PPB November 2019

“ I envy you, Kim! You get to travel, eat in great restaurants, fly to fun places, stay in great hotels. I bet you love being a road warrior,” says a friend of mine. “Yes, I do!” I reply. In the back of my mind, though, I’m thinking about the night before when, after a five-hour plane delay, the rental car agent told me I had no reservation. Or, recently checking into my hotel, tired, hungry and ready to fall into bed, and pulling back the covers to find the man-hairs of the previous guest all over my sheets. If that’s not living the dream, what is? Suppliers are never surprised by these naive travel envies that most often come from our customers who live and work in the same area and don’t often get the opportunity to travel for business. They see the life of a salesperson as full of adventure and meeting new people. Well, we do meet some very interesting people, but most well-traveled businesspeople and supplier reps can tell you tales that’ll send shivers down your spine or scare the daylights out of you. Waking up in a minivan in Mexico? Backing a company RV into a ditch? Experiencing the sounds of “ladies of the night?” Yeah, that’s living the dream alright. Years ago, I wrote a similar article for this magazine that recounted a few of my industry friends’ stories, both funny and horrifying. Some of the sagas that follow will ring true for many business travelers and will open others’ eyes to the not uncommon experiences we road warriors know oh so well. Don’t Air Your Dirty Lingerie! TJ Garrett Senior Key Account Manager Evans Manufacturing Dallas, Texas One night I was coming home on a very delayed flight. Everyone was tired and couldn’t wait to get their bags and head home. It was a plane where you waited jet-side for your luggage to arrive. People were pushing and shoving to get their luggage and I saw a gentleman pick up my bag. I rushed to it and told him that he had picked up my bag by mistake and tried to take it from him. He assured me the bag was his; I assured him it was not. He started walking off with my bag as I followed behind him. Finally, I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Well good luck explaining my dirty lingerie to your wife!” He turned and with a look of horror on his face said, “You’re sure this is your bag?” “Pretty sure!” I replied. “That pink luggage tag with my name on it is a dead giveaway.” He shook his head, handed my bag over and headed back down the jetway to find his own bag. Tales From The Road | FEATURE | NOVEMBER 2019 | 21