@cstross One time when I was new to an organization,...

@cstross One time when I was new to an organization, I had to fly to XYZ city. I was going to meet up with some other people who were flying in and would have a rental car, so the only transportation I needed to worry about was between the airport and the hotel. The hotel had an airport shuttle.

The audit detected that I didn't reserve a rental car, so the travel request got kicked back to me to budget for a rental car. I sent it back saying that I was using the hotel's gratis transportation. I then received a 5-page form that I had to fill out to prove that this was a cost savings.

I learned the fix to this was to reserve a rental car and then cancel the car after the travel authorization was approved.

Like 31 Oct 2023 at 13:29 | Wall-to-wall | Open on techhub.social

13 comments

Uilebheist

@DocBohn @cstross That sounds familiar.
I was once sent to a conference by $multinational and when I got back I dared to walk from the station because I really needed a bit of fresh air after 10 hours on a flight and then the train from the airport.
They demanded I explained why I didn't use a taxi.

(and no, I wasn't going to the office, was going back home, so they didn't even have the excuse to claim that I missed 10 minutes of work because of that).

Expand text...

31 Oct 2023 at 13:50 | Open on polyglot.city

simonbp

@DocBohn @cstross Getting my (Texas based) org to book an intercity train within the US is nigh impossible, there just isn't a procedure. However, if you book a train anywhere outside the US (even Canada) they won't bat an eye and will approve it.

And I've used the "book and cancel a car" trick a lot, especially when I specifically booked a hotel across the street from where I'm visiting...

31 Oct 2023 at 15:15 | Open on social.linux.pizza

Angus McIntyre

@DocBohn @cstross Sometimes what looks like bureaucratic insanity has a reason.

A friend was sent from Edinburgh to London for work. When she returned, the finance person asked about her hotel expenses. She explained she'd stayed with her parents, so it cost nothing. He made her submit a claim anyway.

He explained: “If you can stay for free in London, then management will always send YOU in future. That's not fair to others. So we have to make your trip cost the same as anyone else’s.”

31 Oct 2023 at 15:25 | Open on mastodon.social

Panama Red

@angusm Thirty-five years ago I had to spend six weeks out of town on a business trip. As it happened, I could stay with my dad, so the company incurred no hotel expenses (comparable expenses today for that city are $375-$400/night, as I found on a shorter trip a few weeks ago). But I DID have a fine Cajun meal, accompanied by three beers, every single night. I ate at the bar, so the bartenders and the owner got to know me very well. @DocBohn @cstross

31 Oct 2023 at 16:02 | Open on mstdn.social

Jon :laserkiwi:

@angusm @DocBohn @cstross In the early 2000s, I was sent on the first of many trips from London to a business park outside Wash. D.C. and assigned a self catering apartment. I bought breakfast foods and some basic groceries from Wholefoods on my company Amex card. Returning home, I was called to account for the 'personal shopping' I had charged to the card and, when I explained, I was told I was meant to use it to eat out at restaurants, not make healthier food for myself. 1/2

31 Oct 2023 at 17:51 | Open on mastodon.nz

Jon :laserkiwi:

@angusm @DocBohn @cstross The same company threw a fit when, after reading the policies very carefully to make sure I wasn't breaking the rules, I later used the company car allowance (entitled the Travel Allowance) to buy a folding bike and a rail pass for my daily commute. When, again, I was called on to explain my reason (cost/health/environment), the finance person's final plea was "But...but...you're a senior manager...you HAVE to drive a car - what will others think!?" 2/2

31 Oct 2023 at 17:59 | Open on mastodon.nz

Jen

@DocBohn @cstross that's even more ridiculous than the time we had a ban put on travelling First Class.

There was some kind of offer on, and First was cheaper than standard. It also included lunch, wiping that expense off the claim altogether and saving more money. But the Powers That Be noticed that we plebs were having a nice time and banned it, immediately doubling our expense claims.

They also banned overnights, saving £50 on hotels and costing £100+ more on peak time trains.

31 Oct 2023 at 15:28 | Open on geekdom.social

Jake

@DocBohn
I always explain to new hires that it's not worth their time to try to save the company money. No one will care and they're just wasting their own time. I tell them not to be irresponsible but bill everything down to the bottle of water at the train station. The difference between a $6500 trip and a $7000 trip isn't going to impress anyone. It definitely took a few trips to figure out the path of least pain though.
@cstross

31 Oct 2023 at 15:56 | Open on hachyderm.io

Ian Turton

@Affekt @DocBohn @cstross ah yes I learned that the hard way. Flying home via Edinburgh airport, I grabbed a bottle of water, the assistant helpfully scanned a copy of the Telegraph as they had an offer where you got a free bottle of water. My expense claim was rejected as the company didn't pay for newspapers. The rest of the year I paid full price for the water.

31 Oct 2023 at 18:03 | Open on fosstodon.org

Darren Moffat

@DocBohn @cstross I’ve had to explain to travel audit people that the supposedly cheaper flight the day before actually results in higher expenses because now there will be hotel and more meals.

31 Oct 2023 at 17:16 | Open on mastodon.social

Rob Abram

@darrenmoffat @DocBohn @cstross Once upon a time I was supposed to travel from Berlin to Munich for a meeting at 9am on Monday. 1st flight in the morning would have got me there too late. HR suggested flying down on Sunday evening & staying in a hotel, which meant leaving at 5pm and cost a fortune. The hassle I had getting them to approve a night train (leaving at 10, arriving at 7) using my own BahnCard in 1st class & saving the org. about €400…

31 Oct 2023 at 17:32 | Open on mas.to

DELETED

@DocBohn

I worked at a company that required transportation costs to/from an airport.

I lived 200m from a free city-run airport bus stop, that ran every 10 minutes most of the time. I learned to just put a cash $15 taxi to and from on every expense report.

@cstross

31 Oct 2023 at 17:53 | Open on mastodon.sdf.org

Gueule d'atmosphère

@DocBohn @cstross
In relation to the car rental story: I was in a bureaucracy for long enough that this fix was actually my first thought. Not sure what if that makes me savvy or just a cog in the machine.

31 Oct 2023 at 18:35 | Open on mastodon.green