I posted previously about my thoughts on our travel agency - they have been good for years. What happened? I know that we are "currently experiencing a higher then normal call volume" due to integration travel. (At least I hope they have that excuse) But seriously - I called the agency and got connected to someone I have never worked with. The call took a VERY long time. Over the course of the call, we were booking train reservations and I asked repeatedly to make sure we were booking to the correct train station (Grand Central vs Penn)as my timing to get to my meetings is close. She reassured me, repeating Grand Central multiple times. I asked if I could provide my pin so she got the right Jim King - nope, pulled up the wrong one, lost more time. Got my reservations late that night and surprise, wrong train station. Got to my destination, walked past the counter to pick up my car and no car! She forgot to add my gold status, and they had no reservation for me. I got a Mazda tin can and drove the next hour with my knees keeping my ears warm. (not entirely bad since it was REALLY cold out so having warm ears was good) Really Carlson - Quality is not something that can afford to suffer when booking travel! Little mistakes can make a big difference when timing is tight.
joys of travel and tsa
So this is my first flight in the new year with new security measures in effect, flying out of philly. Seems largely unchanged... Ummm except the "random" pat down after the security scan - so complete I asked if the screener had plans to buy me dinner when they were done. Clearly I thought that more humorous than the tsa drone. This was followed up with another "random" search of my bag along with an explosives scan. Seem I made it back on some list somewhere! I also forgot about my large aluminum water bottle until I was in line, resulting in some fast drinking :). The fun begins anew for another year of travel. Flying, grabbing a car, dropping e rental at the train station to take a train to NYC for another meeting then back home to do it again next week.