Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."
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| Several of us are going to a conference, and a few of us are driving our own cars. The problem is that the woman that I am supposed to take does not stop talking. I don't know how I will be able to handle two hours in the car with her. Do you?
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| When my sales manager comes to town for his quarterly visit, we drive to many of my customers. The problem is that he insists that we listen to political talk-radio programs that I do not like. My manager is not open to discussions about turning off the radio. What can I do?
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| On a recent business trip, several of us stayed at the same hotel. After an evening meeting, it was dark when I returned alone to the hotel, so I gave the rental car to the valet. The next morning, one of my associates chastised me about giving the car to valet and said that everyone else parked in the lot. He's mentioned this a couple of times since then. I think this is absurd. Am I off base?
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| I go with my manager to several meetings a month outside the office. He insists on driving to these meetings, and the problem is that he spends most of the time on his cell phone, and I can't tell you how many times we've almost been in accidents. I'm a nervous wreck when I drive with him, but he refuses to let me drive. Can you suggest anything?
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| My manager's driving has been getting worse over the years. We occasionally drive to meetings together, and when we get there, I am literally shaking. I don't want to insult him, but I don't want to drive with him anymore. How can I tell him?
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| I've been using a hand-held cell phone for years and have had no problems while driving. The other day my boss told me that I should get rid of it and use a hands-free unit or else pull over when I talk on the phone. I'll switch phones, but I'm really annoyed. Are many companies doing this?
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| We just hired a middle level manager and he showed up in a very expensive car, more expensive than any other car in the company. He did not come across as this kind of person in the interview or on his reference checks, but we are concerned about what the other employees are going to think. How should we deal with this?
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| My sales manager usually takes one day every month to ride around with me when I call on my customers. I want to talk with him about my presentations, but he is on his cell phone almost the entire time in the car. He tells me he is too busy to talk to me during these rides. What do you suggest?
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| Our company has several branches between fifty and one hundred miles from the corporate office. As branch managers, we waste many hours going to and from the office to attend meetings, sometimes three times a week. I told the corporate staff they need to schedule more of these meetings on one day, but they never do this. How do I get through to them?
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| In our company, people who carpool to work are placed in a monthly drawing for prizes. I ride my bike to work, but the human resources manager who runs the program says that I cannot be in the drawing because I am not in a carpool. Does this sound fair to you?
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| I have to drive with a coworker for 3 hours each day, 15 hours a week. I have been forced to hear all about her dysfunctional/abusive childhood. So as an adult, she is 54 years old, she is, well, dysfunctional. She twists the truth, and will embellish a story to the point of lying. Help! I am worn out having to listen to her. I have applied for three other jobs, asked at work to be transferred and have run out of patience. Now she is focusing her drama at me. I made the mistake of mentioning that her eating onions and garlic daily, (she claims it is "healthy and her thing") makes my nose run because the odor is so strong, and she became offended and said that garlic and onions do not make her breath smell bad and that I must have a auto immune disorder along with severe allergies in order to even smell it. And now she is threatening to go to my boss and tell him about my "dysfunction". I am stunned by her outrageous response. How can I deal with this type of personality? The stress of dealing with her is distracting me when I'm not even at work. Read Ken's Answer |