Austin, Texas

In early December, I received an all expense paid trip to Austin, Texas. No, I didn't participate in a raffle or anything like that. It was work related. A company we contract with sent out a survey asking for customer input. I replied, not even sure they read those things. Apparently they do. To my surprise, the CEO herself called and said they were holding a user group meeting, flying some folks to their headquarters to share product ideas and I was invited. Nice! This definitely encourages me to complete more customer satisfaction surveys!

I had the opportunity to meet users from all over the US (though this is a global company) and learn from them. I left with many new ideas. Though I was the new kid on the block, one of the ways we use the system was featured as a best practice. Hooray! It's nice when hard work is recognized.

Austin is a great city. I had been there before. The trip was only a couple of days and we hadn't seen anything but the hotel and the corporate headquarters (and the short walk between the two). So, a group of us decided to get out one night. The staff dropped us off at a local restaurant/hang-out that was supposed to have some specialty items. Then they drove away. We walked up to the establishment to learn the entire place was reserved for a private party. Someone had a taxi app on their smart phone and called a cab, that is when the adventure began! 

As it turns out, there is a rule about cab occupancy. A four passenger maximum. We were five. We had requested a large vehicle knowing we wouldn't fit in a normal sedan and honestly didn't know the rule. We had already waited 40-minutes for this cab to arrive. That is when one of the ladies kicked her negotiating skills in to high gear.

She convinced the Cabby to let her ride in the back. She did this on the way to a new destination and on the way back to our hotel.

Here is a photo of the same type of cab outside our hotel the next day (not the same Cabby to protect the guilty and generous).

When travelling, there will be unexpected hurdles. Roll with it!

just Sheri, back to Virginia and my personal vehicle y'all