Originally Posted by
Indelaware
That hasn't been my experience whatsoever. I find today's agents much better. They come to the job with a higher education and deliver a better service. Moreover, the training and workplace rules are far superior. Remember the "good old days" when we had underpaid worker reading trashy paperbacks while concurrently watching the x-ray monitor?
It is not surprising that we have improvements to both security and agent attitude since the government as taken over this task. As a general rule government workers deliver far superior service than corporate workers. When there is a profit motive, employers seek to provide the least that they can get away with. In government service, the point is to provide the best possible service. Yes, there are imperfections owing to bureaucracy and complacency but I'd rather take those inefficiencies over the intentional delivery of the minimal which generally exists in the private sector.
What the lack of geographical understanding by some agents means is not a reflection on who their employer is, but on the general failings of the United States in education. There are many reasons for this, lack of proper funding in education, a history of isolationism and the sense that many Americans need only be aware of their corner of the world rather than having a global view. What percentage of American high school students can find Vietnam on the map? Probably far fewer than can tell one where the Walmart is located.
While trying to reign in my absolute incredulity at this, I will restrain myself from making any snarky comments and simply say that in my extensive experience working with and for government employees at the local, state, and federal levels, this is absolute hogwash.
Although I have certainly encountered hard working and conscientious government employees, and lax and inattentive private sector employees, they are far and away the exceptions rather than the rules. In my personal experience, government workers are far more likely to be lazy, apathetic, complacent, arrogant people who take little or no pride in their work and feel no obligation to do anything more than the bare minimum required to not be fired.
In plainer language, you've got it completely reversed. The "intentional delivery of the minimum" is most definitely a governmental problem, at least in the US, while private sector employees are far more likely to take personal pride in their work and go beyond the minimum, often far beyond.
Why? Profit. If you do a poor job, you lose customers. If you lose customers, your company fails and you lose your job. It's just that simple. Meanwhile, government employees have more job security, because if they do a poor job, what will happen? Will we find a cleaner, shiner new government warehouse club down the street with better prices and more pleasant employees than our local MVA or post office? I think not.
As to your aspersions on the American educational system, I cannot deny that we have problems and shortcomings, but what percentage of students in Vietnam can locate the US on a map? In China? In Guatemala? In Cambodia? Nigeria? Ukraine? I'd like to see a comparison.