May 28, 2008
In his exhalted position within the much-lauded HR community, Guru is used to receiving ridiculous statements from people desperate for the publicity he can give them.
Well, Alan Hughes, general manager of delivery firm Cadogan Tate Woldwide, you and your company's names are now up in lights. As will be the name of anyone who can come up with a more stupid sentence than the one that follows.
"One rumour I've heard was about a gentleman who found himself in jail after he'd eaten a bread roll at Heathrow Airport before boarding a flight to the UAE," said Hughes.
Apparently the poppy seeds were mistaken for opium. Or the customs officer was more a fan of croissants.
Either way, Hughes warns that you have such an incredibly high chance of rotting in an Arabian jail should you try to go to Dubai, that you need to employ a specialist firm - such as Cadogan Tate Worldwide - to pack for you.
"Something as simple as beach holiday snaps may be interpreted as pornographic material," he said. Quite what Hughes' holiday snaps entail is another, very disturbing, matter.
"Make sure you use a professional packing company with a proven track record and an established trading partner in the country that can help you through the myriad paperwork and facilitate Customs clearance and delivery," he added.
HR professionals, you have been warned. If any of your staff are likely to work or holiday outside Slough Trading Estate this summer, you need to confiscate all their photos, make them sign a declaration they will not eat baked goods, and employ a professional to scare the life out of them before they go.
Or you could just give Alan Hughes a call.
