Topic: What would you do?

[Port_vale_lad]

currently working for a small firm, 5 of us plus the boss, all good lads

Basically the last bloke to join us, nice chap an all but (and there is no nice way to say it) he smells like a 10 year old onion bhaji, now before you moan i know its really feckin hot and i spend most of my working day drenched in sweat but this guy has a certain whiff about him at 7 in the morning and being as a group quite close all day it can get overpowering at times.

With him only starting a few weeks ago do you give him the benefit of the doubt because of the Temperature and hope all is well when it stats to cool down or do you say something to him? Dont know the best way to be honest do you go jokey? i thought of getting in before him and leaving a tin of deodorant in his locker, but i just dont know to be honest the chap is nearly 60 and should of cracked personal hygiene by now.

So what say you rawk?

[rob1966]

currently working for a small firm, 5 of us plus the boss, all good lads

Basically the last bloke to join us, nice chap an all but (and there is no nice way to say it) he smells like a 10 year old onion bhaji, now before you moan i know its really feckin hot and i spend most of my working day drenched in sweat but this guy has a certain whiff about him at 7 in the morning and being as a group quite close all day it can get overpowering at times.

With him only starting a few weeks ago do you give him the benefit of the doubt because of the Temperature and hope all is well when it stats to cool down or do you say something to him? Dont know the best way to be honest do you go jokey? i thought of getting in before him and leaving a tin of deodorant in his locker, but i just dont know to be honest the chap is nearly 60 and should of cracked personal hygiene by now.

So what say you rawk?

Speak to the boss, let them deal with it, rather than you say anything. We used to have a fella in work who had big B.O. problems and the women he worked with used to give him Lynx and stuff and he kicked off to HR.

[bigbonedrawky]

Buy some anti- perspirant and leave in toilet / cloakroom /canteen for anyone to use...

[Sir Capon of Debaser]

currently working for a small firm, 5 of us plus the boss, all good lads

Basically the last bloke to join us, nice chap an all but (and there is no nice way to say it) he smells like a 10 year old onion bhaji, now before you moan i know its really feckin hot and i spend most of my working day drenched in sweat but this guy has a certain whiff about him at 7 in the morning and being as a group quite close all day it can get overpowering at times.

With him only starting a few weeks ago do you give him the benefit of the doubt because of the Temperature and hope all is well when it stats to cool down or do you say something to him? Dont know the best way to be honest do you go jokey? i thought of getting in before him and leaving a tin of deodorant in his locker, but i just dont know to be honest the chap is nearly 60 and should of cracked personal hygiene by now.

So what say you rawk?

Dip him in a nice mint & garlic raita

[Elmo!]

Dip him in a nice mint & garlic raita

 

[joe buck]

replace the firms cat with a skunk.

[AndyMuller]

Dip him in a nice mint & garlic raita

Hahahahaha

[CHOPPER]

Put some clown shoes on and wear a joke flower, then take a run up and volley him in the goolies.
When he's decked, squirt the water in the flower at him, then tell him to get a proper shower.

Then flounce and skip away.


He'll get the message,  trust me.

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

Dip him in a nice mint & garlic raita

 

[Pheeny]

The old "Did you sleep in today and miss your shower as you fucking stink mate"

[John C]

Put some clown shoes

Ah fucking hell, killed me after those 4 words Chops 

[afc tukrish]

Ah fucking hell, killed me after those 4 words Chops 

Now he'll do another RIP thread for you... in the clown shoes...

[Chakan]

Ah fucking hell, killed me after those 4 words Chops 

https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=348961.0

[John C]

https://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=348961.0

Bloody hell, I'm like a cat with 9 lives 

[Sarge]

Get all the lads to tell the boss at seperate times so it gets into his head, dont go as a lone shark so its not like you're being a dickhead. Or even rop hints to the gaffer even, all of you.

Or, burn him

[meady1981]

The amount of awful c*nts there are in the world these days I can deal with someone stinking a bit.

[ToneLa]

Have a look around, there might be some building work being done or some such. Keep an eye out near the workplace for access roads that might seem like they're laid with the kind of granite that can carry heavy wagons with building supplies, timber and such.

What you're looking for is a big ol tower of scaffolding, and you're gonna want to gather all them good people up

You should get Smelly and your boss and HR all up on there, anybody who kick up a fuss in this heat about a smell, in a pandemic, yeah, they'll struggle, they will moan and demonstrate but you MUST stand TALL my brother and but convince them - you must get up on this fine line

In a row

There you are at the top of the scaffolding with aaaaall your problems and the other side is gravity and I know what side I'm bettin on.

[gazzam1963]

I worked on a job for a company 25 years ago , we were on flats putting heating in and they had taken a couple of lads on as two teams working in different flats every day . Started on the first and was thinking this flat stinks ...then the next one was the same , then the penny dropped when one of the other lads started calling one of the new ones Baldrick a name that ended up sticking with him .

Sad thing was we found out years later his wife died who had been suicidal for years , she was an alcoholic and he had to work , look after three young kids and look after his mentally ill wife too ...sadly he was also suffering in silence

[Filler.]

I can't exactly remember why now, but it might have been me coming back into work smelling of the crap I had to deal with in a yard the previous day - but I can't remember... but that was 5 years ago, and to this day (and I work in the office now)... i still get 'sniff sniff.... you smell something Pat?' when I'm walking about the yard.

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt for a while... I just know that Pat wouldn't

[Drinks Sangria]

currently working for a small firm, 5 of us plus the boss, all good lads

Basically the last bloke to join us, nice chap an all but (and there is no nice way to say it) he smells like a 10 year old onion bhaji, now before you moan i know its really feckin hot and i spend most of my working day drenched in sweat but this guy has a certain whiff about him at 7 in the morning and being as a group quite close all day it can get overpowering at times.

With him only starting a few weeks ago do you give him the benefit of the doubt because of the Temperature and hope all is well when it stats to cool down or do you say something to him? Dont know the best way to be honest do you go jokey? i thought of getting in before him and leaving a tin of deodorant in his locker, but i just dont know to be honest the chap is nearly 60 and should of cracked personal hygiene by now.

So what say you rawk?

You from Boslem lad? I've family in Trentham and Penkhull. Used to go to that neck of the woods quite a lot as a child!

I've had to have the horrible chat before about someone's personal hygiene. It's not nice, it's embarrassing and cringe inducing for the both of you but it may have to be done. It should be a superior having the talk with him, not someone on his level. When I've pulled someone for that talk (when my team was complaining about them stinking of fish) I said I'd noticed. I didn't implicate anyone else. I asked was everything okay at home because I felt they weren't taking care of themselves the way they normally do. Tried to make it more of a duty of care chat than anything.

In the end they kept coming to work reeking and handed their notice in though, so what do I know!

[naYoRHa2b]

I once worked with a lad who stunk badly. Not like BO but like a stale smell, first thing in the morning but some people have issues like TMAU and they can't smell it. I never had the heart to tell this lad anyway. On one hand I wanted to but he was such a nice kid I couldn't.
 

[Port_vale_lad]

You from Boslem lad?

quite close, 3 miles, used to drink in boslem before coronavirus fecked everything up

I've family in Trentham and Penkhull

Oooooooh posh bastard 

[ChaChaMooMoo]

Ooohh thats a bummer actually.
I was in the situation and it turns out I had some supermarket-bought cloth spray that reacted with the fabric softener that created this weird odor.
It was not BO or anything but simply a case of chemical reactions.

If I am being honest, I would take him aside and tell him directly. That way, the issue is only known to both of you and no one else would know who spoke to him.
If the other employees are involved, and the boss gets involved, then his credibility in the team could probably get damaged and could influence his long-term future.

[L4Red]

I've worked in factories/warehouses where lads have been terrorised for stinking and *still* didn't get it, and I've worked on building sites where everyone fucking stinks by 4 o'clock. I guess there's not really an excuse for turning up honking unless you know his living situation etc? could be living in his car for all you know!?

[Drinks Sangria]

quite close, 3 miles, used to drink in boslem before coronavirus fecked everything up

Oooooooh posh bastard 

So not Burslem at all?  I've ever known anywhere like Stoke with so many small different areas and designations of towns and villages - two people live a street away and say they're from different towns and have different versions of the accent

The Trentham side of the family like to think they're posh, you wouldn't call the other side posh if you met them 

With the whole BO debate, it's very different based on what job you do. Like L4Red says, working in a manual positioning where you're physically moving a lot is always going to create these issues. But you need to show up for work clean. In an office job, where you're sat there, there's less excuse for humming, especially when you show up stinking to begin with.

[Elzar]

Bring in a sponge and a nice shampoo and bath him.

[Jwils21]

This is (or was a few years back) a common competency question used when interviewing managers for Aldi. Whether or not they have enough stinking employees to justify it is another topic.

[ToneLa]

If you spend enough time around him you won't notice.

You could even get intimate with him. Who knows you might even start to crave the scent!

[Drinks Sangria]

This is (or was a few years back) a common competency question used when interviewing managers for Aldi. Whether or not they have enough stinking employees to justify it is another topic.

I used to work for Aldi about 7/8 years ago and never asked this or was compelled to ask this to an interviewee - it doesn't however surprise me, they've the most awful and brutal corporate culture I've ever come across.

[KillieRed]

My cousin, the boss in the department of a much bigger firm had to deal with something similar; the new guys hygiene started to really go down hill (it turns out he had issues in his personal life), he was brought into the office and the problem made clear. He would clean up for a while but eventually slide back. He was let go in the end, though it was long and drawn out and done the right way.

[Jwils21]

I used to work for Aldi about 7/8 years ago and never asked this or was compelled to ask this to an interviewee - it doesn't however surprise me, they've the most awful and brutal corporate culture I've ever come across.

It was on the online pre-application questionnaire. Something like

A member of your team has a problem with body odour and several customers have complained. Do you...
A) Tell Him
B) Tell a Manager
C) Open up a thread on Rawk

[Drinks Sangria]

It was on the online pre-application questionnaire. Something like

A member of your team has a problem with body odour and several customers have complained. Do you...
A) Tell Him
B) Tell a Manager
C) Open up a thread on Rawk

D) (Aldi Director's Guide to Management Model Answer) Approach him whilst he's on the till, slap a can of deodorant down in front of him and tell him 'you smell awful and it's offensive to your colleagues and Customers. Don't you know how to wash yourself? That'll be 79p please.'

[AndyInVA]

It was on the online pre-application questionnaire. Something like

A member of your team has a problem with body odour and several customers have complained. Do you...
A) Tell Him
B) Tell a Manager
C) Open up a thread on Rawk

HAHA

if the guy is young and stupid a direct word from his manager should do it.

[Port_vale_lad]

Well quick update, the boss had a quiet word with him yesterday apparently so today he has worn a thin fleece thing all day over his work t shirt probably to mask the smell but its just made it worse, he's just sweating more.

[MrGrumpy]

It’s something the team manager needs to sort. The new person may be ignorant of the issue or they could have issues at home that nobody is aware of.

[Jake]

I don't get why people stink*. A bar of soap is next to nothing.

*obviously MH or extreme poverty issues aside.

[Lusty]

This is (or was a few years back) a common competency question used when interviewing managers for Aldi. Whether or not they have enough stinking employees to justify it is another topic.

I've seen it come up in a few different places, think it must have been on a central list somewhere.

The duty of care answer above was the right one from what I remember.

[Drinks Sangria]

Well quick update, the boss had a quiet word with him yesterday apparently so today he has worn a thin fleece thing all day over his work t shirt probably to mask the smell but its just made it worse, he's just sweating more.

At the start of the shift, is he reeking like a tin of rotten kippers or is he clean and just proceeds to stink after he's started to graft for a few hours? It's an important distinction. Wearing a fleece is a dreadful move.

A mate who used to rent my spare room years back used to have a few anxiety and mental health issues and that manifested itself in not taking care of himself or washing himself properly. He would do a manual, hard job for 9 hours then go straight to the pub and sit there in his filthy clothes, smelling terribly.

[Claire.]

Well quick update, the boss had a quiet word with him yesterday apparently so today he has worn a thin fleece thing all day over his work t shirt probably to mask the smell but its just made it worse, he's just sweating more.

He probably can't smell it, especially if part of the issue is his clothes.

[ToneLa]

It’s something the team manager needs to sort.

I agree

The manager should be going round there with a bar of Dove and scrubbing his pits, his crack his balls, the lot.