Woman lost job for wearing too much perfume

[Moonliner]

What is your initial reaction to this headline (http://www.nypost.com/seven/10012007/news/regionalnews/lost_job__over_my_perfume.htm):

"A Woman lost her job for wearing too much perfume"

Please vote just on the headline, before you read the story.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Before I read the story: If she was warned that it was a problem and refused to do anything about it, then adios.

[tracilicious]

I agree with GC. Too much perfume is awful. Gives me a headache.

[Chernabog]

Please vote just on the headline, before you read the story.

Sort of what I expected, story wise -- and there are WAY too few facts in that article for me to give any kind of opinion as to the merits of the case. Like maybe the woman was French? ;)

[Alex]

Based just on the headline I can imagine scenarios where I'd agree with either side.

On the one hand some people bathe in the stuff and are a nuisance. Such people are prone to not understand basic physiology and therefore believe the wrong one of these:

1. If I can't smell it, then the smell no longer exists, therefore I need to put on more of this weak ass perfume/cologne.

2. Most of the other senses, a sensation of smell declines in the face of persistent unchanging stimulus. Therefore, even though while I can no longer smell it, I have enough faith in the basic of vapor chemistry to trust that the pleasing aroma still malingers.

On the other hand some people are oversensitive whiners who will bitch and complain and throw a royal fit if any aspect of their environment isn't perfectly to their ideal conditions. Such people are prone to confuse the following statements:

1. I don't like that perfume you are wearing.
2. Since it provide a blunt club with which I can cow the people around me I am allergic to that perfume you are wearing and therefore you must bow to my preferences.

[Capt Jack]

I went 'other'. Yes, I can see where too much is just too much. I worked with a man who wore FAR too much on a daily basis. he too received complaints. so he stopped...and we understood then why he wore so much. :eek:

I also agree with Cherny...too few specifics to make a call based just on the article, however I know more than a few folks who are outright alergic to a great many perfumes and the like.

...and so not to detract from the initial impact and focus of the thread

you were warned and have three other complaints against you...in 1 week no less, although they didnt specify the other complaints were about her abundant 'fragrance'

as far as her being black....I honestly pictured an older white haired lady

[BarTopDancer]

Perfume gives me a headache. So, for selfish reasons, based upon the headline (per request), good.

[Snowflake]

Having dealt with this issue while living in a cube farm, I agree, it's a team environment.

Heck, if you've been warned, if it's on the books and if the record states that you can be fired at will, then that's it in a nutshell!

[katiesue]

Iinitial reaction - she should have been fired. I'm horribly allergic to some types of perfume. I can't count how many times I've had to step out of church because someone sat near me with loads of something on that completely set me off. Now would I complain to them in church, no, I'm the one with the problem so I step out. In a work situation I would have to complain or I couldn't function.

After reading the article she was warned. Red Door is one that totally sends my allergies into the stratosphere, it's not a subtle fragrance. I agree there aren't many facts in the article but I'd say if she were wearing volumes of the stuff it would be hard for other workers in her vacinity to concentrate.

[blueerica]

Before I read the story: If she was warned that it was a problem and refused to do anything about it, then adios.

Before I read the story: Agree, wholeheartedly. Which is why I voted other.... My first reaction was "Ha Ha" a la Nelson.

[Moonliner]

My initial thought was there is no reason to wear to much perfume other than being annoying. So I say good riddance. Then I thought who would continue to cause a problem like this? An annoying bitch who was looking to start a lawsuit. Then I read the article. What a surprise. Not.

[Not Afraid]

I'm not terribly allergy-prone, but perfume completely destroys me. I had the unfortunate experience of sitting near (not next) to a heavily perfumed person on a plane to London. It was horrible and I wish perfume was illegal on airplanes! (Of course, on the way back I sat NEXT to someone who needed a bath.:rolleyes:)

I see someone who wears a lot of perfume at work in the same way I see someone who wears skimpy clothes to the office. It's unprofessional and distracting they need to be talked to.....and stop. If this woman didn't stop, then she deserved to lose her job.

[wendybeth]

The company gave the reason for her firing, which was due to three customer complaints in one week. If documented, that is ample reason. I also dislike people who bathe in perfume- a little goes a long way, and I think a lot of people don't know how to properly apply it in the first place. I've worked with people who wore crap like 'Exclamation!' and I could barely stand to be in the same room as them. **** smells like Raid.

[tracilicious]

I think people need to be taught this simple rule early in life:

Spray, delay, and walk away.

[Gemini Cricket]

I have no sense of smell. She could come work with me.
:D

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Before I read the story: Agree, wholeheartedly. Which is why I voted other.... My first reaction was "Ha Ha" a la Nelson.What she said.

[Morrigoon]

I agree, it's a professional environment. Getting fired for too much perfume is the same as being fired for wearing flip flops and torn jeans.

[Isaac]

The headline doesn't explain much about her termination so I'm okay with it.

At my company, men & women cannot wear heavy perfume or cologne cause it effects some people's allergies. If the woman was asked more than once to not wear heavy perfume & she did not conform, then she deserved it.

:)

[alphabassettgrrl]

I don't have much of a sense of smell, but my hubby is nearly allergic to about any scent I've tried. Natural oils seem to go under the radar and fall into his "simply dislike" category, but don't set off the screaming fits like regular perfumes do.

It's true that some people bathe in the stuff and yeah, that can be a problem. Customers were complaining about her perfume- that's valid. She tried to switch to a different one, but if she's using half a bottle at a time, that won't help.

Oversensitive people? Maybe. How do you draw the line between "makes me uncomfortable", "dislike the scent" and an actual physiological problem in the scent-recievers?

You get complaints, if you want to continue working with these people, you got to find a way to accomodate them.

[Prudence]

I'm so torn. Sure, some people bathe in scent and it's just like anything else inappropriate - they need to stop or leave. BUT, I've also been in workplaces where some members of staff ganged up on others, where one complaint early on snowballed into a flurry of other, unjustified complaints - even when the original behavior stopped, and even a perfume incident.

One of my coworkers received a complaint about her perfume from a faculty member, and honestly we were mystified, as none of us even knew she wore perfume and we spent lots of time around her. No one else in the suite knew she was wearing perfume. She "confessed" that that she did the "spray, delay, walk away" technique, QE junky that she was, so technically she was "guilty." We weren't a perfume-free workplace. The coworker stopped wearing perfume, of course, but the faculty member still complained until the coworker was moved to a different suite - and replaced with someone else who wore perfume.

So, I agree - not enough facts in the story. In theory it's a perfectly valid reason to fire someone. In reality, whenever there's an illegal or inappropriate reason to fire someone they come up with an allegedly valid reason for cover.

[katiesue]

If you read the article she was fired after three customer complaints - what the complaints were aren't mentined. But the compnay is a customer service call center so I'd take a leap and assume it had nothing to do with perfume.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

If you read the article she was fired after three customer complaints - what the complaints were aren't mentined. But the compnay is a customer service call center so I'd take a leap and assume it had nothing to do with perfume.

Maybe the call center utilizes the Smell-o-phone (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/samsung-smellophone-163201.php)

[xharryb]

We have pretty strict rules about that stuff, because we have people in our building with such severe alergies that they would have to leave if someone like that was near them. Mine aren't quite that severe, I just find it obnoxious. There's no need for it in a work environment.

We had a long term sub last year that reaked of cologne so badly that every time he came into my office for something, the smell lingered for about 3-4 hours after he was gone. I'm so glad he's not around this year.

[BarTopDancer]

There is a woman in my section at the Ponda who bathes in it. She smells so badly that if she walks by it lingers most of the game. And then I have a headache for most of the game. I have actually decided that if she is anywhere near me this season I will say something to her about not coming in the tunnel where she needs to walk by me or something.