem quis sapiente voluptas id. Aut repellendus recusandae consequatur magni. Et eos ratione nihil commodi omnis deserunt molestias.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”