Sweet. You're fresh out of college, were lucky enough to land a job and now you're going on your first business trip. Now what? Embassy Suites tackled this scenario by surveying more than 500 business travelers and asking them for golden nuggets of advice and pearls of wisdom.
Some of the results:
- Thirty-three percent have spilled food or drink on their clothes en route to a client meeting; consequently, over half of respondents recommend business travelers always pack an extra suit.
- Our Take: Avoid major meals immediately before or en route to a client meeting and carry a stain remover.
- Nearly one in four (24 percent) have mispronounced a client's name or referred to a client by the wrong name; to deal with the situation at hand, 64 percent apologized profusely to the client while three percent turned bright red and ran away.
- Our Take: Practice makes perfect. Consult a name pronunciation guide before turning cherry red.
- While only nine percent of respondents have overslept and missed a meeting or business function entirely, 41 percent suggest setting two alarms for the morning of an important meeting.
- Our Take: Why just two? Hotel wake-up call, cell phone and clock radio alarm.
