Long story short, my job was paying for us to go on a week long retreat out of the country. Due to some mishap with the travel agency/airlines, my booking was incorrectly cancelled and I got stuck in the layover airport.
I did my due diligence trying to deal with both the airline and travel agency, asking them if I could get put on another flight (spent hours trying to resolve this, btw). Neither were helpful and the best they could do was tell me they could put me on a flight which would leave another 24 hours later and arrive at the final destination 12 hours after that. After being stuck at the airport for 2 days, I was fed up and decided that I’d just book a flight back home instead.
I explained the situation to HR and all they could say was “we’re so sorry, let us know what we can do to help,” the typical fake empathy bs. When I asked them if I could get reimbursed by the company for my $349 that I spent on the flight back home (on account of it being a work trip and I used the travel agency they advised us to use), they rejected my request and said we needed to discuss it further tomorrow because they don’t have any evidence of anything having gone wrong. My own boss is on my side btw, she thinks I should get reimbursed.
I’m worried they’ll try to pull some shit on me like saying “oh, but you had the option to get on another flight and still make it here…” yea, but I didn’t want to stay stranded at the airport for another day – plus, I started a new antidepressant that the initial side effects really fuck with my mood and being stuck at an airport makes it all the more stressful (I even told HR if they need evidence of THAT, I could have my psychiatrist confirm it).
The travel agency and airline won’t take accountability, so I think it’s only fair if the company does given that I spent time and money for their sake. Not to brag or anything, but I am one of the top employees in my team and I feel like I have a lot of leverage given that some of my projects rely on me exclusively.
Anyway, wondering what everyone’s thoughts are on this. Should I just accept the loss or be firm with them that if I don’t get my money back, I’ll start looking for other jobs?