First off, I work in the restaurant industry (a cafe). I have a co-worker who wears a short dress everyday to work and no underpants. We know because she is not ashamed to admit this. We also know (she told me) that a few of our customers are also aware of it despite the fact that they haven’t been told. :eek:
She doesn’t even attempt to be discreet knowing she’s wearing a short dress with no underpants. She’s a giddy person who jumps up and down a lot, sits on the counters (blech!), etc. Also, some of our duties require bending over, crouching, standing on a stepstool reaching over our heads, and whatnot, and I fear when I see her do this, she must be flashing somebody! I’ve taken to quickly averting my eyes. But what of the unknowing customer who gets an unexpected peep show?
There is nothing in our dress code that specifically requires employees to wear underpants. Any reasonable person would think we wouldn’t have to be told. But given the fact that we all think it’s freakin’ nasty and inappropriate, we feel something needs to be done. Our manager is at a loss as to what to do since it’s not in the dress code. It’s also a bit uncomfortable to have to directly address this issue. We’ve considered many tactics, including buying her some damn underpants and hope she takes the blatant hint.
Is anyone aware of any health code that specifically addresses this? What should we do? Help!
Have a friend come in and be a “customer”. Then they can conveniently “complain”. Then wouldn’t the manager have to do something about it? That’s nasty.
Or ask your local Health Department.
But, I’ll bet there’s a few guys here that would like to know where you work, now.
Sheesh! You guys are impossible! :rolleyes:
But just to be fair: No, I’m not gonna give out more info. Yes, she’s cute. As for pictures, there are plenty of porn sites to choose from.
Seriously, the manager either needs to tell her to wear some undies or update the dress code to include them specifally. Isn’t that what managers are paid to do in these situations?
Thought of that. Gee, where can I find a willing guy to come in and get flashed?
This might be the route to take, although I worry that the complaint would get higher up the chain and I really don’t want her to suffer that kind of embarassment or get into trouble. It’s just that we want her to make Hanes her friend.
I can’t find any information from the Health Dept. online and I’ve hesitated calling due to the ick factor. I can only imagine that phone conversation:
::: bbbrrrinnnggg :::
“Health Dept. This is Tom. How can I help you?”
“Uh yeah, do you have any regulation about people having to wear underpants to work?”
“Excuse me?”
“Um, well, I work in a restaurant and one of my female co-workers doesn’t wear underpants under her dress.”
"Reeealllly??? ::: insert lecherous breathing ::: “Well, where do you work?”
“Do I really have to say?”
“Well, we’d obviously need to send an inspector out.”
“But how would confirm this?”
“Of course, we’ll have to ask her to lift up her skirt—”
::: Click! :::
:eek:
I agree and we’ve been urging our manager to do something about it. I can understand her difficulty with it, though. She’s a relatively new manager and this is one of those extremely uncomfortable tasks. I have to add though, that this particular employee seems to require an explanation for every directive. I think our manager wants to have all her ducks in a row before she has to explain to her why (the mind boggles) underpants are required and by whom. Eventually, though, she is going to have to do something.
Oh, and our dress code is set by corporate. If that were to change, it would have to come from them. Which means advising corporate that there’s a actual real live reason it needs to be there.
Though is a great word, though I often overuse it. It seems, though, that overusage makes my post look completely idiotic upon reading it. Though, I assure you, I’m not completely an idiot!
Cinnamon, while I agree that it is a particularly uncomfortable situation the manager needs to tell her flat out that it is not acceptable. I would think she would get plenty of support from the corporate side on this issue.
“Hello, this is the corporate office of the Underpants Cafe chain. How can I help you? … Do I think that all employees should have to wear underpants? Of course, goddammit – why do you think we named it the Underpants Cafe?”
Perhaps you should have a friend pose as a customer … and bring in a camera! A few snapshots directed at the lower half of her body might send the message … and be worth something on Ebay!
How about calling your corporate office anonymously and leaving a tip that “they should update their dress policy to specifically state you must wear underwear.” And it might be a good idea to do it with a general release memo rather than just updating the employee handbook.
(But, I don’t think its really your problem. She knows, she doesn’t care. Your manager knows, and lacks the backbone to address the problem. It isn’t your job to manage the staff, and it certainly isn’t your job to manage the manager. Although the one time I was in a similar situation (not underpants, incompetence), I told my boss “Its a career limiting move to have YOUR boss fire YOUR employees.” Didn’t work though and both people were fired within three months.)
I was a retail manager back when going bra-less was considered un-professional. The dress code stated, “Women shall wear all undergarments.” (Which, of course, always caused someone to wonder “at once?” aloud…) Perhaps your new manager could make A Rule, if one doesn’t exist?
As ambiguous as the statement is, it got the message across!
