Originally Posted by CopyrightBoy
TSA’s incompetence and lack of professionalism should not come as a surprise to anyone. Nowadays, I go to airports expecting to be treated rudely by poorly trained and uneducated TSA officers, that way if I have a smooth experience I feel like they actually did an awesome job (this is rare, of course).
This is my normal mindset when traversing the TSA at many airports as well, unfortunately. It has earned the TSA several compliments when they have simply done their jobs--which is kind of sad, when you think of it.
I do still fill out compliment cards or e-mail them to the FSDs when the screeners are professional, do their jobs, and do not waste time on kabuki security (pre-8/10, this largely meant not demanding all shoes off and at times even proactively telling pax that non-profile shoes did not have to be removed at all). I always point out that the particular crew should be models to the rest of the TSA for their professionalism and effectiveness, and hope (but doubt) that someone reads the messages and agrees.