OT: Office Ettiquette... How do I politely tell a young lady that I'm allergic to her Perfume ?

[rjmacs]

You are the best gauge of her likely response, because you work with her. That being said, a tactic that often works for me is to be both apologetic and complimentary during the request, e.g., "It's so nice to have someone in the office who takes such pride in her appearance and presentation, which makes this doubly awkward for me. I suffer from terrible allergies and chemical sensitivity, and lately I'm very affected by colognes and perfumes, which sadly means that when we work together I find myself sneezing and wheezing! It's a cruel irony, but I wonder if for my sake you could abstain on days that you're in the office? I'm terribly sorry to be a bother, especially since presentation is clearly very important to you."

It's harder to say no to someone who's just dished you a big compliment. It doesn't matter if she's really that well-put together.

[wowzer]

Whatever you do, please be sure that you say it in a place that is relatively staffed with people (in case she hits you with a harassment suit), but yet quiet enough that she wont feel embarrassed.

[Black]

freeradical wrote:

A man wearing a tie. Thanks.

[Rick-o]

Don't say a word! She's a young hottie with nice perfume, liked by all, and you're a 50 something middle aged man with increasing health issues, bodily functions that are out of control, with a bunch of tired anecdotes repeated frequently.

Now who do you think the boss is going to keep? :devil:

[OWC Jamie]

kj4btkljv wrote:
Offer to go home with her one day to sample the other perfumes she has - you know... to find one you're NOT allergic to.



Jeff

Why not take her to Paris for a REAL sampler.

[cbelt3]

Rick-o wrote:
Don't say a word! She's a young hottie with nice perfume, liked by all, and you're a 50 something middle aged man with increasing health issues, bodily functions that are out of control, with a bunch of tired anecdotes repeated frequently.

Now who do you think the boss is going to keep? :devil:

:ohsnap:

[Robert M]

cbelt,

Speak to her about it. Be polite. Explain the situation and, if she's a decent person, she'll stop using perfume altogether or choose an alternative. But, definitely take action. Allergies can be a _very_ serious health issue. It's unfortunate, but in some cases, your reaction to an allergen can get worse with each exposure. So, if speaking to her about it doesn't resolve the situation, you should take more serious action.

Robert

[3d]

Pardon me my dear lady, your fragrance sickens me.

[Dennis S]

I've had to do this a hundred times. Just blurt it out to her and then try to joke about it. There's a 95% chance it will go well. If it doesn't, you'll just have to write her off as a jerk.

I was test-driving a car once and had to ask the salesman to go back to the lot NOW, it was so bad. He apologized and said he was taking chemotherapy and had lost his smell.

[cowboyxjon]

My office is weird about issues like this. If it were my situation, I would probably check with my boss first to make sure it's OK to speak to the consultant about it. Also, it's a bit of CYA, just in case the consultant gets upset.