On work trip abroad. Colleague gone crazy

[Eastie77]

Just that really. I'm abroad for work, 2 days in a major European city with a client meeting tomorrow morning. I've travelled with a female colleague who, like me, has 2 young DC. When we found out about this trip she messaged me to say she was desperately looking forward to it as she needs a break from the DC and is run ragged juggling everything. I said I totally sympathised and she replied that we should use this trip as an opportunity to get rat arsed on the company's money. I just laughed.

Arrived at the airport this morning for our early flight to find she had already had downed 2 pints but was at least sober. She kicked up a fuss on the plane as there was no alcohol on sale - not massively but enough to embarrass me. Landed and she bought more alcohol and has generally been increasingly drunk, hyper and shrill since saying this is 'her time'. We arrived at the hotel at 3pm and were meant to go over our presentation for tomorrow but I've had zero input from her. I need her to contribute a bunch of slides and practice a demo of the technical solution we are meant to be presenting to the client but she is not playing ball and has just been propping up the bar. I'm stressed. It looks as if I will have to do her slides and I don't have enough knowledge so emailing colleagues back home. I don't want to speak to my manager about this. She is normally quite conscientious

Good luck today OP. I hope you triumph despite all the odds that were stacked against you. We are all wishing you well.!

To summarise the op is in Portugal for a 2 days work trip to do a presentation to an existing customer hoping that they will renew the licence. Bonuses are at stake including the OP manager.

The pissed colleague messaged the op before they left saying how much she was looking forward to going so she could have a break from her DC, also suggesting that they use the works money and time to get rat arsed.

When op arrived at the airport the PC had already downed 2 pints, made a bit of a scene on the plane because she couldn't have anymore alcohol. Once they had landed she bought more alcohol and continued to get more drunk, at the hotel she spent her time propping the bar up.

They went for a meal PC continued drinking while watching the match, by now so pissed she was running round screaming as the match progressed.

OP admits that they weren't really prepared for the meeting, the PC needed to get some slides ready but has failed to do so, OP had no choice but to ask a colleague back here in the UK to send some slides but they are just generic ones not the ones that are tailored to the client like the ones PC was supposed to do.

PC came to the OP room early this morning all apologetic, you have tried to go through the presentation PC maybe able to just add a small amount of information during the meeting.

The meeting is at 10 am the PC got to her room around 1 am. The colleague back here that had to help has informed your manager, who has been in touch and is being supportive.

Good luck OP, you will now be doing the presentation so fingers crossed it goes well.

Wut, brilliantly creative to binge drink on company time? Wish someone had told 20 yo me, I could have gone for that

'sake

Oh god the hangover (in more senses than one) from this is going to be so cringey for her. She's misjudged your professionalism and for some reason thought you would join her in her antics. She's acting like that woman in Bridesmaids on the plane. On a work trip!

Not wanting to fuck your bonus makes people a capitalist minion, a square and a stuffy suit 😂😂😂
Christ I've heard it all now. You can't make this shit up

Good luck op

Pleased the manager knows. Hopefully you did a brilliant job in difficult circumstances and you are both on the plane home ASAP.

Obviously she should never have gotten you into this mess, but... it’s a great way for the manager to have found out and you have come out top.

Your colleague is really bloody stupid.

As a running dog lackey of the capitalist classes, I'd like to ask if the insult "square" is back in fashion? Haven't heard anyone use it for over fifty years.

Far out and solid OP. Rooting for you. Peace. Out.

Give me someone who is a hot mess brilliant creative any day to hang out with over a stuffy suit. - this is not a 'hot mess brilliant creative', this is just a tedious, run-of-the-mill drunk. Or do you think that British football thugs, drinking all day, rowdy at night is 'creative' and 'fun'?

She was there to work. It's not a holiday. Getting drunk on work time is a sackable offence, rightly so. Why should one person do all the work (creative work or not ) and the other get all the 'fun' AND the bonus?

People who think that real life is square and boring and that they should be allowed to be fun and creative (and others should pay for it) are the worst types of twats.

Grow up.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the company cracks down on the expense policy after this - so the actions of this one irresponsible employee will have ruined it for everyone.

Lol @ square as an insult! haha

Gilchrist168. My bag too, Man. Right on! She should be told to shape up or ship out. Timothy Leeeeaaaareeee...........

It's hip to be square.

I’m really pleased your colleague in the U.K. told your manager. That really was the best of both worlds for you. I hope you’ve smashed it despite your reckless colleague.

downcasteyes
Perhaps the attitude you portray would have flown in the 90’s, maybe in some sectors up to the 2008 crash. But the world of business has changed so much. Companies these days have a wealth of rules, policies and protocols some of which may have triggered a disciplinary for the op. I also think you’re naive if you think it’s possible to know every aspect of your colleagues work to be able to create and deliver the presentation. Two people of the same level were sent to represent the company because they have very different areas of expertise. Her colleague wasn’t some kind of spare. Ops manager for example would also have been unable to hope.

hope = help

Hope it's going well.

Give up - her manager wouldn’t have been able to help. What’s with autocorrect??

I am so overinvested in this thread.
Hope presentation went well.
Keep us updated OP

There’s a difference between going a bit wild at a conference (everyone knows conferences are just excuses for piss ups and shagathons) and going to meet a client to renew a contract.

If this meeting goes badly, not only will OP and drunk colleague not get their bonuses, but the company might lose the business.

This situation doesn’t need a ‘hot mess creative’ (ie, a liability who should be in AA), this situation needs a professional to go and smash that presentation and secure the contract. Then you go and have a massive drink afterwards.

That’s not ‘being a square’ that’s ‘doing your job’. Unless your job is being a piss artist and freeloading off businesses while your colleagues do all the work.

Given that the drunk colleague doesn't normally attend work functions, it's unlikely that her managers will regard her as someone who has an ongoing drink problem, more likely someone who can't hold their drink and when let off the leash on this trip has gone too far. I'd say that actually the drunk has weighed the risk, reckons she'll be able to style it out and will get away with it. She knows that OP is a conscientious colleague who is likely to bail her out by holding the whole thing together, drunk can chip in with her expertise where needed.
She will have had her fun on the company's dime, hasn't had to do any real work and may get a bit of a shoeing when she gets back but nothing serious, assuming the client remains happy. She doesn't give a shit about the OP's position in all of this.
It's potentially win-win for her. Seen this sort of thing happen a million times.

When I was responsible for teams, I would have wanted to be told about this immediately and I would have been annoyed to have had it kept from me. Regardless of the result of the presentation.

No, nothing I could do from abroad but forewarned is forearmed. You are responsible for the people who work for you, and if they behave in this way it's your job to manage it appropriately. That why you know, you're the manager.

As a manager I would be furious if a member of my team behaved this way. It's completely unprofessional. Yes fine have a few drinks once the work is done, and if that's an hour or two on the company's time then so what? But after the work is done and be in a fit state to behave professionally and as expected in front of the clients the next day.

OP I'm glad your manager knows but I'd be asking you on your return why you hadn't informed me at the time. Your colleague would be in deep shit with me I'm afraid. I hope your presentation goes
well.

Capitalist minion makes me laugh so much.

@AllInADay
"Tune in, turn on, drop out."
But do your presentation first in your best suit, and don't let your work colleagues down.

Good that your manager knows OP, and sounds largely supportive. Whether or not your company keep the client's business or not I hope the presentation goes/went well. However:

There's obviously going to be a debrief so DO ensure you make a note, with timelines, of actions taken both by you and your drunk colleague and the facts themselves around how the presentation itself went. What did the clients say/think/do? What are their likely next steps. Send that to your manager post-meeting.

Do not try to protect your colleague- that cat is well and truly out of the bag now.

Be honest, objective and professional as you have been so far. This is important for you now as well as your future perceived integrity and advancement.

You may well be asked what lessons you have learned from this episode- have a think about that also. Good luck OP.