Updated Holiday Travel Advice

Last year I gave you advice on holiday travel and things have changed slightly since then.  There are some potentially really nice things happening that may make air travel less stressful but they aren't here yet.  Just to tease you:

• The TSA rules are still in place and it is rare to find a TSA agent with a sense of humor but they're out there ready to make at joke for the people in the security lines.
• There may be a change to the in flight rules regarding using your mobile phone to make calls.
• New technology may change rules on amount of liquid travelers can carry onto a plane.

 There are a couple improvements and it gives us hope that there is some common sense being used in the government bureaucracy regulating air travel.

• Electronics are allowed to be used during take-off and landing with some limitations
• Lap-tops are not included
• The device needs to be in "airplane" mode
• The airline has to get permission for their fleet of planes to allow electronics usage
• Security lines are getting easier for some travelers with a new program called "Pre-Check"
• The program is mainly for frequent flyers (but they're out of your way if you aren't one)
• Participants don't need to strip down (shoes stay on) or take the liquids out of their carry-on

This year we are starting off with a tricky travel season.  Major weather storms are hitting the northeast US.  You may think that since you are not traveling to that region you'll be immune from weather travel delays.  You couldn't be more wrong!!  Your plane may be scheduled to work in that region before coming to your airport.  If it gets grounded due to the weather your flight is going to be canceled or at least delayed until a new plane gets freed up for your flight.

Everyone needs to remember to exercise a little additional common courtesy this year.  It may not seem like it but only about 14% of the US population, or 43.4 million people, will travel more than 50 miles this holiday season.  It will seem like everyone is out there getting in your way.  Please be considerate of the other people out there doing the exact same thing you are doing, going to see loved ones for the holidays. 

Lastly, the folks working in the travel industry need a little more consideration from us, too.  They are dealing with a more stressful work environment than usual.  Imagine how you feel when your workload jumps by 700%!  It's also a good idea to keep these folks on your good side.  If (and when) delays or cancellations happen, who is the person HELPING you?  I personally want gate agents, baggage handlers, and all the others to be willing to go the extra mile for me.

Crossing the Border

Getting myself across the border from the US into Canada is pretty simple. However, I recently learned that getting a package into Canada is another story entirely!

I needed to get a tablecloth and literature stands up to Guelph (don't laugh, that is the name of a real city in Ontario).  That is a particularly expensive venture but I don't know why.  We contracted UPS for the job to get these simple items to me on Tuesday.  I checked on the package at the end of Tuesday and was told by Andy, my friendly UPS customer service rep, it cleared customs at 4:42PM and I would not receive my package until Wednesday.  I was a little miffed that my company paid for delivery on Tuesday and that didn't happen.  I expect that as a delivery expert, UPS would be able to get me that package on Tuesday, seeing as it cleared customs during business hours.  I really don't think that is unreasonable, however, UPS did think it was unreasonable.

UPS was not able to meet a single expectation I had of them. 

• I expected delivery on Tuesday, FAIL. 
• I expected them to be able to communicate what was happening when they said they would call me, FAIL.  
• I expected UPS would be able to arrange for me pick up the package at their delivery center Wednesday morning so I would have it for my trade show, FAIL.
• Seriously, they couldn't arrange to hold a package in place for me to come to the package!

Well, in the end I got the package.  And I was completely underwhelmed at the process.

Convincing Your Company

I travel a lot for work and can work from any Continental US location.  Luckily my company recently agreed with me.  I moved with my family to where my wife grew up and we're closer to her entire family.  The benefits are numerous but I won't bore you with those, yet.

I want to talk about my process for convincing my company I could work remotely.  When I was hired it was explicitly stated that I would be based at the home office.  I worked every other week in the field and the alternate weeks I was expected at the office.  My travel territory is all of the US and Canada.  It doesn't make much sense to travel to some areas with little biotech research happening so places like the Yukon Territories will not be honored with my presence.

So, I had to come up with a plan to get my company on board with me moving.  First, I didn't mention anything about moving to anybody.  No one, not a single soul knew about it, especially anyone that might have a connection with people at work.  If the plans fell through at the last minute I didn't want my management to think I was looking to leave the company.  My goal was to be sure I was retained.

I formulated my arguments why I should be retained.  There was a good chance I could be let go if I wasn't perceived as a valuable team member at my company.  Looking back at my accomplishments and figured I was doing very well in my company's opinion.  I gathered information about how well sales were going with me on board.  I brought in additional information about the non-sales goals I attained while on board.  I also showed how I would be additionally motivated because of the benefits of my personal life after the move.

Finally the day came where the reason for moving was set and all my reasons were rehearsed.  Yes, I rehearsed conversations I would potentially have with my boss.  That morning I went into my boss' office and asked if I could have lunch with him to talk about work.  He said yes and that we can talk about anything except my leaving.  This was starting to look promising.  I assured him that this conversation would be about the opposite of me leaving.  At lunch I mentioned what I was planning and he immediately agreed that retaining me would be the goal.  YES!!!  But now we had to convince the President and the CEO.  The best part was he was going to take point on these discussions and all I needed to do was gather cost information differences from traveling from my new location.

I was a little surprised about a few items the company needed to know.  There are tax differences between states that can be problematic.  First are income taxes for my paycheck and less obviously, some states are going after sales tax revenues of companies with any connection to their state.  In this case having an employee located in the state.  Luckily my new state doesn't have a sales tax.  There are also other benefits, like health insurance, that are affected by where you live.

After all is said and done, I am happily domiciled in my new state.  My children are in their schools.  My travel schedule is back to normal.  And, I will try to update this blog more regularly.