Not Sure What to Do - Smelled Alchohol on an Employee

Hey everyone -

I am almost certain (not 100%) that I could smell alcohol on an employee while doing a shop yesterday. He had a breath mint in his mouth, but I could smell the distinct odor of whiskey. I am not sure what to do because I am not 100% certain. Should I mention it to the scheduler?

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Just to the scheduler ~ it shouldn't go in the report, of course. But it couldn't hurt to mention it to the scheduler, IMO.

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

Yeah, I agree, StormCloud. Stay tuned...

Key words: ALMOST certain.

This is a really important issue. We all see (and smell) things that any client would want to know. But how do we (or should we) relay that information to our MSC's? I once did a gas station shop where the attendant was at the side of the building smoking a joint! No where in the report did it ask if the attendant was outside much less anything else. I sent a side note to the scheduler who could forward it or not.

Alcohol smell is a tough one... not all of course, but some diabetics smell like alcohol but that is a symptom of their disease.

Mouth wash can smell like alcohal, if you are on a diet sometimes you smell like alcohal and yes diabetics can also have that ketosis smell. Was he inappropriate, slurring his words or acting drunk - those behaviors are a little more objective than the fact that he might have just had bad breath.

I hope that this doesn't make me a bad shopper, but I answer what they ask, I do the job that I was assigned to do and give the narrative pertaining to the questions that they asked. If they didn't ask me if I smelled alcohol I wouldn't volunteer that information because I don't know for sure and that's not what they asked me to do. If he is drinking his co workers would probably be aware and they can tell the boss, but as for me. It's just the facts.

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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

And can you be absolutely sure it was pot or is there even the slightest possibility it was hand rolled cigarette?

In these cases we are talking about alleged behavior that had nothing to do with the shop and apparently did not impact the shop in any way. It would take much more than a suspicion for me to even email the scheduler. If the employee really did have alcohol on his breath, who is to say he wasn't working the afternoon/evening shift and had a beer at lunch on his own time? If his employer does not have a policy specifically prohibiting it, the act is irrelevant.

ddmagoo Wrote:
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> I once did a gas
> station shop where the attendant was at the side
> of the building smoking a joint! No where in the
> report did it ask if the attendant was outside
> much less anything else. I sent a side note to
> the scheduler who could forward it or not.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

I would go by smell and not by sight. The smell would be the tip-off there.

Otherwise, I agree with pammie and teri.

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I'm "Sandi" in the Middle!

Thanks for your comments. I took the advice of a good friend, who has been shopping for many years, and sent the scheduler an email and let her decide what to do with the information.

I am a drinker. (Note I said drinker, not drunk.)

In all seriousness, is it against any rules to have a drink at lunch?

I wouldn't report it if the employee was acting normally. Otherwise, none of my business. If the employee was "three sheets to the wind" radically driving a golf cart with me in it to visit a storage unit, that would be a deal breaker.

I'm not the alcohol police. I answer the report I am provided. It's none of my business if he had a drink at some point in the day. Of course, if his speech is slurred, there is probably a place in the report that asks if he spoke clearly and was easy to understand. If he was intoxicated, he probably missed other areas in the report.

It's a slippery slope when you start making accusations that we are not hired to make.

Shopping since 1995; full-time since 2009. Blogging about shopping on www.myfrugalmiser.com.

In all my "real" jobs only one ever had that policy. Personally I found it absurd they were dictating what we could or could not do during a time period we were not being paid.

pony123lucy Wrote:
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> I am a drinker. (Note I said drinker, not drunk.)
>
>
> In all seriousness, is it against any rules to
> have a drink at lunch?

My only problem with your post is, how do you "almost" smell alcohol", you do or you don't, and I bet you did.
There are on some reports a place on the bottom for remarks, I'd put it there, if not, I would tell the scheduler and
do what she suggests. Drinking on the job is a no no, and it is up to us to let it be known.

Live consciously....

Irene, the shopper was not certain they even smelled alcohol and had absolutely no proof the employee had a drink while on the clock. That is a major accusation to make on an assumption.

My understanding of the post was alcohol was smelled, I would guess it depends what kind of a job, Server, Cashier, Bartender......that would make a difference.

Live consciously....

"I am almost certain (not 100%)" is what they said. Even if they were 100% sure, they did not witness the employee taking that drink at work. Who would want to be responsible for sanctions against an employee based on conjecture?

Bar audit shops ask if the Bartender or staff were drinking on the job, you need to say that if you smell or witnessed it.
Their not suppose to sneak a shot during their break.

Live consciously....

I wouldn't mention it. I have detected alcohol on the breath of others who had been drinking the night prior. Also, the OP was not 100% certain. Answer the questions that were asked and move on to the next shop.

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Always take the high road.

I've done a shop once where an employee's breath was pretty bad, not alcohol though. It didn't go on the report. If however there were questions about appearance of the associate or question about anything unusual, than I would include it.

No doubt about it. The permeating smell was the tip off.

As for only answering the report questions and not sending along a side note to the scheduler, I wonder if robot shopping is what the client is paying for - or is it a glimpse of a real customer's experience at their store that they want. Fine line I guess.

Sometimes the client only wants to know what the client wants to know, so that is not robotic shopping. And reporting on something you suspect versus something you know is where the line gets drawn.

FWIW, I worked at a company who had a rule that if you had a drink at lunch you were not to come back to the office that afternoon.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

I was (not on a shop) the other day and returning an item. I immediately noted the smell of whisky on the employee's breath. However, she was very clear in the entire transaction and handled it like a professional at all times. I would be a little bit loathe to say anything about the smell of alcohol based on the level of service I received - I was 100% uncertain.

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> Sometimes the client only wants to know what the
> client wants to know, so that is not robotic
> shopping. And reporting on something you suspect
> versus something you know is where the line gets
> drawn.

I know of companies that would have a problem with a shopper not giving an opinion instead of giving the narrative.

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Motivation increases when we assume large responsibilities with a short deadline.

Irene_L.A. Wrote:
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> Bar audit shops ask if the Bartender or staff were
> drinking on the job, you need to say that if you
> smell or witnessed it.
> Their not suppose to sneak a shot during their
> break.

It is they're not their.

If there is a section that asks "did the employee smell of alcohol" I would mark it as "yes" and include it in the narrative, if there is not a section then I would not mention it.

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Not Sure What to Do - Smelled Alchohol on an Employee

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