Chalk me up as another +1 on this thread. I've always hated the "go out for drinks every night while on the road and on company dime" culture, and I resisted it for years, sacrificing possible advancement, and I finally went independent.
Related, I also hated during the years I worked for a consulting firm as an employee and getting caught in those "who picks up the check" situations with teammates working for the same firm and billing the same customer. If you're the poor schmuck who has to do so one of those nights, you have to write up the justification on your expense report including the names of all the attendees and further explanation that "so-and-so picked it up Tue night so I picked it up Wed night...", constantly risking getting the expense report rejected by consulting firm management worried that the customer might question the expense. I solved the problem by adopting a policy of ALWAYS requesting separate checks (also since I don't drink...thus cheaper tab), and of course this often made me a pariah among "the group" (although I also know that some other teammates were secretly relieved that someone else had the moxie to do what they wanted to (request the separate checks) but didn't have the nerve to do), but guess what, I didn't care...I accounted for my own expenses and no one else's, my amounts always fell within expected weekly limits, and my expense reports NEVER got rejected and that's all I care(d) about.
Last edited by drat19; Jan 22, 2012 at 8:41 am