Should I save my firm $400 by going from a

Inner Evil Voice Wrote:
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> While in my first job I had this trip to my
> hometown, so there was no need to book a hotel
> since I’d be staying with family for five days. I
> invited one person to have a nice dinner on
> company money thinking that since I saved them
> around $1K there shouldn’t be a problem if I
> exceeded by $100 once my daily budget for meals.
> Wrong. Since I was at the bottom of the totem pole
> they told me: “good you save us $1K but you
> shouldn’t have taken someone out on company
> money”. It sucks to be a newbie.
You should have invoiced them for the “hotel” stay at your parents’ house. My company will actually reimburse a friend or family member who provides lodging on a business trip. I think they will pay $50 or $75 per night.
 
The comparisons to “what would you do with your own money” are irrelevant. Business travel is not the same as personal travel. If my company wants me to go somewhere, they’re going to pay so that I can do so in relative comfort. That doesn’t mean I’m going first class the whole way, but I’m generally going to take direct flights at normal hours, and not the red-eye through Atlanta (shudder).
That said, $400 for an extra hour isn’t that bad of deal. I’d probably do that for my company. Perhaps you can try to standby on the earlier flight while you’re there. If you don’t have access to an airline lounge, take some of the $400 you saved and buy a one-day pass.
 
why would you give a **** about that $400 when CEO can take 30k private jet flght.
Don’t tell me CEO’s time is too precious and mine isnt’
 
higgmond Wrote:
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> AntonioY Wrote:
> ————————————————–
> —–
> > ask yourself what you would do if you were
> paying
> > and do that.
>
>
> +1
Another +1. I know people who would always spend right up to the max on company meals, push the envelope on traveling expenses, etc, and it bothers me. There’s certainly a trade-off - if the choice was $50 saved vs. extra five hours, then heck no. But this is an easy trade-off. As someone else said, spend the extra hour with a book or a beer and enjoy the time away from your desk.
 
The problem there is that you can’t take that $400 in isolation. I want my company to spend as much money as is reasonable to make me feel comfortable. As a content employee, I will be far more productive and will probably produce more income than that $400 one-time cost. Likewise, if I’m travelling on business, I’m going to be in a much better and productive mood during tomorrow’s client meeting if I know that my employer bought me a $50 steak today, as opposed to a $5 Subway sandwich.
How much money have you guys made for your company compared to how much they pay you? 10x? 20x? Until they are paying you your marginal contribution to their bottom line, it’s totally justified to blow an insignificant amount of money on something that will improve your psychological well being (and hence productivity).
 
Is the extra hour really all that inconvenient? $400 inconvenient?
If it’s going to be a major pain to wait the hour or rebook the ticket to save your company money, then there’s a case for just letting it be. But if it’s no biggie, and you don’t hate your company management, then yes, do them the favor.
But also note down every time you save your company money, and if you find yourself doing it often, then bring it up at your performance review, listed.
In my experience, the main problem isn’t so much doing the right thing for your company, but making sure that your work to save them money is recognized as just as important to profits as your work to make them money.
 
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