Business travels can be quite stressful.

This man was sent on a four-month business trip with multiple flights.

He suggested a more cost-effective and comfortable option, but HR refused to make an exception.

So he followed their instructions to the letter and let the expenses pile up.

Read the full story below for all the details.

No domestic business travel!

I was sent on a long-duration business trip for 4 months.

With a large international leg and then a lot of 2 to 3-hour domestic flights to visit various satellite offices.

While booking this, the firm travel agency originally booked the entire trip as business class.

Only for HR to torpedo this with, “Firm policy is all domestic travel be economy.”

This man was told to follow the policy.

I pointed out I would have 4 months of luggage with me for this trip.

It was likely the excess bag fees would vastly outweigh the cost of upgrading my ticket to business class.

Rather than flying domestic.

But I was told there were no exceptions, and the firm would cover any excess baggage fees.

So, instead of spending $900 for an upgrade, the company paid $1800 for excess baggage.

It was $900 to upgrade my ticket to business class.

It worked out to around $300 per flight in excess bag fees, with 9 domestic flights in total.

I could have flown in a much more comfortable seat, and saved the business $1800.

But hey, policy is policy, right?

Let’s check out the comments of other people on this story.

This user shares their personal experience.

Short and straightforward.

Here’s an honest opinion from this one.

This user has a serious question.

And finally, this one makes a valid point.

Sometimes, sticking to the rules can cost more than making exceptions.

Work smarter not harder, remember?

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.