Company reprimands employee for spending $50 extra on flight, he pays them back 5 times over when taking trip with boss: 'Always select the lest expensive option'

• 
  via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

  _{^{A young male professional runs down an airport hallway, pulling a small suitcase}}

  _{^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}}

• In this story, an employee took advantage of the fact that their company allowed employees to book their own travel arrangements for business trips. They insisted that they had to always take the cheapest possible option, so when they spent $50 extra on a flight to get home a little earlier, they ended up receiving a warning.

  Frustrating as this was, the employee saw their chance to prove a point when they accompanied their boss on a business trip to London. They were in charge of booking the flights, and their manager was about to learn how sometimes it is better to prioritize convenience.

• I worked for a small company where employees could plan and book their own travel, but there were some guidelines. One of them was "Always select the least expensive option for flights, do not book based on convenience."

  After a particular trip, I picked a flight that was an additional $50 so I could get home earlier on a Friday. Problem was I was travelling with a co-worker who followed the rules, and when we submitted our expenses, I was asked why I took an earlier and more expensive flight, instead of spending 3 hours at the airport after our last meeting. I was given a warning.

• 
  via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

  _{^{A young male professional looks out the window of an airport hallway, holding the handle of a small suitcase}}

  _{^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}}

• 
  via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

  _{^{The back of a man in a suit, pulling a small suitcase into an airport waiting area}}

  _{^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}}

• Well, my boss and I had to go to a conference in London. Since we were flying from the US, we decided to piggyback on some client meetings. We left our home airport, spent two nights in Amsterdam, and then 5 days in London. My boss would never book his own travel, so I had to do it for him.

  On the way home, there was a direct flight to our home airport, but it was an extra $250, so I booked a flight that put us through JFK and instead of landing home around 1 PM, we landed at 5 PM.

   

• Enter my malicious compliance: I booked the less expensive trip, and we had a 4-hour layover on a Friday afternoon. My boss was p****d because he had an hour drive from our airport, so he had to cancel a date night with his wife.

  He asked why I booked this flight instead of something that got us in earlier, and I explained the policy. Monday morning, we had a chat with HR about using "best judgment" when it comes to booking.

  Oh, the kicker was that because of my status with the airline, I got an upgrade on both flights and was able to stretch out. Boss? Not so much.

  _{^{Source: DruncleMuncle}}

• 
  via Briana Tozour

  _{^{View of an airplane from inside a gate in the airport}}

  _{^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}}

Tags