I try to be polite as often as I can. I try to make people's lives a little less stressful when I can.

I hold the door open for people, say "thank you" to people who do things for me, and generally be an all-around nice guy.

However, there are times when I don't know which option to take - that's why I've created this thread...so we as Plimates can help clear up some of the gray areas.


For example - Do you tell a stranger that there is spinach in their teeth? Would you tell a co-worker that they have a rather large pimple on the end of their nose?

These are things I would like to discuss with you and hopefully we can come up with a solution that will fit most occasions.

So, feel free to ask questions OR give answers. It's all about helping out!

Here's my concern - This morning while walking from my car to my office, a co-worker of mine (who parked in a different area) began walking in front of me. (Now, I'll be honest, she's smoking hot.) While I took a quick gander at her magnificent butt, I noticed she has something stuck to her pants...on the inside of her thigh. She was wearing black and the object was white.

Now, I don't know this woman very well as we work in different departments, but our paths do cross occasionally as we work on the same floor and our departments do work together.

Anyway - I didn't say anything about the object - but it's positioned where people behind her will see it, but she won't even when she's sitting down.

Should I have said something, or was I right to just keep quiet?

On monday I told a drug rep every time she reached down into her sample bag, her thong showed...this morning I tucked a patient's shirt in for him, he's 84 for so it seemed ok.

Having a guy tell me there was something on my butt, or thigh, or whatever, seems some how wrong and/or weird and/or creepy. Does that qualify as gender bias?

What was this white object? Was it a piece of lint? or an extra pair of panties?

Either way if your not married you should have talked to her.

And if you are married WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STARRING AT HER BUTT!?! hahha kidding

It looked a little like the wrapper of a soda straw...might have been string. I'm not sure. I didn't get a good look.

Does she know you well enough to know your name? Do you know her name? If so, then you could have just said "Hey (insert name), good morning. I just thought you should know that there may be something stuck to your pants and that you probably didn't want to walk around all day like that. I hope you don't mind me telling you."

If you know each other by sight, but maybe not by name, find someone you know in her department and tell them so that they could pass it along, preferably another female.

This morning I saw a very fine african-american lady with tight jeans covering a nice ass. She had a strip of fabric sewed to the back pocket that said Vanilla Spice.

I came so close to making a comment, asking her how much she liked vanilla or something to that effect, but thought better of it. I guess I am getting old.

I would want to be told. I always tell people those sorts of things. My rule is if I would want someone to tell me, then I tell them.

If there's something stuck to my pants, I'd want to know about it!

Then again, I work with a few women who would be extremely offended if a male told them there was something stuck to their inner thigh [you should have seen the fuss one of them made when our boss told her she had tape on her bum. It's not harassment, it's courtesy!].

An approach like tom's would be best, I think.

Yes please tell me when I have lipstick on my teeth, toilet paper on my shoe, etc. They did a thing like this last night on Prime Time, too. I have told people, and I have been told when their is "lipstick on my teeth". I am grateful for those people. It's an uncomfortable thing, but who would you rather be , the one who tells them or the one who doesn't? Because eventually someone is going to say something, and then that person is going to say, "Why didn't somebody tell me sooner!"

Yes, please claim your farts. It saves others from exchanging dirty looks of suspicion.

Spinach in Teeth = Yes
Paper/Tape on Pants = Yes
Pimple on Nose = No

I don't know why.

Just don't make a big deal out of it. Don't over think it. Just, "Hey, you have something on the back of your pants. Thought you should know." You will likely just get a thanks in return.

There are a number of things which can and should be identified. Something one can remove, yes...Something one cannot really do much about? No. And there are appropriate ways to do so--discretion playing a huge role.

Shouting down the hallway "Hey, you have a paper trail" will not be appreciated unless aliens are invading and targetting those with tp on their shoe exclusively.

I used to have a friend who was paranoid about things like this. She made us all swear that if she ever had anything on her or wore something that made her look foolish then we HAD to tell her, no matter how bad it sounded she would prefer to know rather than make a fool of herself.

One of my other friends was true to his word and told her the next time she bleached her upper lip hair try to not make it go green.



And Yes I think people should be told of things stuck to them, spinach, stray nose hairs etc. If noone tells you then you feel even worse when you do actually notice.

From DEP's fart comment, and haven's pimple remark, I am reminded of Liar! Liar! His moments of truth spewing are absolutely classic!

To the kid taking lunch orders with a pimple on the end of nose, when he asks "What'll it be?" He responds with "A pock mark, eventually!"

When exiting the elevator crowded with people he says, "It was meeeeeeeee!"

How would someone not know they have a rather large pimple on the tip of their nose?

The pimple is a different case. It's a medical thing really. You'd not say to someone "Hey, you've got a tumour on your ear." And with a pimple, chances are they'd know already.

In general, it's worth saying something.

Times when it's been me, yes, it's embarrassing for a moment, possibly even awkward, but it's a fleeting thing, and certainly better than that feeling of discovering at the end of the day and thinking "Holy crapola! Has that been hanging out all day long?"

Back when I used to work in a shop we had a little pact between us about smells - from time to time everyone gets a little stink going on and we decided that it was a worse crime to not say anything than to underestimate the amount of deodorant needed on any given day.

Ummmmmmm

What if they were blind?

I had a similar thing at work. My answer to it all was to grab some petty cash go to the shop and get deodorant and mouthwash then come back in and tell everyone that it was free to use and I'd leave it in the bathroom for whoever needed it. I then went off and had a quick spray myself and gargled some mouthwash even though I wasn't the one that needed it.

Few days later the problem was gone and we still keep deodorant and mouthwash handy and it is used by many members of staff.

That is a good plan.

It's just a shame I never found any way of extending it to customers too.