Pulling a Lewis

I share the following as a cautionary tale. If in your business travel you make a practice of “Pulling a Lewis,” you risk becoming an object of scorn and derision. If you don’t mind being an object of scorn and derision, but merely want to know how to most effectively “Pull a Lewis,” this account may prove helpful to you as well.

I was recently on a business trip with four colleagues. One of them was seated closer to the front that the rest of us. For purposes of this account, I will say that his last name is “Lewis.” When we arrived at the airport in Salt Lake City I met my colleagues after exiting the plane – – all but one, as I could not find Lewis anywhere. His absence created a rebuttable presumption of a breach of comraderie and general business travel etiquette. Three of us boarded a shuttle bus to the parking lot. While on the shuttle bus I reached Lewis on his cell phone. He was in his car and was already approaching the airport exit. His explanation? He had entered a bathroom immediately after exiting the plane, saw none of us when he returned to the concourse, and had then proceeded on his way. Busted! He agreed to meet us the the parking lot and give a ride to a colleague (and brother-in-law, by the way) who lives close to his home.