Originally Posted by mikeon
Yes people do prefer to use it so they can keep their shoes. Because quite frankly, the floors I've seen are dirty and I don't blame the passengers for not wanting to remove their shoes, I'd do the same thing. Just try and imagine what the other passengers have done and that you're stepping on top of whatever they had on their feet/socks.
Sadly, some checkpoints put them after the wtmd so people can't use it which is a shame.
You go through the WTMD, screener 'suggests' you remove your shoes, you refuse, get escorted to the puffer, clear it, collect your stuff. Works fine whether it's before or after the WTMD, but the process is a little quicker if it's before. You can't collect your belongings until you've done both and it's easier to pick them up right after the WTMD due to its proximity to the x-ray.