(serious) How would you professionally tell a co-worker that they smell and need to bathe?

I would tell a manager/supervisor about the body odor, so he or she can handle it in a more compassionate manner. They are already have a relationship with the employee. I don't feel that this needs to go straight to HR. HR can come across more threatening to the employee and feel like that it should of not went that high up the chain to tell them that he or she stinks.

I worked with a lady that was very clean and have her uniform perfectly ironed and shoes clean. She took pride in her appearance with her hair and makeup done beautifully, but her breath could knock over a horse. The staff would drop hints like do you want a piece of gum/mint or I need to brush my teeth after that meal. She never put it together with the hints. Someone made an anonymous comment on her peer yearly eval about her breath that was hurtful to her. She made an appointment with the dentist. She said that she wished that someone told her rather than doing it that way on her eval.

/r/AskReddit Thread