3 April 2008

Look up, Look Down, Your Pants are Falling Down

A friend of mine was telling me a story about something that happened at her office. While a co-worker was talking to her boss, her skirt slipped down and landed at her feet. She didn’t bat an eyelash and quickly reached down and pulled it up and continued talking to her boss as if nothing had happened. I have had nightmares about things like that happening, but she handled it so quickly and discreetly that they hardly knew what happened before it was fixed. Although you can be sure it has not been forgotten...

Ahem. Excuse me Sir, but your fly is down...

Having someone’s skirt fall down is extreme, but what do you do when a co-worker’s fly is down, a blouse is undone or someone has parsley on their teeth? Do you say something or let them go in to meet clients and be embarrassed?

It is harder to tell someone of the opposite sex when something is amiss, but I don’t have any problem telling my female co-workers and boss when something is not quite right. I think it depends on the relationship that you have, but the best thing would be to tell them. They will be thankful that you did as the alternative would be much more embarrassing.

One of my bosses had no trouble asking me if he looked all right before he went to meet a client or speak at a conference. Because of his openness, I had no problem pointing things like this out to him.

Click here to read what you can do about this and other etiquette advice for the office, home and elsewhere.

2 comments:

Maura said...

I agree that it could be harder to let the opposite sex know there is something amiss but I feel it is my duty to make sure when they walk into that meeting room there is nothing distracting the other participants away from the topic. My group relys on my honesting and integrity to ensure they are projecting the best image.

Great Blog! I find it very helpful in my day to day performance!!

Patricia Robb said...

I am glad you enjoy the blog. Sometimes I wonder if there is anybody out there and am pleasantly surprised to get a comment. I hope I hear from you again.