A Tough Conversation with Snooter

Silas came to my office with his co-worker, Danny and asked to speak with me about a problem they were having with another member of the crew – Snooter. Silas spoke up, “Mr. Dobbs, you know I try to keep a clean dump truck for the Tree Crew. Snooter usually rides with me, but this winter, it has become so cold that we don’t roll the windows down for fresh air.”?

“And what’s the problem?”?

“Well, sir, the man leans his head against the window and leaves a big greasy spot. He doesn’t even wipe it off. And another thing, the man stinks.”?

Danny spoke up, “Yep! Snooter wears the same shirt for an entire week. There’s salt on his shirt where he sweats. He smells worse than onions and garlic put together.”?

“And he has the worse breath! I can’t hardly stand talking with him, Mr. Dobbs. You gotta do something.”?

I thanked the two men and gave them my commitment that I would take care of the problem. I sat back in my chair and thought about how I was going to speak with Snooter about personal hygiene.?

I met with Snooter a day or two later in my office and spoke with him about his personal hygiene. Since he was on the Tree Crew, I told him that he and the others were doing hard work and that it was important for all of them to take a shower at home to get rid of the sweat and grime from their bodies. It was the healthy thing to do. He needed to hear that he had strong body odor and needed to be considerate around his co-workers and the campus customers. He was a representative of our department and needed to make a good impression. The big challenge was to speak with him about his breath. I gave him a big bottle of mouthwash and told him how to use it every day.

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Snooter did his best to follow my instructions and his co-workers appreciated working around a cleaner, fresher-smelling Snooter.

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