Is your so-called “favourite” fragrance holding you back in life? Is the simple fact that you think you smell “nice” actually affecting your success? Is it possible that you may have jeopardized your chance of a new job, a commission sale, a returning customer, even a tip?

If you own your own business or if your livelihood is based on commission sales, here are a few things that you may not have even considered.

Have you ever thought that the scented products you or your employees are wearing to appear presentable and to impress your customers may be driving sales down and customers away—never to return? Whether you have a furniture store, an electronics business, a realty company, a car dealership, a restaurant etc. —you may have one chance to make a positive first impression. Every business owner knows that it is all about making the customer feel comfortable. You do everything possible to provide the appropriate atmosphere and the service to satisfy your customer in hopes that they will purchase whatever you have to offer and come back again. But given that 1 in 3 people are affected by scented products, you may in fact be affecting your bottom line by allowing your employees to use them.

In many place there are bylaws that ban smoking in public places. We know that the stench of cigarette smokes lingers on a smoker’s body. Then they douse themselves with cologne/perfume and breath mints to try to provide appropriate customer service and make the sale when in fact they may have just dropped the ball. Maybe it’s time to post one of the Fragrance Free signs provided on your place of business. Give it a try. The sign is free and maybe it will actually make you money.

Some more food for thought—When customers enter your restaurant, do they smell the enticing aroma of your culinary delights or the stench of perfume on your host or hostess? Was their first impression of your fine establishment the delicious food or the heavily scented server? Just as your customer is enjoying the tantalizing taste and aroma of the evening’s special, along comes the perfume laden server. Or perhaps what masks the pleasant fragrance of your appetizing entrees is the pungent aroma of scented hand soap on the server, who hopefully is regularly washing their hands, or on the actual customer who has just returned from using your washroom. More than likely they are unaware of what is affecting them and leave thinking that the food was the cause of their headache or stomach ache. They leave a chintzy tip, if any, never return and tell all their friends about how unpleasant the whole experience was. Whoops and all because of perfume and scented products!!!!

Thinking of selling your home? Remember the “good old days” when the smell of fresh baked bread, cinnamon cookies or apple pie greeted your possible buyers. How did this get replaced by some petroleum based, putrid smelling, eye watering, artificially scented candles, or air freshener, or the pungent odour of those scented plug-in things? You might want to find a realtor who appreciates the importance of fragrance free living as well and consider the smells that are greeting your potential buyers. Are you really welcoming everyone into your home or are they running out the door for some much needed fresh air?

Looking for a new job? You might want to think about more then “dusting off” your resume. You might want to “take off” any heavily scented products if you’re fortunate enough to get that interview. You need to be on neutral ground-clean and clean smelling and we don’t mean scented soap. It just may be that your new employer values a fragrance free environment and you just lost the job in your quest to smell “nice”. Wow that would really stink in more ways than one.