Anti Federalist
09-18-2010, 12:54 PM
These are comments written by the author of this blog, apparently a TSA "officer" at Salt Lake City airport:
http://my.journaltimes.com/post/AngelMT/blog/the_things_i_wish_i_could_say.html
Posted by: AngelMT on January 22, 2009 11:07AM CST
The best thing about the TSA is that though we do deal with the public every day, customer service is not a priority for us and we are told that on a regular basis.
Now our managers and directors do love to get the letters from frequent travelers that say the TSOs at SLC are the most polite that they have ever come into contact with.
I'm sure it has something to do with the Pleasantville-ness of the Utah Mormons.
We get briefed before every shift and at least twice a week they remind us that though customer service is good, it is not our priority.
We are federal security officers, and if you walk away from dealing with me and you are not happy its not going to hurt my job security at all.
We like to remind people that in this situation the customer, most of the time, is wrong we just have to be polite when we tell them so.
We are not there just to slow travelers down, or to keep you happy, we are there to ensure the safety of travelers.
Here is her blog entry that she was commenting on:
The things I wish I could say...
Posted by: AngelMT on January 19, 2009 at 5:04PM CST
This past week here at SLC has been a busy one.
We have people running away from the weather, running to the weather, coming and going from the Sundance Film Festival, and a lot of people heading to the inauguration.
We do try our hardest to be polite and friendly but we are only human and there are sometime that I experience massive amounts of stress (stress being the confusion caused by the mind overriding the bodies basic need to choke the life out of someone who really deserves it) because of some of the travelers.
Saturday we had a very large group of people going to DC for the inauguration. We tell everyone that will listen that if they have anything metal on them it will alarm and they will need to take it off. At the time I was the metal detector officer and I over heard a mom tell her daughter not to take off her Obama pin, that the officer was just "experiencing sour grapes cuz her guy didn't win". Well go figure she alarmed the metal detector. I asked her to step back and asked if she had change, car keys (she was about 10 so that got a laugh) or a cell phone on her. When she said no I asked if her pin was plastic and she said oops and took it off. Her mom then stepped up to me and said "excuse me, I don't see how that little pin could have alarmed" I had her daughter come back through the detector and guess what, no alarm, it was the pin. I wanted to look at her mom and tell her to back her big mouth off but I just smiled.
I did say that we inform everyone that will listen.....
Yesterday I was loading bags into the x-ray and giving my usual advisements ...... we need all liquids, lotions, gels, pastes and aerosols out of your bags and in the bins for faster screening, if you have any large electronics, laptops, DVD players, we need them out of the bag and in their own bins with nothing over or under them, if you have any change, car keys, or a cell phone in your pockets it will alarm the metal detector and it will take longer to get you through security. A woman smiled at me a said that I had said a mouthful, I asked her if her stuff was good to go and she said yes, I dont have any of those things with me today.
Well go figure the very next bag check was hers. A 20 ounce bottle of coke was in her purse and she had a laptop in her carry on. I told her we were going to have to separate everything and re run it through the x-ray and that the soda was too large to go through the checkpoint. Of course I was the one who was wrong, and she let me know.
I wanted to look at her and say "look, insert word that rhymes with witch but starts with a B, I asked you if you had any of these things and you lied to my face, do you think we are blind or stupid or both". Instead I smiled and told her that these regulations have been in place for quite some time now and she could check her bag if she wanted to. Of course as far as she was concerned I was an idiot and was just trying to make her late.
We always get people who are late for their flights and of course they take it out on us. We do not work for the airport, we do not work for the airlines, we are federal. It is not my problem if you are late for your flight. Most airports have websites, and many of those sites will tell you the recommended amount of time you will need to check in and get through security to get to your gate on time. If you don't read that, if you foolishly think that 30 minutes is more than enough time, don't for one second think that I am going to feel bad for you.
I couldn't find on the MKE (milwaukee) site the estimated time to give yourself, but on the SLC site it does say at least 90 minutes. It does take longer to check in than it takes to get through security. The last time I came in as a passenger it took 50 minutes at the Delta line and only 15 to get through security. The O'Hare site says 90 minutes as well as does Midway.
Every time someone comes up complaining about being late I want to tell them that poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on mine. Instead I smile and tell them that we will do everything we can to get them through as quickly as possible and their cooperation will only make it faster. They always roll their eyes at me and usually say something along the lines of whatever.
Most passengers are polite, and those who are usually end up apologizing to us for the lousy behavior of those they hear giving us a hard time.
The selectee process is my very favorite thing in the world to have to deal with (just in case you couldn't tell that was sarcasm). We, the TSA, do not pick the selectees unless you come through with no ID and you are over 18 (and what knucklehead comes to the airport these days with no ID?).
Friday was a heavy day for the selectees. No idea why. I had just sent a family of 6, everyone of them a selectee, to the additional screening when a young guy of middle eastern origin came through as a selectee. I asked if he was aware that the airline had chosen him for additional screening. He asked me what I meant when I said the airline. I pointed to the SSSS on his boarding pass and explained that the airline does that and that means additional screening. He then said fine, his voice full of irritation, and then asked if it was just a coincidence that he was Indian and a selectee. I told him I didn't know, and that it was the airline that selected him, not us.
I wanted to point out the fact that the family of 6 ahead of him, each as white as the driven snow with a very apple pie American last name were selectees as well, but I didnt, I figured he would see that for himself while he was waiting in line behind them.
Now after all these rants I don't want anyone to think that I don't enjoy my job. Most of the time its interesting, and in doing this I am once again serving my country. There are just some days when its like all the jerks in the world have come to the SLC airport and are intent on ruining my day.
I will admit though, I got an attack of the giggles the day the woman who was running late ended up missing her plane completely because of the nice long chat she had to have with the airport police about the brass knuckles (illegal in Utah) in her bag. She had treated us like dirt. Karma will get you every time I guess.
http://my.journaltimes.com/post/AngelMT/blog/the_things_i_wish_i_could_say.html
Posted by: AngelMT on January 22, 2009 11:07AM CST
The best thing about the TSA is that though we do deal with the public every day, customer service is not a priority for us and we are told that on a regular basis.
Now our managers and directors do love to get the letters from frequent travelers that say the TSOs at SLC are the most polite that they have ever come into contact with.
I'm sure it has something to do with the Pleasantville-ness of the Utah Mormons.
We get briefed before every shift and at least twice a week they remind us that though customer service is good, it is not our priority.
We are federal security officers, and if you walk away from dealing with me and you are not happy its not going to hurt my job security at all.
We like to remind people that in this situation the customer, most of the time, is wrong we just have to be polite when we tell them so.
We are not there just to slow travelers down, or to keep you happy, we are there to ensure the safety of travelers.
Here is her blog entry that she was commenting on:
The things I wish I could say...
Posted by: AngelMT on January 19, 2009 at 5:04PM CST
This past week here at SLC has been a busy one.
We have people running away from the weather, running to the weather, coming and going from the Sundance Film Festival, and a lot of people heading to the inauguration.
We do try our hardest to be polite and friendly but we are only human and there are sometime that I experience massive amounts of stress (stress being the confusion caused by the mind overriding the bodies basic need to choke the life out of someone who really deserves it) because of some of the travelers.
Saturday we had a very large group of people going to DC for the inauguration. We tell everyone that will listen that if they have anything metal on them it will alarm and they will need to take it off. At the time I was the metal detector officer and I over heard a mom tell her daughter not to take off her Obama pin, that the officer was just "experiencing sour grapes cuz her guy didn't win". Well go figure she alarmed the metal detector. I asked her to step back and asked if she had change, car keys (she was about 10 so that got a laugh) or a cell phone on her. When she said no I asked if her pin was plastic and she said oops and took it off. Her mom then stepped up to me and said "excuse me, I don't see how that little pin could have alarmed" I had her daughter come back through the detector and guess what, no alarm, it was the pin. I wanted to look at her mom and tell her to back her big mouth off but I just smiled.
I did say that we inform everyone that will listen.....
Yesterday I was loading bags into the x-ray and giving my usual advisements ...... we need all liquids, lotions, gels, pastes and aerosols out of your bags and in the bins for faster screening, if you have any large electronics, laptops, DVD players, we need them out of the bag and in their own bins with nothing over or under them, if you have any change, car keys, or a cell phone in your pockets it will alarm the metal detector and it will take longer to get you through security. A woman smiled at me a said that I had said a mouthful, I asked her if her stuff was good to go and she said yes, I dont have any of those things with me today.
Well go figure the very next bag check was hers. A 20 ounce bottle of coke was in her purse and she had a laptop in her carry on. I told her we were going to have to separate everything and re run it through the x-ray and that the soda was too large to go through the checkpoint. Of course I was the one who was wrong, and she let me know.
I wanted to look at her and say "look, insert word that rhymes with witch but starts with a B, I asked you if you had any of these things and you lied to my face, do you think we are blind or stupid or both". Instead I smiled and told her that these regulations have been in place for quite some time now and she could check her bag if she wanted to. Of course as far as she was concerned I was an idiot and was just trying to make her late.
We always get people who are late for their flights and of course they take it out on us. We do not work for the airport, we do not work for the airlines, we are federal. It is not my problem if you are late for your flight. Most airports have websites, and many of those sites will tell you the recommended amount of time you will need to check in and get through security to get to your gate on time. If you don't read that, if you foolishly think that 30 minutes is more than enough time, don't for one second think that I am going to feel bad for you.
I couldn't find on the MKE (milwaukee) site the estimated time to give yourself, but on the SLC site it does say at least 90 minutes. It does take longer to check in than it takes to get through security. The last time I came in as a passenger it took 50 minutes at the Delta line and only 15 to get through security. The O'Hare site says 90 minutes as well as does Midway.
Every time someone comes up complaining about being late I want to tell them that poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on mine. Instead I smile and tell them that we will do everything we can to get them through as quickly as possible and their cooperation will only make it faster. They always roll their eyes at me and usually say something along the lines of whatever.
Most passengers are polite, and those who are usually end up apologizing to us for the lousy behavior of those they hear giving us a hard time.
The selectee process is my very favorite thing in the world to have to deal with (just in case you couldn't tell that was sarcasm). We, the TSA, do not pick the selectees unless you come through with no ID and you are over 18 (and what knucklehead comes to the airport these days with no ID?).
Friday was a heavy day for the selectees. No idea why. I had just sent a family of 6, everyone of them a selectee, to the additional screening when a young guy of middle eastern origin came through as a selectee. I asked if he was aware that the airline had chosen him for additional screening. He asked me what I meant when I said the airline. I pointed to the SSSS on his boarding pass and explained that the airline does that and that means additional screening. He then said fine, his voice full of irritation, and then asked if it was just a coincidence that he was Indian and a selectee. I told him I didn't know, and that it was the airline that selected him, not us.
I wanted to point out the fact that the family of 6 ahead of him, each as white as the driven snow with a very apple pie American last name were selectees as well, but I didnt, I figured he would see that for himself while he was waiting in line behind them.
Now after all these rants I don't want anyone to think that I don't enjoy my job. Most of the time its interesting, and in doing this I am once again serving my country. There are just some days when its like all the jerks in the world have come to the SLC airport and are intent on ruining my day.
I will admit though, I got an attack of the giggles the day the woman who was running late ended up missing her plane completely because of the nice long chat she had to have with the airport police about the brass knuckles (illegal in Utah) in her bag. She had treated us like dirt. Karma will get you every time I guess.