The important point is that the reports of problems have dropped off. While FT is not a statistical sample, it is a place where rants about bad things do tend to surface. Rants about improper IDB due to a misread of TWOV for entry to China have dropped off. Either nobody is doing TWOV, the complainers have been silenced, or carriers have better trained their help desks (which are really the back bone).

Don't let a line worry you. It is uncomfortable to have people staring daggers at you because you are the source of their delay. But, there is always a solution. An agent can pick up the phone and call his help desk which has trained specialists who can answer simple questions like this.