Incentive - March 2008 - (Page 53)

Tra ve l Ac ro s s Bo rders, Wit h ou t t he Hea da ches • How do I secure a passport fast? • What’s most cost-effective? • What is the WHTI? • Can the government help, or will it just cause more problems? confident the stars were properly aligned for a successful trip. Then we got the call we were hoping to avoid. One of the attendees, a first-time trip winner, just realized that his guest had not yet received his passport, with the trip only two days away. The guest had actually applied several weeks earlier, but was unaware of the forthcoming Cabo invitation, had not been receiving the diligent reminders the winners had been inundated with, and thus had not paid for expedited service. Fortunately this wasn’t your average Mexican getaway traveler. He was an incentive trip guest who had a travel company dedicated to finding a solution—and fast! “Each congressional office has designated a ‘Passport Expediter’ empowered to directly contact the passport facility.” resolve such matters. She kindly shared with me that in anticipation of the backlogs resulting from the new travel documentation requirements, each congressional office now has designated a “Passport Expediter.” The Expediter is empowered to directly contact the passport facility to check on the status of the passport and when it will be issued. When the passport would not otherwise arrive in time for the traveler’s departure flight, the Expediter can authorize it to be sent via express mail, sometimes at no additional cost to the traveler. In short, it’s a congressional constituent service that goes hand-in-hand with the special level of client service expectation long associated with incentive travel programs. Trip winners who would not have otherwise been able to attend will no doubt feel like the luckiest (and happiest!) participants, and you will appear as a well-connected operative with high-level government contacts. Check with your local congressional office to find out the name of your “secret agent,” and start building your own government insider relationship. The “Secret Agent” Solution After a flurry of dead-end calls, the passportless attendee offered up an intriguing fact. He happened to live in San Francisco’s Eighth Congressional District, represented by none other than the recently sworn-in Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. After calling Speaker Pelosi’s office to ask for help, I soon realized that I had inadvertently found a solution. The knowledgeable congressional staff member I reached told me she would call the Passport Office, and politely asked me to hold. In an astonishingly short period of time, she informed me the passport was being processed and would be sent via overnight delivery to our client. At no cost! In the course of my effusive thank-yous to the resourceful staff member, I inquired if the Speaker’s office was empowered to Pa s s p o rt Res ou rces U.S. Government Sites and Service Providers: “How to Get a Passport in a Hurry” • http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_831.html ILLUSTRATION: KATHARINE SANDALLS U.S. Congressional Offices • www.house.gov Passport Service Providers • www.perryvisa.com • www.traveldocs.com incentivemag.com | March 2008 | Incentive | 53 http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_831.html http://www.house.gov http://www.perryvisa.com http://www.traveldocs.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - March 2008

Incentive - March 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Delivering on Diversity In The News Cover Story: Leveraging Diversity in the Workplace Incentive Interview: Paul Levesque on Why Awards Fail Case Study: AEIS’ Max!-imum Incentive Program Mine Employees’ Creativity with Innovation Incentives Incentive Must-Reads The Third Annual Gift Card Roundtable My Turn: Motivation or Bribery? Everybody Get Together In Her Shoes: Why Bosses Should Be Flexible Incentive Primer: Passport Problem-Solving potentials Here and Now Is CES Electronics Heaven? China and Crystal: More Than a Pretty Face Travel News Florida: What’s New on the Beach? Smooth Sailing for Incentive Cruising Come To Hawaii And Take It Fast Last Word: But Enough About You

Incentive - March 2008

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