Apparently, I am "THAT guy" (food smell in cafeteria)

[TallBill]

Googling durian...

 

[Anubis]

Googling durian...

this sums it up

its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I think the main reason people bitch about strong food smells in cube farms is it's one of the few things they think they have any control over. The work environment is already so depressing, they'll use any excuse to vent. I say keep bringing the curry and popcorn. Maybe the discontent will force managers to create truly draconian rules which will finally force the weak and unmotivated to find a better job.

 

[warr666]

.....

 

[xSauronx]

fish should never ever be reheated in a microwave. ever. not at home, not at work, not at 7 eleven, not on friday, not on the moon.

and especially not with indian spices.

they will have to burn that building down to get the smell out.



jim rome breaks it down

this. OP is a dipshit.

 

[angminas]

I stopped reading somewhere on the second page where it was clear that your thread somehow fell into the retard bin.

If it's actually a "cafeteria" and not just a tiny kitchen, and if it's the custom for plenty of people to heat up all kinds of food there, you have nothing to worry about on the food front.

That leaves the issue of how you responded to Mister Nosy. If you were actually unable to handle such a simple situation in an adult fashion, fail. I'm not going to read the rest of this drool-drenched thread to find out exactly what you said, but that's what may or may not have made you That Guy. Not the food.

Note that you can be That Guy even if someone else is also That Guy. Half of the people in this thread are being That Guy.

 

[Rifter]

If its in your cube or in the general office area i can see the persons point.

However in a dedicated kitchen or cafateria there is no reason to complain, that area is there specifically for people to warm up food and eat and is not connected to your office/cube/work area. So what if you dont like what it smells like STFU and suck it up, im sure some people dont like what your lunch smells like either.

 

[NetWareHead]

The smell didn't stick around and didn't stink up the place? Yeah, that's why a guy you barely knew said something to you. I'm sure guy really wanted to talk to you and become your new best friend. He just didn't know how to approach you.

Two microwaves in the kitchen, we were both using them to heat up our own food when he smelled it blowing out of the oven vent. He started a convo with me, asking me what I was eating etc...etc.... At first he seemed interested in what I was going to eat. But when he became rude about it and suggested I shouldn't bring it in again, thats when I told him myob.

 

[bononos]

Just curious, does HR have any actual power to stop people from doing it?

I think so. Any smell which is offensive to employees whether it comes from food, shoes, clothing is disruptive and disturbs the work env.

The cafe though may be an all-things-allowed area since its away from actual working spaces. Many offices have eating areas next to cubes and employees must respect others so no heating up brie or whatever.

Bacon/pork or pastrami spattering away in the microwave would be offensive in a majority Muslim/Hindu work env.

 

[Slew Foot]

Whup do fucking doo. Americans are so fucking stupid when it comes to food. Homecooked meals are "gross" but a quadruple stuffed chalupa with extra shit sauce from taco bell is considered fine dining.

 

[NetWareHead]

Think of it this way -

It is a natural process and unavoidable to fart. Everyone does it and nobody should be banned from doing it. If you had farts that would knock a buzzard off a shit wagon and insisted on dropping them in the cafeteria would you expect people to be OK with it?

If you are having something offensive then plan on going home to heat it up.

Heating food is nowhere similar to farting in the cafeteria.

 

[kevinthenerd]

I'm told that years ago we had a Vietnamese coworker who used to buy frozen bait and eat it at work.

 

[broon]

OP was right. Everyone else needs to mind their own business. If someone complained to me I'd bring it in everyday. Of course it's probably rude to bring in smoked standing rib roast and warm it up causing a delicious smell to fill up the cafeteria. Such a delicious smell would be offensive to everyone because they can't have any. "oh you're making me so hungry...you shouldn't bring that in anymore unless you're going to share."

And no, HR can't do anything about it. Anyone who complains to HR about someone heating up Indian food in the microwave should be written up for being a baby.

 

[Vic Vega]

If you stink up the office you should lose lunch room privileges.

It's like going to a friend's house and taking a huge, smelly dump in their downstairs bathroom sticking up the place. Not cool.

 

[dabuddha]

You were fine. If they don't like it, they can buy you lunch. If they don't do that, they can fuck off.

 

[Ninjahedge]

Guys, where do you think this cafeteria is? MOST of them are usually not located down the hall, round the bend, up the stairs, down that chute and at the end of the drainage canal.

They are usually just a little ways off from the workplace and, eventually, any smell there will gradually make its way out to the workspace.

Fish, in general, is tasty. I like it, and love a good garlic trout or teriaki(sp) salmon. But I also know that it DOES stink, and is quite invasive, when reheated. While you may not have a choice in what you have packed for lunch and occasionally have something like this, you must also know that MANY people find this rather off-putting.

It does not matter what YOU think in cases like this. There are many practices you may find foolish but others find invasive, or even offensive, especially in the workplace. If those acts are not critical to the operation of the buisness (I don't know, like a born again Christian being a bartender at a strip club.... being offended by nakedness is not exactly a good combo there...) then it is usually beneficial to the company to try and avoid stuff that will cause friction....

You are ALLOWED to bring in fish to work, but just know that you ARE pissing people off, no matter what you think. Try to be gracious about it, try not to do it often, and apologize for the smell if someone raises an issue. After that, that is all you can do. If they try and take it further, break it off and be done with it.


BTW, when I said apologize, I meant in a sincere manner, not a "i am SORRY you don't like it when other people EAT around here!!". Trying to be considerate of co-workers is always a good thing.

 

[lokiju]

Seafood of any kind should never ever be reheated in a microwave (period IMO) but without exception at a work place.

There are these things called air returns and vents that cycle the air of the building throughout and carry the orders that are offensive in the process.

It might not be something you dislike but can literally make people feel sick to their stomachs from the offensive smells.

It's like a smoker not being bothered by the smell of a fellow smoker but when he/she exhales their last puff of their smoke and goes straight into a crowded elevator to ride back up to their floor, whoever else is stuck in that confined space with them is going to be on the verge of gagging except for any fellow smokers.

You don't have to agree with it but should at least try and not be so self focused that you can't be considerate of others you work with day to day.

 

[FoBoT]

...being mad about food odor in the cafeteria is like being mad about a shit smell in the bathroom.

actually, since you brought it up...

 

[Oyeve]

I bring in food I make all the time. I am part Indonesian and I put curry and other fragrant spices in everything. If people dont like it TFB. I'd rather smell my food than mcdonalds anyday.

 

[Ns1]

it's all "MYOFB" and "TFB" until somebody brings in a fucking durian, then it's "OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE HE WOULD DO THAT"

Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:
“ ... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia."

 

[Capt Caveman]

Same people that think it's alright to microwave fish at work are probably the same people that think it's okay to text/talk on the phone in a movie theater.

 

[ShawnD1]

actually, since you brought it up...

Why do people use bathrooms to poop? Do that at home! People who poop should lose their bathroom privileges.

 

[NetWareHead]

I'm pretty much done worrying about other people's responses to my fish curry after reading this thread and what truly sealed the deal is this morning. Some guy came in and microwaved a bunch of bacon at lunch time for 2 BLTs. Not that I'm complaining about bacon, but the smell of bacon was even stronger than anything I've microwaved, even carried out into the hallways past the cafeteria.

 

[Ns1]

Why do people use bathrooms to poop? Do that at home! People who poop should lose their bathroom privileges.

blowing out of your asshole is something that you cannot control.

bringing a lean cuisine instead of fish and asparagus in curry to work is something you can control.

 

[ShawnD1]

bringing a lean cuisine instead of fish and asparagus in curry to work is something you can control.

I should change my eating habits because my coworkers have ADHD. I should also buy a different color car because my coworkers have schizophrenia.

How about my coworkers go fuck themselves and allow me to eat actual people food instead of "lean cuisine"