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

^^
This is entering gross misconduct territory. This is your job - don't risk it out of misplaced loyalty. Tell your manager now, and give your colleague a come to Jesus-talk. Your colleague isn't that concerned about how this will affect you, is she, so why would you be concerned about her to the detriment of your own career?

I wouldn't go to bed until it was done. If she's really hungover in the morning it would be incredibly stressful. She might not even wake up in time.

If she drank two pints early in the morning I'd say she's got a serious alcohol problem.

I would most definitely contact your manager, but about how you are going to take her out of the equation and will be asking X or Y to send over infil slides and how you are not planning on having her in the meeting as she it a liability right now and you are not taking this one for the team.

What's the boss supposed to do? unless they can actually help, avoid and get help from colleagues instead.

Having them shouting down a phone and a resentful coworker won't help right this minute is time.

Raise it with management afterwards and explain that you handled it as discreetly as possible

O no Op, what a nightmare! Tell her she has to do some work now or you will ring your boss.

The focus has to be on getting the presentation prepared, but will your colleagues be able to help at this time of night?

If you do not notify your manager of your outline concerns BEFOREHAND
it will be your excuse against hers afterwards
for any problems in the presentation

What time is the presentation tomorrow? She's going to be no use if it's early. If she's been packing it away all day I bet she won't stop anytime soon.

The boss may be able to access or ask someone to send the missing information, or put off the presentation, or make adjustments to what needs to be presented so that the missing parts won't matter that much. If the boss doesn't know, the boss can't help in this situation at all and if the presentation goes really badly, the OP be in part responsible for not contacting the boss to try to find a solution beforehand.

I agree - the boss has to be told asap.

Your priority here is to make a great presentation.

You need to work backwards from that end point to determine what steps you need to take to ensure that result, and you need to let your boss know what steps you are taking, given the circumstances, to ensure a positive outcome to the trip. Find solutions, then present them to your manager. Don't land your problem on her lap.

If you end up cobbling together something that is second rate out of a misplaced sense of loyalty to this colleague, there will be repercussions for you.

You need to be proactive, to use a ghastly piece of business speak.

God this is tricky for you. Yes to getting team mates involved but I’d also get your manager involved if she won’t give you the slides.

I wouldn't worry about being on the same level. You're not. You are being professional and she is on course for screwing the whole thing up. So you have to take charge whether she likes it or not and that includes awkward as it is, asking her to stop drinking now.. and seeing if there is any possibility for getting her to provide the slides.
Horrible situation to be in. Best of luck.

I don't think her colleague has the slides.

If op leaves contacting boss until after, boozy woman can say well op was drinking with me. Then it becomes he says/she says. Emailing colleague cc’ing boss ensures that op has covered her ass and has tried to resolve it between them.
Covering never works. Always think of your own ass.

Completely agree with @DramaRamaLama. Really feel for you OP, but you need to deal with this yourself and debrief with your boss once you’re back in the office.

Echo others who say that you need to have a stern word with your colleague and if no slides/input is forthcoming, prepare to deliver the presentation on your own tomorrow. Contrary to what some PPs have said (and depending on your seniority within the company) it will reflect well on you. Good luck!

I also wonder if the slides exist, I bet the colleague hasn't created them yet.

Just contact your boss and ask for advice. Sounds stressful. I personally love a few drinks and a good time but I would make sure I'd done the preparation first!

If I was your manager, I wouldn't be at all pleased that the presentation was being cobbled together last minute instead of being finalized before you left on your trip. Be that as it may, you will either have to demand that your colleague give you the missing slides asap, or as a last resort, contact your manager to explain the situation and ask for advice on how to proceed minus your colleague.

Can you ask her straight out of she actually has the slides? It might jolt her enough to get them to you, or to admit she doesn't have them

Fire fight now and post-mortem about the behaviour later.

Go to her and tell her that she needs to give you the USB with her slides on NOW because if she doesn't, then you'll be emailing your manager to let them know that there is a problem and why. Forget about niceties; this is your professional reputation at stake and she's the one fucking up and being hugely inappropriate.

Lean into your team and do as much as you can.

If she surfaces in the morning then pour coffee into her, read her the riot act and make she she has a chance to pre-read the slide deck before you see the client.

If she doesn't surface in the morning then go without her. When you get back to the office you need to have a debrief with your manager. You're being paid to do a job so your primary responsibility is to ensure that you carry out your own role and tasks, rather than worry about misplaced loyalty to her.

I am all for work hard and play when the job is done. But getting pissed at the start of a travel day is a big no-no, and doing it the day before a big pitch when you are on company time is gross misconduct.

Thank you for all the advice...I haven't had a chance to respond to everyone as am in damage limitation mode here.

The company has a high daily allowance just for food and drink ($200 / whatever that is in pound sterling). We are somewhere where a bottle of wine is average £5 - £10

I can inform the manager but perhaps best to wait to see how tomorrow pans out? Also, aware I sound like a fool but I really hate the idea of telling tales. I messaged 1 colleague and asked if he can download and send me some info I can put in to pad out the deck in worst case scenario.

The meeting is at 10am tomorrow.

So we have dinner booked at 9.30pm local time (locals eat late here). She has staggered to her room to get dressed and said she will come back with the USB and 'some slides' she completed. She is saying we can wing it, stop stressing etc. The purpose of this meeting is to ensue the client renews their license of a particular technical solution and our bonus is tied to it so I am seriously fucked off with her. I've told her but it is just going over her head.

Are her slides fundamental to the presentation or can you prepare your bit and just use her for product demo?

Ultimately it is corporate reputation in front of a customer/client as well as your own so you need to get support from your manager as well as your colleagues on this one I think.

Also who does that! I am the first to admit that despite all of my best laid plans to go to bed early & have a whole night's undisturbed sleep I generally end up in the bar on work trips coz I don't get out much but not to the detriment of my work. Crazy!

She might be trying to get herself fired, dob-in time, methinks.