Find The Boots

Rantings from a few corporate types about life, technology, travel, guns, politics, and everything good in the world.

Travel Tips

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Surfing around today finds this article on Business Travel Tips over at Silicon.com.

There's lot of good advice in there for new business travelers, perhaps the best one being learning how to say "receipt please" in the local language. I understand that "avoid alcohol when flying" is the party line, but how are you supposed to survive those long flights completely sober?

One odd thing about the article is that it pretends that the tips have more validity because they're offered by Joe Schmo, head of IT at some MegaCorp. But the best tips will come from people that don't sign their names...

I mean, think about it, if some guy has his secretary book him a business (or first!) class ticket and then expense his entire Amex bill, do you think he has anything to tell you?

Here's a few tips that you won't see in articles like that:

When traveling in a third world country where the exchange rate is favorable and you're staying in the same hotel for more than a few days, introduce yourself to the floor attendant and lay a big tip on him. Everything will go much smoother.
Always get the hotel to send a driver to pick you up or drop you off at the airport. Alternatively get an account with Boston Coach and use them every time - the heck with the hack line in Chicago on a rainy day.
Never underestimate the power of an American $20 bill. It can get you out of most problems.
If you call the airline and they don't give you the answer you want, hang up and call back later. You'll eventually find someone on the other end of the phone who will give you what you want. Write down their name and the time/date. They won't honor it, but you can use it as leverage to get free miles or extra upgrades.
When in doubt, just ask yourself, what would boondoggie do? (Hint: it involves not getting caught doing whatever it is we'd do!)

Good travelling and don't lose your boots!

0 Comments:

Find The Boots

An executive goes on a business trip. When he arrives, it's raining cats and dogs. To avoid ruining his shoes, he purchases a pair of galoshes for $15, which he expenses under "Misc." on his expense report. A week later, the accounting department rejects his expense report, with a post-it note that says that the company does not reimburse for items of clothing. The next trip, the executive turns in an expense report without the galoshes, but with a post-it note that says "FIND THE BOOTS!".