The Presidents Club Pool Needs a Little Chlorine

Chicago, IL--- OK, I don't mean to be a frequent flyer club elitist, but the Continental Presidents Club at O'Hare is bad news. As the website promises, it "offers the busy traveler personalized service and a relaxing oasis..."--- that is, unless you're there on a weekday between 3:00pm and 7:00pm. During those times, it's like trying to relax and do business on the NYC subway system. Specifically, the 6 train during rush hour. There were no open seats, no ice, no working TV, and even the Financial Times was fresh out. I stood by the bathrooms with a room temperature vodka tonic for two minutes, before I walked out and sat at the gate with the commoners.

My Modest Proposal: triple the annual membership fees for the club. That should prevent half of those people from renewing their memberships, giving me a seat, a vodka tonic on the rocks, and a relaxing oasis before my flight.

D.C. Stands For "Don't Come!"

Washington, DC--- Time for another Better Business Travel Award. Today's category: City Least Conducive to Effectively Conducting Business. And the winner is Washington, DC. The only way they could make it more difficult to navigate the city and do meetings was if the entire city was underwater. It took me 1-1/2 hours to drive the 10 miles from Fairfax, VA to the White House. And if you are ever forced to drive around the District of Columbia, just don't. Whatever clients you may need to visit, it's just not worth it. The sequence of one-way streets, traffic circles, blocked roads, and confusing street names made me yearn for the easy driving conditions of downtown Boston.

Also, I saw some quality civil unrest. From the window of our DC office, I saw a thousand people (protesting freedom in Ethiopia, or demanding freedom for Ethopia, or something) completely shut down traffic around the White House. I can't believe people seriously walk in the middle of the street and sit down. I still tip my hat to New York for the most crazies per capita, but DC is now a close second.