Bumps & Bruises
You Think Your Business Stinks?
by Lynda Curtin

What can you tell me about the smell of the facility? A wise question I wish I had asked.

The worst nightmare of my life happened during five long smelly days. I was in Kentucky. It was July. The humidity was unbearable. I showed up at my client site - a pet food plant. The smell knocked me out. I couldn’t breathe. I hardly made it into the meeting room without retching my guts out. I spent the entire week like that. I could hardly make a trip to the restroom, never mind the cafeteria.

All of my preparation to do my job didn’t help me in this circumstance. You see, I have a very sensitive sense of smell. It never crossed my mind that the facility smell would be such a problem for me.

Lesson Learned: Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it. My client eventually shared with me that she has no sense of smell! Can you wonder why? However, since this event all of my engagements with pet food companies have been conducted offsite.

One good thing did happen. We went to a restaurant that served deep fried pickles. (Deep fried pickles in Kentucky? Who would have thunk it?) I love pickles. I had never heard of anyone frying pickles before. Odd, but, wow-incredible flavor.

Good thinking to you.