"Dave, personal comfort is never a factor."

I'm scheduling a business trip that includes part of my weekend. Some people get all excited about business trips. I don't. I usually spend more time in the airport than actually learning anything at the event. Travel has become a royal pain in the neck (some people have a lower opinion of it). I like my everyday routines.

It took me two months to get my director to "authorize" the trip. His initial objection to the trip was that it didn't immediately pertain to the job I do. He said that he prefers "just in time" education. I'm not really sure what that means other than waiting until the software arrives at the front door before we train anyone. The Enterprise has purchased this software months ago. "Just in time" was three months ago. At least, that was my argument.

Evidently, I convinced him, because after months of vacillating (he said Yes, then said No, then said He wasn't sure) he's said Yes. Just this week he gave me a thumbs up. Before he could change his mind again, I made all the arrangements. Since our Department Admin doesn't schedule trips for us, I had to do it myself. That includes registering for the event, getting the hotel, and booking the flight.

When I booked the flight there were several "authorized" flights available choose from. I picked the one I wanted. It was $20 more than the one above. It was with an airline I have frequent flyer miles, so I went for it. Besides, it had better departure and arrival times.

Well, within an hour I got a phone call about the $20 difference. "You know, Dave, personal comfort is never a factor in these things." he said. Well, yeah, I know. I'm leaving Sunday morning when I could be enjoying personal comfort in my bed!

"Now I want you to go and book the cheaper flight if at all possible. Otherwise, I want you to abide by company policy procedure in the future."

Dude you really need to get a life. Don't you have any REAL management tasks to do? Something that is really a value add? Twenty dollars? We are talking twenty dollars here. Are you hearing me? It's not about abandoning "policy procedure" because the web site would have never suggested a flight that didn't meet company SOP (standard operating procedure). Don't you get it? Are you always so clueless?

This guy is so insensitive, he must be paralyzed from the neck down.

...dave
An Architect without a manager is like, well, a fish without a bicycle.