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ID checker asking questions - name, destination etc.

ID checker asking questions - name, destination etc.

Old Jul 1, 2011, 2:53 pm
  #1  
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ID checker asking questions - name, destination etc.

Recently the idiot checking ID asks me my name. I have never spoken a word to these people and did not make exception when asked a direct question. In the past month I have watched them ask kids "where are you going today?" "what is your name?" to others. What's with the ID checker asking questions? By the way, there was no penalty for not responding to "what is your name?"
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 3:03 pm
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I have used the following answer with regularity:

"......."

I do say "Thanks" when they hand back the BP and ID. From now on I will "sign" it.

Not been to SFO yet, but I have learned to "sign" my name as well.

Last edited by essxjay; Jul 6, 2011 at 11:22 pm
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 3:39 pm
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This has come up before. I think we decided in previous discussions that it is a "challenge" procedure conducted by the TDCs to confirm that the name on the BP/ID is actually yours. The point would be that if you had usurped somebody else's identity, you might trip up for a second before saying the name, or have to take a moment to think about it. But if you were traveling under your own name and legitimate documents, your name should be the easiest thing in the world to remember.

Clearly, there is no reason to provide an answer. But there's no need to be unpleasant about it, lest you incur some SSSSpecial retaliatory treatment. You could say the following (politely) in response:


TDC Question: What is your name?
Answer: Please check my ID...my name is printed on it.

TDC Question: Where are you traveling today?
Answer: Please check my boarding pass....my destination is printed on it.


I can't imagine that responding in this way would result in problems. And, for the record, I too always say "thank you" when the TDC returns my ID and BP. Sometimes even "have a good one" if the TDC seemed especially friendly.

Last edited by essxjay; Jul 6, 2011 at 11:22 pm
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 4:12 pm
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Let me clarify a bit as I have more time.

In any interaction with a government actor that can refer me to a law enforcement based on minimal evidence, I take great pains to not provide any information that "can be used against me." If I do not answer they can not say I said it. If they ask me where I am going I will say "Gate X" or "Into the sterile area" or even "to the x-ray machine." I can not say my destination as I do not have certainty of that.

I say "Thanks" only partially to be nice. What I really mean but remains unsaid is "Thanks for having the good sense to accept my NEXUS card without being an ignorant twerp. I appreciate that you did not jerk my chain for some ridiculous reason as other TDC's have done. You have performed your task, simple as it is, effectively and competently. I wish you could tell your comrades how to do the same, but I am now dreaming. So if I can just survive the rest of this gauntlet without losing my cool, you can rest assured that your interaction was the first of many good outcomes that had every potential of going bad, but because you seem to be a decent human being, I can proceed unmolested.
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 4:14 pm
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Thanks for the thoughtful response. I knew the issue had to have been discussed, just missed it. Silence has always worked best for me.
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 4:53 pm
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Originally Posted by ESpen36
Clearly, there is no reason to provide an answer. But there's no need to be unpleasant about it, lest you incur some SSSSpecial retaliatory treatment. You could say the following (politely) in response:


TDC Question: What is your name?
Answer: Please check my ID...my name is printed on it.

TDC Question: Where are you traveling today?
Answer: Please check my boarding pass....my destination is printed on it.

I can't imagine that responding in this way would result in problems.
The last time I flew through SFO, I observed my name was printed on my ID. The TDC told me if I wanted to fly today, I had to say my name. Or I could talk to a supervisor, but she warned me one wasn't available.

I suspect that terrorists can pass this test, so I'm not sure what the point is.

At least it was T2 at SFO, so there was no question of getting groped or directed to a NOS line.
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 5:00 pm
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I suspect this is the beginning of the punishment for the self-inflicted embarrassment the TSA experienced over the Nigerian guy. The contractors at SFO have been doing this for quite a while now and there is a lengthy thread about peoples' experiences.

The TSA has no comprehension that a person (still) has the right to pronounce their name however they want. Your boarding pass could spell "Schlobotnik*" and you could, when demanded by the clerk, pronounce it "Smith" if you choose. One poster wrote of his experience by saying that he said his name was "Smith" and by the time he got to the RCC, it was going to change to "Jones."

The justification for all the ID checking nonsense goes back to a previous TSA Administrator, a mental giant named Edmund "Kip" Hawley. When asked the rationale for instituting TSA ID checking, he declared, in Congressional testimony and on the famous TSA Blog, that "ID matters." Between this stuff and the antics of the Nigerian guy, the intellectual depth behind that justification is finally coming home to roost.

By the way, my name is "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" if anyone in a TSA uniform asks.

(*Anyone else remember that Charlie Brown's favorite baseball player was Joe Schlobotnik???)
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 5:01 pm
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This reminds me of a joke a Boston-area cop once told me about an officer near the state house trying to get a self-important politician to move his illegally-parked car:

Cop: Please move your car

Pol: Do you know who I am?!?!

Cop: (into radio): I need a paramedic down here; I have a crazy guy who doesn't know who he is. (to Pol): Sir, please move your vehicle

Pol: Do you know who my father is?

Cop: No, why don't you ask your mother?
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 6:19 pm
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Originally Posted by hedoman
Recently the idiot checking ID asks me my name.
The answer to that is, "You've got my ID in your hand; you tell me."
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 6:39 pm
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You will be seeing more of this from logan.
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 10:10 pm
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Originally Posted by flyermatthew
The last time I flew through SFO, I observed my name was printed on my ID. The TDC told me if I wanted to fly today, I had to say my name. Or I could talk to a supervisor, but she warned me one wasn't available.

I suspect that terrorists can pass this test, so I'm not sure what the point is.

At least it was T2 at SFO, so there was no question of getting groped or directed to a NOS line.
They have been asking for several weeks at SFO.

"Sir can you you pronounce your name for me?"
"Yes."
"Well then pronounce it."
"What is this a test? Of course I can pronounce it"
Seeing that this was going nowhere fast I just said my name.
"Do you really think a trained terrorist is stupid enough to not memorize the name on the boarding pass? They are terrorists. That's their job."

I was told it was to prevent people with the wrong boarding pass from getting through. I wanted to ask if the ID shown might not give the same information but I just let it go.

Funny thing is a woman about three people back in line was given the wrong boarding pass by the check in counter. So I guess it does happen but the ID would still not match.
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Old Jul 1, 2011, 10:17 pm
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Originally Posted by flyermatthew
The TDC told me if I wanted to fly today, I had to say my name. Or I could talk to a supervisor, but she warned me one wasn't available.
Wow. I think I would have to take her up on that challenge. Starting with "Are you threatening me?"

In my experience, when they say there is no supervisor, it is a bluff, generally because they know they are wrong.
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Old Jul 2, 2011, 7:37 am
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Originally Posted by janetdoe
In my experience, when they say there is no supervisor, it is a bluff...
No, it is a lie. A government-sanctioned lie which makes it worse.

TSA workers, in general, assume passengers are as stupid and as lacking in moral fiber as themselves. And the passengers, in general again, acquiesce and thus get what they deserve.
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Old Jul 2, 2011, 9:05 am
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Originally Posted by JumboD
This reminds me of a joke a Boston-area cop once told me about an officer near the state house trying to get a self-important politician to move his illegally-parked car:

Cop: Please move your car

Pol: Do you know who I am?!?!

Cop: (into radio): I need a paramedic down here; I have a crazy guy who doesn't know who he is. (to Pol): Sir, please move your vehicle

Pol: Do you know who my father is?

Cop: No, why don't you ask your mother?
I heard a story similar to this, where a budget airline was starting to board, with those who need assistance being asked to board first. Two business men jumped to the front of the line.

CSA: Gentlemen, we are just doing the pre-boarding. General boarding will begin shortly.
Self important Man: Do you know who we are?
CSA: Nobody important if you are flying this airline. Now please, to the back of the line.
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Old Jul 2, 2011, 1:21 pm
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The only time i was asked this my retort was "I thought reading comprehension was a job requirement...So much for highly trained professionals" grabbed my ID and BP out of the braintrusts hands and kept on walking. If looks could kill i would have been dead, but no retaliatory actions as they must have realized they would loose that argument PDQ
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