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It's what, 2% of his total trip cost, I imagine? Probably less than that given that the cost should be spread out over everyone using it. With hotels, food, car rental, gas, and flights it's peanuts on a very expensive trip assuming that he's flying economy. If you miss a meeting, get lost, or worse because you can't find your way around it's going to be far more expensive. It's not your money, you're not wasting it, and you're getting it for the exclusive reason of making it to your appointments and meetings for the company in a timely fashion. If you think that a smartphone can get the job done better than the GPS unit, that's one thing, but this is motivated by 20 euros/day. Get the thing and use your phone as a backup, or vice versa, especially if you have concerns over driving in the country in the first place. And for the company who will fret over 20 euros/day for 5 people to use a navigation system I can't imagine reimbursing any of the other solutions will go over any better. Belldandy posted:I think those are blanket policies in most cases for the folks who do one meeting a year and get a rental car from SFO to an office in the South Bay. If you think about it, many companies have a sales force of several thousand, plus other BUs that travel. That adds up if everyones getting a GPS, even for a small number of trips. I have a pretty large team under me and approve expense reports, most of the time for stuff like that, if theres a good reason it doesn't get questioned. Must be my experience but international travel usually has a different set of policies. I just don't understand buying wifi data cards or other solutions being cheaper. If he's coming out of pocket and would rather do that then rent a GPS unit, ok then, but why would he come out of pocket for that poo poo? To save a company money? sellouts fucked around with this message at 18:55 on May 19, 2014 |
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May 19, 2014 18:49
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sellouts posted:Must be my experience but international travel usually has a different set of policies. I just don't understand buying wifi data cards or other solutions being cheaper. If he's coming out of pocket and would rather do that then rent a GPS unit, ok then, but why would he come out of pocket for that poo poo? To save a company money? You're making some big assumptions. You're assuming the company isn't willing (or at the very least doesn't want to) pay for the cost of renting a GPS from the rental car company. You're also assuming that any costs for other options would be out of pocket. It was just a simple question about whether or not there was an easy way for him to decrease costs. Did you get an expense report audited recently that you're bitter about?
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May 19, 2014 21:31
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caberham posted:Speaking of car rentals, am I going to be really boned renting a van in Italy? It's visiting a whole bunch of factories and there are 5 of us. I plan on renting a van instead of taking trains for the added flexibility. Can't you just get offline gps for your phone? I bought Sygic a few years ago for €50 and it has all the maps in the world with free updates. I live on the border with Germany and travel there regularly for work but it's a big country, where are you going after Dresden?
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May 19, 2014 21:43
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Thoguh posted:You're making some big assumptions. You're assuming the company isn't willing (or at the very least doesn't want to) pay for the cost of renting a GPS from the rental car company. You're also assuming that any costs for other options would be out of pocket. It was just a simple question about whether or not there was an easy way for him to decrease costs. Absolutely not, my reimbursements are stress free and thus my confusion here. This just seems like it is penny wise and (euro) foolish. Why is an employee worried about saving the company money if the company is not worried about it? I've worked at huge companies and small ones. 20 euros/day on a 5 person international business trip would be irrelevant at both companies, especially when that 20 euros is spent ensuring success of the trip at a basic, logistical level. This saving may seem like a noble effort but it's actually introducing unnecessary risk. This doesn't sit well with me. For companies where 20/day GPS cost would be flinched at or even noticed, expensing an entire GPS unit purchase or buying cell phone time would be a bigger red flag. GPS is a line item on a rental agreement which is a line item on the expense report. That can't be said about data cards, gps units, or other situations where a new vendor comes into play and misuse of company funds could be questioned. Having done more than a fair amount of travel for business I fundamentally do not understand risking success of the trip over trying to save a very small percentage of the total cost for 5 people. Coming back after having something happen with "well I was trying to save the company money by not doing this!" doesn't make the trip any more of a success. It's still a waste of time for everyone over there. As a supervisor I'd plan on the employee spending the money when I budgeted and approved the trip. But hey, you're right, maybe there are companies who award benefits or praise or note it in employee reviews when they save what, 240 euros on a multi person international business trip. I feel like they look for those saving qualities in man hours and saving a little more than 20/day. I guess that's a pretty big assumption.
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May 19, 2014 22:18
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I've seen a company refuse to pay expenses for an employee who had to stay behind for five days to receive medical treatment because it couldn't be proven that the issue was the result of work, and he wasn't technically working during the days he was sick. Never mind that sending him home and flying in a replacement (which they didn't do) would have been more expensive, those living expenses would have looked bad on someone's metrics! (The union ended up getting involved and those expenses disappeared) So no I have no problem believing someone could make a fuss over a GPS unit.
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May 19, 2014 22:31
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sellouts posted:Absolutely not, my reimbursements are stress free and thus my confusion here. This just seems like it is penny wise and (euro) foolish. I absolutely agree with you, I mean a 5 person international trip is a pretty serious event. Hell I'd probably get the GPS, bring a department GPS, and also print out all the routes in google maps and put them in a binder. $20 is literally nothing to eliminate a huge risk in the trip. I've worked with people who have penny pinched like this on trips and they do it up until it totally bones them one way or another. I think the usability of those rental GPS units are poo poo though, and my manager agrees, and we have a bunch of Garmins for people to take with them. Driving in a new place is distracting enough with different laws and different driving culture, you're going to have enough on your mind (especially if driving a turd filled with 5 adults on the autobahn hahaha)
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May 19, 2014 22:34
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I completely agree that many expense policies are penny wise and pound foolish. And I'm very happy to work for a company that isn't like that. I guess I just don't see this as being such a situation.
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May 20, 2014 00:41
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sellouts posted:But hey, you're right, maybe there are companies who award benefits or praise or note it in employee reviews when they save what, 240 euros on a multi person international business trip. I feel like they look for those saving qualities in man hours and saving a little more than 20/day. I guess that's a pretty big assumption. There are hosed up bullshit places that operate off rules last updated in the 1980s and if your expense isn't on the "allowable expenses" list then gently caress you bitch, you're out of pocket regardless of how much company money you saved or risk you mitigated. Paradoxically, cell phones can often slip in under "telephone calls" whereas GPS receivers didn't exist for most of the world in 1986.
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May 20, 2014 01:58
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FrozenVent posted:So no I have no problem believing someone could make a fuss over a GPS unit. Right, I agree that this is an entirely different discussion if it's about what a company is or isn't willing to pay for. You can't do much about that. But he's just trying to save some money. So if anything buying the other solutions would likely make a bigger fuss. But yeah, I guess companies still function with unupdated expense policies where things like navigation hardware or unaccountable phone/data time have been allowed via loophole. I've never been in that situation where that kind of stuff would pass but a gps in a foreign country wouldn't on account of cost but it's plausible. Thoguh posted:I guess I just don't see this as being such a situation. Given his explanation of "just trying to save the company some money" isn't that a pretty big assumption?
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May 20, 2014 03:01
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In good news, I got a 300C AWD fully tricked out as my rental this week from National. Great car. Drinks gas like a ridge runner drinks shine. I too don't understand killing yourself to save the company money. Sure, I am all in favor of doing what it takes in situations where it doesn't induce significant additional risk, inconvenience or personal discomfort, but at some point you just have to recognize the realities of the situation.
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May 20, 2014 03:52
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My company is actually really nice to us when we are traveling. They are ok with spending money on extra leg room in economy (we do have a tall guy with us), don't really mind about the types of hotels we stay in. Im just the silly oneThoguh posted:You're making some big assumptions. You're assuming the company isn't willing (or at the very least doesn't want to) pay for the cost of renting a GPS from the rental car company. You're also assuming that any costs for other options would be out of pocket. It was just a simple question about whether or not there was an easy way for him to decrease costs. Um sorry to cause a ruckus here  Yeah 30 a day (I made a typo) is peanuts compared to the airfare, food, accommodation, trade show setup, and other expenses. I'm just biased against GPS units, with a data card and my own pocket wifi I can use maps and most importantly, post on the forums. Renting the cars out for a combined total of 13 days, that's like 390 Euros, man I could get myself a new 24" Dell monitor with that money  Uncle Jam posted:I absolutely agree with you, I mean a 5 person international trip is a pretty serious event. Hell I'd probably get the GPS, bring a department GPS, and also print out all the routes in google maps and put them in a binder. $20 is literally nothing to eliminate a huge risk in the trip. Since it's our first time driving in Italy and Germany, I will rent out a GPS unit, buy an offline GPS unit, buy a Sim data card for internet, print out google maps in a binder (already done) Pvt Dancer posted:Can't you just get offline gps for your phone? I bought Sygic a few years ago for €50 and it has all the maps in the world with free updates. Thanks for the link! I will probably buy that as well. Do you live near Canton Ticino? If the this trip goes well we will go again next year. After Dresden I will be in Berlin for a week for a trade show. And then work is finished, I will be in Amsterdam June 28-July 1st for a goon meet. caberham fucked around with this message at 05:15 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 05:09
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sellouts posted:Given his explanation of "just trying to save the company some money" isn't that a pretty big assumption? No, it was the most straightforward reading of the post. In fact, based on the follow up, it is exactly what what happening. caberham posted:Um sorry to cause a ruckus here
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May 20, 2014 13:26
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Concur's approved hotel list confuses me. I was booking the Downtown Marriott Cleveland and it came up as unapproved - but there were no approved hotels in Cleveland - but that's ok because it recommended I book the Ritz for $50 a night more! I just booked the stupid Marriott.
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May 20, 2014 23:52
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Is anyone rocking two US passports? I have some travel coming up between the US and Canada over the summer and into fall but will have to return to China after Thanksgiving. I am working for a few different companies so one hand doesn't know what the other is doing when it comes to my travel. I only have three more completely blank pages in my current one so at the very least I will have to get some added before I get another visa but I would really like to get another one so I can travel with one while the other is getting a visa. Also a trip to the middle east is never out of the question so having two passports could make that easier. Reading online the second one is only good for 2 years, really 18 months of functionality because most places want you to have 6 months left on your passport before it expires to travel anyway.
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May 27, 2014 14:26
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Sound_man posted:Is anyone rocking two US passports? If you do that make sure you only use the second passport when you need it. Also revealing to immigration or consulates ANYWHERE that you have two simultaneously valid passports is an instant red flag.
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May 27, 2014 15:12
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If you get your bags searched by customs in the Republic of Friendlystan and they realize you have two passports, I imagine your day would get real interesting real fast. If your passport's full, get some pages added and get the thick one next time. A second one I can only see bringing complications.
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May 27, 2014 15:20
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The two passports would be in the same name, I don't think it'd be that problematic if customs noticed both of them. I've also been considering doing this, it's probably only necessary if you frequently travel on short notice and you go to a lot of places where you have to get the visa in advance from the embassy, instead of on arrival.
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May 27, 2014 15:28
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Sound_man posted:Is anyone rocking two US passports? Not US, but I have two at the moment because I had to wait a few weeks for a Russian visa. When I got the second one they advised me to never travel with two documents if at all possible because of the time wasted if immigration somehow notices. Technically nothing illegal though. AFAIK the only problem with the middle east is if you want to visit Israel with an Iran visa or whatever stamped in your passport. Not sure if Israel stamps US passports, they don't for EU countries so the reverse doesn't even apply.
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May 27, 2014 16:22
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Echoing last post. Dual passport travel is fine. I can go to Russia and USA visa free. Oh and where in China will you be? China goons are a cool bunch.
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May 27, 2014 16:43
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Xandu posted:The two passports would be in the same name, I don't think it'd be that problematic if customs noticed both of them. You're speculating. Let me assure you that it is extremely loving problematic to be caught with multiple passports. Even having two of different types (e.g. regular and diplomatic, or being a dual citizen) can get you questioned. Basically, you are immediately suspected of being a spy or criminal, arguably the same thing in a lot of places. You should only show the one you're using. Keep the other one in your bag or a different pocket. If you go to secondary they'll find it anyway, but you don't want to give them an excuse to send you there. You are correct in that you really only need a second one for frequent unpredictable high-frequency travel to places that need the visa in advance. Israel used to not stamp your passport if you asked them not to though I don't know if they still offer that courtesy, if not that's another reason to get one.
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May 27, 2014 18:18
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Midjack posted:You're speculating. Let me assure you that it is extremely loving problematic to be caught with multiple passports. Even having two of different types (e.g. regular and diplomatic, or being a dual citizen) can get you questioned. Basically, you are immediately suspected of being a spy or criminal, arguably the same thing in a lot of places. In addition to all those things, my (limited) understanding is that you have to provide a letter with your application that explains exactly why you need the second passport and what you plan to use it for. It's not something they just hand out regularly, I don't think.
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May 27, 2014 18:20
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Mackieman posted:In addition to all those things, my (limited) understanding is that you have to provide a letter with your application that explains exactly why you need the second passport and what you plan to use it for. It's not something they just hand out regularly, I don't think. They don't do it a lot, and State's strong preference is that you get all the visas you think you might need for a given period lined up in advance.
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May 27, 2014 18:32
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Midjack posted:You're speculating. Let me assure you that it is extremely loving problematic to be caught with multiple passports. Even having two of different types (e.g. regular and diplomatic, or being a dual citizen) can get you questioned. Basically, you are immediately suspected of being a spy or criminal, arguably the same thing in a lot of places. Israel does not stamp, instead they give you an little paper entry card and upon departure, an exit card. As an FYI, DO NOT ASK THEM TO STAMP YOUR PASSPORT, this is a big red flag.
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May 27, 2014 19:21
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caberham posted:Echoing last post. Dual passport travel is fine. I can go to Russia and USA visa free. I just got back from Beijing. I was part of a tour that was sold to a Chinese investor so we installed it in a tent near the Bird's Nest. I may have to go back in November to move the show and I am sort of on call until then if something major goes wrong. I didn't get out much in my 3 weeks there, did a day of sight seeing and that was enough for me. I like my personal space too much I guess. And there was a Korean BBQ near the hotel that was 59 RMB all you can eat and drink. My merry band of round eyes cleaned them out a few times. Midjack posted:They don't do it a lot, and State's strong preference is that you get all the visas you think you might need for a given period lined up in advance. I wish I was able to, but no one is willing to commit $200 for a visa application until it is a sure thing and it is never a sure thing until the last minute. I have had a few interesting visa/passport things happen to coworkers while abroad. We were in London for a week and some people needed visas for Argentina. Management collects the passports and puts them in to be processed. A day later there is a massive round of firings in the company. Two people that got fired have to stay in London for several days waiting on their visas to get processed so they can get their passport back. While in China a coworkers wife lost a family member. His passport was in the hands of the Chinese because he was applying for a residence visa. I guess it wasn't a close enough relation to be covered under the emergency travel procedure but he was still pissed he couldn't be with his wife. Sound_man fucked around with this message at 19:39 on May 27, 2014 |
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May 27, 2014 19:28
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Belldandy posted:Israel does not stamp, instead they give you an little paper entry card and upon departure, an exit card. As an FYI, DO NOT ASK THEM TO STAMP YOUR PASSPORT, this is a big red flag.
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May 27, 2014 23:09
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Small White Dragon posted:What? Why? Jihadists need it done in case their expense report gets audited.
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May 27, 2014 23:26
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Belldandy posted:Israel does not stamp, instead they give you an little paper entry card and upon departure, an exit card. As an FYI, DO NOT ASK THEM TO STAMP YOUR PASSPORT, this is a big red flag. Small White Dragon posted:What? Why? There's a lot of mythology built up around Israeli passport stamping poo poo over the years. Previously this was up to the discretion of the person working the booth, some assumed that foreign/Western business travelers would opt for a paper over a stamp and just go that route without a direct request so now it is standard practice. There are neighboring nations that will deny entry or harass/interrogate people who have made trips into Israel. Who the gently caress would opt into that by getting a stamp over a card? Here is official info from the US about travel into and out of Israel. The UK has a good guide for their citizens too: US State Dept posted:Security Screening: U.S. citizens are advised that all persons entering or departing Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza are subject to security screening and may be denied entry or exit without explanation. U.S. citizen visitors have been subjected to prolonged questioning and physical searches and have been denied access to consular officers, lawyers, and family members.
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May 27, 2014 23:29
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Cuddly Tumblemumps posted:There's a lot of mythology built up around Israeli passport stamping poo poo over the years. Previously this was up to the discretion of the person working the booth, some assumed that foreign/Western business travelers would opt for a paper over a stamp and just go that route without a direct request so now it is standard practice.
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May 28, 2014 02:11
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Small White Dragon posted:Bizarro. There are a lot of people who like getting their passports stamped, I thought this was a standard request. Hong Kong no longer stamps passports, either. It's becoming somewhat more commonplace these days, especially where you see lots of semi-local border crossings like Hong Kong.
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May 28, 2014 19:15
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Mackieman posted:Hong Kong no longer stamps passports, either. It's becoming somewhat more commonplace these days, especially where you see lots of semi-local border crossings like Hong Kong. Which makes me sad because I don't travel internationally very often so I like getting my passport stamped as a memento.
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May 28, 2014 21:10
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Thoguh posted:Which makes me sad because I don't travel internationally very often so I like getting my passport stamped as a memento. Same here, I was totally bummed I couldn't get mine stamped.
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May 28, 2014 21:27
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Southwest does TSA pre-check now? WOOOOOOO!! Just in time for me to get back out on the road!
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May 29, 2014 01:50
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Global Entry is the best thing ever.
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May 29, 2014 01:57
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Global Entry is the best thing ever. I've had it for a few years when I was frequently traveling to Ontario and Quebec. I've only flown domestic on a non-Southwest airline a couple of times and one of those times the pre-check line was actually longer than the normal security line. However, after my last few flights that took place over holidays, I'm REALLY looking forward to not slumming with vacationers anymore.
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May 29, 2014 02:05
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DJCobol posted:However, after my last few flights that took place over holidays, I'm REALLY looking forward to not slumming with vacationers anymore. Oh, you will. Yesterday at MCO there were entire families randomly selected for precheck. They now have to have multiple line barkers reminding people they were in a precheck. It is still much better but yeah, not nearly as efficient as it used to be.
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May 29, 2014 02:21
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No matter what, it'll be worth it to not have to take my shoes off/laptop out/tools out/go through the loving milliwave scanner
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May 29, 2014 02:25
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As a non-Prechecker, I would happily have my hand wiped for bomb residue and not have to do the no shoes thing any day.
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May 29, 2014 06:13
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Occasional travelers are the worst people in the world.
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May 29, 2014 13:08
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Occasional travelers are the worst people in the world. DO I TAKE OUT MY LAPTOP OUT HERE? I KNOW IVE BEEN TOLD 3 TIMES NOT TO AND THERE IS A SIGN SAYING DONT REMOVE YOUR LAPTOP BUT I WANT TO ASK AGAIN DO I TAKE OUT MY LAPTOP???? woooo I'm a baby on the big plane!!
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May 29, 2014 15:10
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"My boarding pass says I'm in seat 22D, but the board outside in the gate area [?] said I'm in seat 3 [?]. Am I in seat 3?" The flight attendants never did figure out what she meant by the board outside but had a hell of a time convincing her that her boarding pass was right.
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May 29, 2014 15:30
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