Etiquette: Ask to switch seats at the ballpark if fan’s body odor is too strong

Q. I had a very unpleasant evening sitting next to someone at a ballgame who had terrible body odor. There was no breeze, the heat was high and so was the humidity. I stuck it out, but it certainly ruined the evening. Three of us went to the game for a girls night out. One of my girlfriends offered to switch seats with me, but I didn’t accept.

The next day, I was telling my co-workers about it and one of them said I or we should have gone back to the ticket office, complained and asked for different seats. Another co-worker said we should have asked the ticket office person to have a manager ask the stinky person to move to another seat. Another co-worker said I should have just asked this stinky person to go look for another seat. If this ever happens to me again, what would be the proper thing to do?

A. It is always easier for friends or co-workers to give advice after the fact about what you should have done in certain situations. It is so unfortunate this happened to you and your girlfriends. There may also have been others who suffered who were sitting behind, in front of or on the other side of this person. Of all the advice offered by your friends, there is only one piece of advice that falls in the “proper” category, and only in part. It is this:

Go to the ticket office and unemotionally explain the situation (not complain). Then politely ask if it’s possible to exchange your tickets for equally priced seats in another section.

Q. We have some very lovely neighbors who have a pool. They have been kind enough to invite our two children to join their two children and some other neighborhood children in the pool a couple times a week during this sweltering weather. Several of us parents take turns watching the children at the pool.

These lovely neighbors also provide all kinds of refreshments for all of us: soft drinks, popsicles, ice cream, homemade cookies, chips, cupcakes and on and on. I’ve offered to bring refreshments, as have some of the other parents, but our offers have been politely rejected. What is something nice we could do for them to thank them for their warm hospitality?

A. The most important action to take is this: Have each one of the children handwrite a thank-you note and include those notes inside a thank-you card with an additional note from all the parents.

Additional options to consider:

▪  Have an indoor floral arrangement delivered.

▪  Have an outdoor floral hanging basket or a decorative outdoor pot with floral plants, delivered.

▪  Include in the card a gift certificate to a nice local restaurant.

This story was originally published July 19, 2015 at 6:47 AM with the headline "Etiquette: Ask to switch seats at the ballpark if fan’s body odor is too strong."