Coworker made me miss our flight

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were going to the client meeting... so .... it sounds like she was coming from HER house and left the laptop in her car etc. How can the OP be responsible for waking her up and getting her to the airport. I can understand if they were mid-travel then he could have reasonably taken some responsibility for her... but.... she should be totally responsible for getting to work on time.

Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!

OP you said earlier:

Anonymous wrote:It's actually part of my job title (that would be engineer).

I'm not trying to make excuses, but I honestly had no idea people wore shoes that high. Fashion isn't my thing, and I didn't know they existed. How can I be expected to tell her not to do something if I don't know the thing is question exists? Honest question.

You must be an AWFUL engineer. You don't seem to have any capacity for systems thinking or problem solving at all.

As a fellow engineer, the first thing I would do if my manager assigned me to help someone who'd never traveled before is meet, ask questions, and go over the basics of business travel, and provide a detailed list of resources online she could research on her own. Doing this would have allowed you to demonstrate that 100% of the problems were caused by your coworker's lack of professionalism and not your own inability to prepare and manage her. Sleeping in is her fault. But showing up with the wrong outfit, wrong size luggage, without the laptop? All those things would have been solved had you adequately prepared her with e.g., a simple checklist you could have found online like http://travel.tripcase.com/blog/business-trip-packing-list/ or http://www.oncallinternational.com/blog/how-to-pack-like-a-pro-on-your-next-business-trip/

By not doing some basic due diligence, you opened yourself up to your manager's negative feedback on your poor performance. And all you have to say for yourself it is that you "can't know something if you don't know it exists"? Again, that sort of mindset is awful coming from an engineer, who is presumably paid to design systems to fix problems they haven't necessarily experienced first-hand. You sound like level 1 tech support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Amazing that we're 6 pages in and you still haven't taken ANY responsibility for this, OP.

She didn't wake up on time! What was I supposed to do, go to her house and bang on the door?! I was at the airport THREE HOURS ahead of boarding and told her to be there at the same time! Hell no, I'm not taking responsibility for it!

No one thinks that's your fault. What people are saying is that you aren't even taking responsibility for preparing her regarding the basics of airplane travel.

I don't know the basics, though, which is why I gave us plenty of time - so she could just follow me through. How can I be expected to know the basics - serious question.

Now you're being ridiculous, OP. You travel frequently. You know what to do and you very well know the basics. What you failed to do, when you got the assignment to babysit your coworker, was to have some conversation with her about the basics and where she could find information on checking in, security and what not. You didn't think it through beyond having her arrive early. It wasn't enough.

Of course, I don't think you should have been assigned to babysit her in the first place. But you were, and you accepted it and you didn't deliver.

I do find it amusing that while you are so incredulous about what she doesn't know about air travel, you also say you know nothing about high heels. They've been around a long time, and although I don't wear them, I've certainly heard of them. In fact, they are more common an experience than air travel. Think on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were going to the client meeting... so .... it sounds like she was coming from HER house and left the laptop in her car etc. How can the OP be responsible for waking her up and getting her to the airport. I can understand if they were mid-travel then he could have reasonably taken some responsibility for her... but.... she should be totally responsible for getting to work on time.

Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!

OP you said earlier:

Anonymous wrote:It's actually part of my job title (that would be engineer).

I'm not trying to make excuses, but I honestly had no idea people wore shoes that high. Fashion isn't my thing, and I didn't know they existed. How can I be expected to tell her not to do something if I don't know the thing is question exists? Honest question.

You must be an AWFUL engineer. You don't seem to have any capacity for systems thinking or problem solving at all.

As a fellow engineer, the first thing I would do if my manager assigned me to help someone who'd never traveled before is meet, ask questions, and go over the basics of business travel, and provide a detailed list of resources online she could research on her own. Doing this would have allowed you to demonstrate that 100% of the problems were caused by your coworker's lack of professionalism and not your own inability to prepare and manage her. Sleeping in is her fault. But showing up with the wrong outfit, wrong size luggage, without the laptop? All those things would have been solved had you adequately prepared her with e.g., a simple checklist you could have found online like http://travel.tripcase.com/blog/business-trip-packing-list/ or http://www.oncallinternational.com/blog/how-to-pack-like-a-pro-on-your-next-business-trip/

By not doing some basic due diligence, you opened yourself up to your manager's negative feedback on your poor performance. And all you have to say for yourself it is that you "can't know something if you don't know it exists"? Again, that sort of mindset is awful coming from an engineer, who is presumably paid to design systems to fix problems they haven't necessarily experienced first-hand. You sound like level 1 tech support.

Oh yeah, based on this incident she must be an awful engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



Anonymous wrote:


Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!


Your boss made it your job to figure this out when he assigned you to babysit. Seriously, OP, just take some responsibility. You didn't do the work to educate her with regard to what can go through security and how to dress for travel. She alone is responsible for not getting up on time. But, that may not have been a problem had you prepared her in advance for getting through security.

Hold on a second. The Boss can't make her off-work behavior his responsibility. When they are on travel... sure... she can be responsible for her but it is totally unreasonable to expect that a 40-something year old woman is incapable of getting to work on time. This is exactly what happened. She didn't get to work on time.

1. The boss is incompetent for (a) hiring her and (b) assigning you this task for babysitting her in hers and your non-working time.
2. Where are the feminists voicing complaints that a woman needs a man to babysit her?

How do you know OP is a man?

And some women, like some men, are incompetent. It's not a feminist issue.

I actually thought OP was a woman and was annoyed that a boss would assign her to babysit another woman (thinking a man wouldn't have the patience to put up with a 40 year old new colleague's inexperience). But I'm a woman and agree with PPs that it's every person for themselves where I work when it comes to travel. (With the possible exception of very senior staff who travel with entourages). I would be annoyed if my boss assigned me to babysit a colleague (unless they were really really young maybe).

OP was opining that he had no idea that tall heels existed and never expected someone to wear them to the airport for travel. Because of that statement I may have been assumed that the OP was a man. Although, the OP must be completely disengaged with life if he has no idea that 4 or 6 inch heels exist and that women wear them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you have HR contact you can talk to about this? It's one thing to help an inexperienced coworker navigate business travel once everyone is at the point of embarking, but it's completely another thing to hold you accountable for ensuring your coworker got up on time, got to the airport on time, wore appropriate clothing, etc. And unless your coworker has been living under a rock, she should know that there are many restrictions regarding flight travel. Heck, I haven't flown in years and I know that!

If your boss has formally reprimanded you, or even verbally reprimanded you, for the situation – then I would involve HR at this point. I agree with others that there is something suspicious about the situation. Someone so completely clueless has been chosen to advance to a position where she must travel for business? I seriously wonder what is going on between this person and your boss.

+100. I completely agree with this.

If your coworker is that incompetent at being an adult, how the f*** does she handle her job.

+2 Plus doesn't her casual attitude at missing the flight add context. If she had erred, but was trying, it seems that she would be more contrite. Though perhaps, she doesn't understand workplace expectations and behaviors if she is new to a professional job. That seems like a bigger conversation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were going to the client meeting... so .... it sounds like she was coming from HER house and left the laptop in her car etc. How can the OP be responsible for waking her up and getting her to the airport. I can understand if they were mid-travel then he could have reasonably taken some responsibility for her... but.... she should be totally responsible for getting to work on time.

Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!

OP you said earlier:

Anonymous wrote:It's actually part of my job title (that would be engineer).

I'm not trying to make excuses, but I honestly had no idea people wore shoes that high. Fashion isn't my thing, and I didn't know they existed. How can I be expected to tell her not to do something if I don't know the thing is question exists? Honest question.

You must be an AWFUL engineer. You don't seem to have any capacity for systems thinking or problem solving at all.

As a fellow engineer, the first thing I would do if my manager assigned me to help someone who'd never traveled before is meet, ask questions, and go over the basics of business travel, and provide a detailed list of resources online she could research on her own. Doing this would have allowed you to demonstrate that 100% of the problems were caused by your coworker's lack of professionalism and not your own inability to prepare and manage her. Sleeping in is her fault. But showing up with the wrong outfit, wrong size luggage, without the laptop? All those things would have been solved had you adequately prepared her with e.g., a simple checklist you could have found online like http://travel.tripcase.com/blog/business-trip-packing-list/ or http://www.oncallinternational.com/blog/how-to-pack-like-a-pro-on-your-next-business-trip/

By not doing some basic due diligence, you opened yourself up to your manager's negative feedback on your poor performance. And all you have to say for yourself it is that you "can't know something if you don't know it exists"? Again, that sort of mindset is awful coming from an engineer, who is presumably paid to design systems to fix problems they haven't necessarily experienced first-hand. You sound like level 1 tech support.

Oh yeah, based on this incident she must be an awful engineer.

Based on his or her inability to adequately prepare for this assignment and foresee and address common failure points for business travel and items specific to this individual he or she seems to have known in advance would be a problem (lateness, wardrobe, luggage, TSA)? Yes, he or she must be a terrible engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



Anonymous wrote:


Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!


Your boss made it your job to figure this out when he assigned you to babysit. Seriously, OP, just take some responsibility. You didn't do the work to educate her with regard to what can go through security and how to dress for travel. She alone is responsible for not getting up on time. But, that may not have been a problem had you prepared her in advance for getting through security.

Hold on a second. The Boss can't make her off-work behavior his responsibility. When they are on travel... sure... she can be responsible for her but it is totally unreasonable to expect that a 40-something year old woman is incapable of getting to work on time. This is exactly what happened. She didn't get to work on time.

1. The boss is incompetent for (a) hiring her and (b) assigning you this task for babysitting her in hers and your non-working time.
2. Where are the feminists voicing complaints that a woman needs a man to babysit her?

How do you know OP is a man?

And some women, like some men, are incompetent. It's not a feminist issue.

I actually thought OP was a woman and was annoyed that a boss would assign her to babysit another woman (thinking a man wouldn't have the patience to put up with a 40 year old new colleague's inexperience). But I'm a woman and agree with PPs that it's every person for themselves where I work when it comes to travel. (With the possible exception of very senior staff who travel with entourages). I would be annoyed if my boss assigned me to babysit a colleague (unless they were really really young maybe).

OP was opining that he had no idea that tall heels existed and never expected someone to wear them to the airport for travel. Because of that statement I may have been assumed that the OP was a man. Although, the OP must be completely disengaged with life if he has no idea that 4 or 6 inch heels exist and that women wear them.

+1

OP is probably one of those people who bitches that she never gets promoted, and everyone else at her firm is completely fed up with her inability to "know in advance" about crazy things like "high heels" and "fashion"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:



Anonymous wrote:


Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!


Your boss made it your job to figure this out when he assigned you to babysit. Seriously, OP, just take some responsibility. You didn't do the work to educate her with regard to what can go through security and how to dress for travel. She alone is responsible for not getting up on time. But, that may not have been a problem had you prepared her in advance for getting through security.

Hold on a second. The Boss can't make her off-work behavior his responsibility. When they are on travel... sure... she can be responsible for her but it is totally unreasonable to expect that a 40-something year old woman is incapable of getting to work on time. This is exactly what happened. She didn't get to work on time.

1. The boss is incompetent for (a) hiring her and (b) assigning you this task for babysitting her in hers and your non-working time.
2. Where are the feminists voicing complaints that a woman needs a man to babysit her?

How do you know OP is a man?

And some women, like some men, are incompetent. It's not a feminist issue.

I actually thought OP was a woman and was annoyed that a boss would assign her to babysit another woman (thinking a man wouldn't have the patience to put up with a 40 year old new colleague's inexperience). But I'm a woman and agree with PPs that it's every person for themselves where I work when it comes to travel. (With the possible exception of very senior staff who travel with entourages). I would be annoyed if my boss assigned me to babysit a colleague (unless they were really really young maybe).

OP was opining that he had no idea that tall heels existed and never expected someone to wear them to the airport for travel. Because of that statement I may have been assumed that the OP was a man. Although, the OP must be completely disengaged with life if he has no idea that 4 or 6 inch heels exist and that women wear them.

+1

OP is probably one of those people who bitches that she never gets promoted, and everyone else at her firm is completely fed up with her inability to "know in advance" about crazy things like "high heels" and "fashion"

+2 OP should probably tell this women that she need to wipe from front to back.

[Anonymous]

I am neurotically punctual. I am not blaming you OP because this person is a grown up and you're not their boss. I just would never wait for someone.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure op knows that high heels exist. But she didn't think anyone with an ounce of common sense would wear them on this trip.
I can believe that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted a while back about having to take a new coworker on a business trip with me. She is brand new to business travel - any kind of air travel, really - so I made sure we had plenty of time.

1. She woke up late
2. Was at the airport and hour and a half later than we agreed to
3. Left her laptop bag in her car
4. Didn't know you couldn't bring liquids through security
5. Wore these ridiculous 4 inch heels so she could barely walk through the terminal.

I basically dragged her as fast as I could through the airport, and we still missed our flight. Our manager is furious with me because I didn't explain to her about the liquids and that she couldn't carry on a giant suitcase, etc, or explain to her her decent travel attire. I guess I am wondering if this is really my responsibility? I travel 150,000 miles a year and it never occurred to me to tell someone in 2015 that they can't bring a huge bottle of shampoo or a giant suitcase on the plane. I was at the airport almost 3 hours before our flight, but there wasn't much I could do besides call her when she didn't show up on time.

How do I fix this in the future? I am not her manager.

Tell her manager because she should be fired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Now you're being ridiculous, OP. You travel frequently. You know what to do and you very well know the basics. What you failed to do, when you got the assignment to babysit your coworker, was to have some conversation with her about the basics and where she could find information on checking in, security and what not. You didn't think it through beyond having her arrive early. It wasn't enough.

Someone who travels 150,000 miles a year cannot possible put themselves in the mind of someone who has never flown. It's second nature when you are an expert at something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Now you're being ridiculous, OP. You travel frequently. You know what to do and you very well know the basics. What you failed to do, when you got the assignment to babysit your coworker, was to have some conversation with her about the basics and where she could find information on checking in, security and what not. You didn't think it through beyond having her arrive early. It wasn't enough.

Someone who travels 150,000 miles a year cannot possible put themselves in the mind of someone who has never flown. It's second nature when you are an expert at something.

Sure. Experts can never teach beginners. It's so obvious now!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You shouldn't have waited. I don't wait for anyone. If DH is late, I leave without him.

I was explicitly told to stay with her because she hasn't traveled before.

Good Lord. Use some common sense!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They were going to the client meeting... so .... it sounds like she was coming from HER house and left the laptop in her car etc. How can the OP be responsible for waking her up and getting her to the airport. I can understand if they were mid-travel then he could have reasonably taken some responsibility for her... but.... she should be totally responsible for getting to work on time.

Yes, this was the situation. It's not like I could bang on her hotel room door or anything. And I honestly don't know what people who don't travel know. How would I?!

OP you said earlier:

Anonymous wrote:It's actually part of my job title (that would be engineer).

I'm not trying to make excuses, but I honestly had no idea people wore shoes that high. Fashion isn't my thing, and I didn't know they existed. How can I be expected to tell her not to do something if I don't know the thing is question exists? Honest question.

You must be an AWFUL engineer. You don't seem to have any capacity for systems thinking or problem solving at all.

As a fellow engineer, the first thing I would do if my manager assigned me to help someone who'd never traveled before is meet, ask questions, and go over the basics of business travel, and provide a detailed list of resources online she could research on her own. Doing this would have allowed you to demonstrate that 100% of the problems were caused by your coworker's lack of professionalism and not your own inability to prepare and manage her. Sleeping in is her fault. But showing up with the wrong outfit, wrong size luggage, without the laptop? All those things would have been solved had you adequately prepared her with e.g., a simple checklist you could have found online like http://travel.tripcase.com/blog/business-trip-packing-list/ or http://www.oncallinternational.com/blog/how-to-pack-like-a-pro-on-your-next-business-trip/

By not doing some basic due diligence, you opened yourself up to your manager's negative feedback on your poor performance. And all you have to say for yourself it is that you "can't know something if you don't know it exists"? Again, that sort of mindset is awful coming from an engineer, who is presumably paid to design systems to fix problems they haven't necessarily experienced first-hand. You sound like level 1 tech support.

Oh yeah, based on this incident she must be an awful engineer.

Based on his or her inability to adequately prepare for this assignment and foresee and address common failure points for business travel and items specific to this individual he or she seems to have known in advance would be a problem (lateness, wardrobe, luggage, TSA)? Yes, he or she must be a terrible engineer.

Do you always make conclusions based on one data point?