During the biometrics, I, witnessed a scene that made me ashamed a little to call myself a USC. We were waiting in line after filing out the form we were given....we had about 15 people ahead of us. The person being 'served' at the counter looked to be South Asian (perhaps Indian, but I don't know). He gave his papework, the woman at the reception desk verified it, gave it back to him and gave him a #. After he walked off to take a seat and wait, the woman took a can of disinfectant spray(like Lysol) and sprayed the counter and around her immediate area. I couldn't believe what I was seeing....shameful! She didn't do it again, w/ anyone else while we were there, but it just didn't sit well w/ me. At the end of the biometrics, they gave my husband a yellow survey form to fill out, commenting on how he liked the "service" provided to him at that office. I was tempted to write this incident down there, but we were in a hurry to make it to the next appointment we had, and I just didn't have time. In any case, it was not well done of the USCIS worker. Not well done at all!

-P

yes theres alot of things you see after being married to someone not from usa. that make one ashamed of there own country and people. but yes that was pretty rude. i really dislike people that think there better then everyone else. just because you dont have all the fancy things or live in big fancy house your a no body. and thats what i dont like to see

Maybe the guy smelled really bad?

Or maybe it was apparent to someone close that he was sick with the flu or something? In either case, I can understand spraying down the counter so that other customers weren't offended or at risk of getting sick.

Well, her doing that right in front of everybody wasn't so great, but.....did he smell bad or look unclean?

We have had clients in our office who smelled so deplorable that we hosed the place down with Lysol. But we have more privacy and can do it after they go when no one else is looking.....

some people are just germ freaks and she might spray off and on thru the day. there is a girl i work with who comes in after me and pulls out her clorox wipes every morning and wipes down the desk. stupid her she forget to run her rag on the keyboard and mouse.

No, he just looked 'foreign'....that's it. I paid attention afterwards, because my first instinct was to think that perhaps it was a genuine "disinfecting" thing as Platy suggested. This guy wasn't sick looking, he did not cough or blow his nose during the rest of the time there. As to whether he smelled bad...I don't know, I didn't get that close to him....but even so, you don't do that in a public area tha 'serves' many different people. I bet, something like this would have struck most of us odd if it had hapenned at a Post Office for example. Maybe it would even have resulted in either a witness or even the "recipient" spreaking out against such action. Difference here....it was an office that services immigrants, so its OK to behave in a manner that indicates that they're considered 'second-class' citizens.

-P

I understand. But everybody they are serving is an immigrant.....

Did the guy seem to notice what she did?

They made me rub some lotion on my hands,they claimed my hands where too dry.
God knows if that was a disinfectant stuff too.
Erm excuse me I had my fingernails freshly manicured and I am from Germany HELLO!!!

I think I said this in yuor other thread but I saw a lady at my biometrics do it after every person.. I think I saw a few of the workers doing it... Its most likely for germs..

No, this stuff lubricates your hands so it can take better fingerprint images. It's nothing to do with how clean you are...

Just figured it was some kinda disinfectant or smth,cos it smelt like it.

Funny part is: all of us immigrants need to pass a MEDICAL anyway, before they even let us into the country.So where does the fear come from?

I bet that guy was even healthier than that woman behind the counter...

well i can see if the guy sneezed or coughed at the counter....

but yah...
hey some customer service businesses...don't clean as often as they should!

brace yourselves this world is a big germ pit!

Oh, come on... Healthier than an AMERICAN?!?!?! That's an absurd thought....

[hopefully my sarcasm is detected]

When I worked customer service, I cleaned down my area every hour or so. I didn't have time to do it after each customer. I wouldn't say being "foreign" is the reason. Hey, it's winter, people don't want to get sick, and I think too often we make a mountain out of...nothing.

He may have...it was a little obvious, especially since she only did it after him. (At least during the 1.5 hours we were there.) It may have been that this woman was some sort of a 'clean freak' as some have suggested, but then she would have done it more often during the time we were there. It was a busy office, and a busy time of day.

-P

I noticed that too when my husband did the fingerprinting the girl wiped everything with an alcohol or something and then gave my husband some lotion apparently is to clean the fingers so the fingerprinting goes well, she also wiped the screen where they do the fingerprinting in case theres any mark from a previous applicant> I believe its standard procedure nothing to be offended about. (Detail she cleaned her hands as well and then put on a pair of rubber gloves before the process )

Yes, that is standard practice because the laser w/ which they scan your fingerprints is highly sensitive...so your hands must be as free of dirt/lint, etc. as possible.
The scene I mentioned in my OP hapenned at the reception counter, where you sign in and bring your forms up for verification, etc.

-P

I wouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe she saw him coughing or putting his hands near his face, this is the Flu season and maybe she is over cautious or over sensitive to germs. Maybe doing it in front of him was not considerate and most likely inadvertantly communicate something negative, She could have been less obvious about it, however I would not automatically assume it was done because this person was asian.

When my family & I are out shopping we carry disinfectant wipes and wipe off carts before we use thme sometimes we will grab a cart someone just dropped off and wipe it down, if the person who sees this feels offended by that too bad, we are doing it to protect our family from getting sick.

I could care less who thinks what in the interest of protecting my family We also wipe down playground equipment before our children play on it.

What if she simply is a germ freak? Can she not spray lysol after a customer if she so chooses? If she sprayed it while he was still standing there, well then ok that is an issue. But he walked away, she cleaned, no harm done. I image she does it many times a day, but you were there briefly and say just the once.

I sterilize my desk, computer, mouse and phone. Perhaps a bit over the top, but I dont know who touches it when I'm not here. Like everyone said, its winter, its flu season. A spray of lysol that can avoid me being sick for a week is worth it.

I think this is a general issue with working in customer service, not so specific to working with immigrants.

absolutely right

well, in all my travels I've noticed again and agin that so many other nations dont pay much attention to their personal "scent". And if you dont wash properly or dont use the right antiperspirant/deodorant you STINK! I would imagine this woman used this disinfectant simply because his scent was other than pleasant. I would have done the same thing. I've been crammed on metros in other countries and let me tell you, it can smell like death on a summer day. Its no secret that most men from Europe and southern Asia do not use these products. I have no problem asking some guy to back up a bit if he is really smelly. I've done it many times. Why should this be considered rude? Isn't it rude to subject other people to your personal funk?? Should she be worried that she will hurt his feelings? maybe. I would wait or find a decent way of handling the odor. And if I ask someone to back up a little, they need only to believe that I don't like communicating that closely. americans have a personal bubble that we like to maintain. Most foreigners don't even know what the "bubble" is. I used to have some close Polish friends. Really great guys. Hard working and fun loving. But they never seemed to care that they smelled like a Sasquatch, and they would have to be within 3 inches of your face if they wanted to talk with you. Used to drive me crazy. And I'd find myself backing away slowly as we talked. Boils down to simple cultural differences. Not really a big deal, but I can certainly understand why this woman used the Lysol. It wasn't because she was racist or paranoid. it was definitely because of the scent. I'm almost 100% sure of it. Spicy! Yum...

I agree with you for the most part but a someones nationality has nothing to do with good hygiene. Sometimes it's a sickness, I knew a girl once from Israel who suffered from really strong Armpit Odor and nothing seemed to help. She had to have surgery that closed her underarm sweat glands to stop the odor. After the surgery the odor stopped and everyone saw her for what she really was, a beautiful girl.