InkUnderNails

I consult for several world class manufacturers. Your statement is not generally true. Successful manufacturers, and there are many, almost never use this approach. They recognize it for the recipe for failure that it is.

Boggie Dog

Before any large scale decisions are made TSA needs an honest discussion of the terrorist threat level. It is clear that the current threat level is fairly low or you TSA people would have found something in the last 10 years or so. Then TSA needs to get onboard with international screening standards and stop with the fondling of genitals. You can call it resistance all you like but we both know it's my penis you're feeling. Use tech that works, WTMD, HHMD, Australian ETD's (ones that work) with people who have a touch of common sense, a quality missing from the ranks of TSA employees. Finally knock off the BS. Everyone knows, including TSA, that ID checks, playing 20 questions, TSA vodoo BDO crap, and gate rape does squat for any security gains. Instead use that excess manpower to screen airport workers, the real threat vector that goes unaddressed!

chollie

You are deciding that there will always be a tiny minority of people who will feel uncomfortable. Do you believe that a similar fraction of TSA's work force will always be guilty of knowingly causing people to be uncomfortable?

I have been patted down overseas. On one notable occasion (first time), it was open palm and it covered everywhere - and I do mean everywhere - and the patter (it was a featherlight flutter-pat) was the opposite gender. There was an alert and every single person got the patdown immediately after clearing the WTMD, whether or not they alarmed. This was in the mid-90's.

I have never been made to feel uncomfortable transiting a security checkpoint anywhere else in the world, ever. Only in the US. I have never been groin chopped or had my buttocks firmly stroked or had fingers stuck inches inside my waistband and underwear, even into my buttocks crack. I've had far more comprehensive patdowns that were truly patdowns, not gropes or clutches or rubdowns, always done respectfully and quickly.Only in the US. I have never been barked at or treated with disrespect.

I have never been made to feel like my physical limitations were a hassle, as though I decided to fly only to spoil some security person's shift - except in the US.

When I forget a water bottle overseas, I'm always asked if I want to drink it on the spot (I usually drink half before giving it up).

Y'all are basically satisfied with your organization the way it is, and unfortunately, I see mostly lip service for any change in the way pax are approached - precisely because of what you posted above - the attitude that there's no point in making improvements, treating people with respect and dignity, because there will always be whiners.

I hope those in TSA who have this attitude aren't surprised when their own management takes this attitude towards them - why try to address working conditions - there will always be a number of TSOs who are going to complain no matter what you do, so just leave things the way they are.

You will get as much sympathy from me as you extend to me.

chollie

+1

Successful companies and successful people.

Anyone who believes this has already accepted the status quo and has no intention of trying to improve.

Boggie Dog

Companies have an objective of making money. Bad employees hurt the bottom line.

chollie

If TSA (and even a 'good apple' TSO) is going to take the attitude that there's no point in trying to improve the customer experience because there will always be someone who is uncomfortable, well, then neither the organization nor the TSO should be surprised if pax don't go out of their way to try to make the experience 'comfortable' for the TSOs either (hinting at sexual deviancy when you've got someone's face and fists in your crotch, for example), because after all, no matter what pax do, there will always be some whiny TSO who is uncomfortable.

TSOs could take the lead, the same way they do in every country around the world. The pax response is what you would expect. I'm sure there are instances of individual jerk screeners outside the US; I'm sure there are abusive or stressed to the max pax outside the US. I don't doubt they exist, although I can honestly say I have never seen either outside the US. Pax are greeted and handled in a professional manner (which, contrary to what many in TSA seem to think, doesn't mean gushy-gushy smiles. Curt and polite are fine, too).

The only way to break the perpetual unnecessarily stressful and dangerous (distracted TSOs leaving their stations to crowd around and lookie-loo at pax or xray techs texting while 'watching' the xray) atmosphere at the checkpoint is for TSA to take the lead. Each TSO confronts dozens to hundreds of pax a day, many of whom are flying for the first time, or for the first time in many years. One polite, professional TSO can have a positive impact on dozens and hundreds of pax each and every day, making a huge difference. Each one-time flyer can only interact with a handful of TSOs as he/she transits the checkpoint; if he/she is met by a hostile, aggressive TSO, then odds are that sooner or later a pax is going to spit back.

Yeah, in any interaction the TSO 'wins', but in the meantime, the TSOs gratuitous flexing of his/her 'authoritah' not only degrades the checkpoint atmosphere and has a negative effect on pax, it distracts other TSOs from the core mission at hand.

Most TSOs have made it clear, here, on the BLOG, and on other boards: their concern is solely for themselves and making their employment 'comfortable'. Some of us pax really want everyone to win, but that's not the way many TSOs see it.

WillCAD

Actually, BD - no, not everybody knows that. In fact, it seems to me that the vast majority of the American people are utterly convinced that all of that nonsense IS effective and DOES keep them safe from dreaded terr'ist attacks, and that if we stop checking IDs, we'd have 9/11s every month.

Only a small minority of the people realize the useless folly of these techniques, not to mention the cost to us, in both money and personal freedom. When we complain, we're shouted down by a panicked mob.

There are even people on FT who believe that this stuff is effective and necessary:

"Really bad guys are out to get us," he says. And I have heard that sentiment, expressed in almost those same words, from hundreds of people, both in person and online, over the last 12 years. It has been repeated so iften that it's become an accepted fact - to the point where people seem to think that those "really bad guys" are around every corner, behind every tree, under every rock, planning to kill their fathers, rape and murder their sisters, burn their ranches, shoot their dogs, and steal their Bibles.

The fear is so pervasive that virtually every town in America with populations of 5,000 or more has swat teams with military weapons and body armor, and an armored personnel carrier with a battering ram - all as part of an anti-terrorism arms race. People in Boise and Fargo and Natchez seem to think that their little burgs are Prime Targets.

So, when you realize the extent of the paranoia, xenophobia, and superstitious nonsense that has enveolped our country, it's perfectly understandable why TSA gets away with the carp it foists upon the traveling public.

Because, you know, if it keeps us safe...

Schmurrr

Agree 100%. We need complete and independently reviewed cost-benefit assessments before millions of taxpayer dollars are spent on technology du jour.

gsoltso

Agreed that many companies go way out of their way to implement programs that operate the way you describe - and most of them are higher performing.

Threat matrices are determined at a much higher level than I am, honest discussion of those subjects within the limitations of disclosure take place at a congressional level, and in the halls of the intel generating sources all the time- however, at this point, I do not think that disclosure of intel to the public at large is something that is in the offing.

I think that sadly there will always be a cross section of the work force (and not just with TSA) that is there for the wrong reasons. It is human nature and the odds will catch up to every working group at some point - that does not change the fact that someone doing something wrong is wrong at the root. Do not mistake recognizing that sometimes things just are the way they are, with being content with how things are. There will always be a small percentage of passengers that are uncomfortable - that doesn't mean we should not be professional and courteous and try to assist them in the process as they need, it just means that some of the passengers will never be comfotable in the process.

I have never treated someone with a physical limitation (or a mental/emotional limitation or challenge) any different than any other passenger - they are greeted the same, I ask them if they need help with anything, answer any questions they have and get them through with as little hassle as possible. I can't speak for all employees, but I can say that the regs call for that type of treatment with all passengers, and any time you do not get courteous professional interactions, it is wrong.

There is always room for improvement, even when you are doing things right in the first place. There is always something more/less/more efficient/etc than could be added to the process in each encounter, and we should never stop trying harder. I am not happy with the way things are until we have a zero complaint process - I know, that is not a realistic goal, but that should not prevent us from trying to up our level of professionalism every day and build on the gains we make. Each passenger is entitled to professional courteous service by the TSOs and all TSA employees in interactions, regardless of the attitude or behavior of the passenger - within limits, you can't come in punching people, but just because a passenger has an attitude or is not communicating well, or has a chip on their shoulder, does not mean they are not entitled to the same level of professionalism as someone that is polite and engaging. I have been preaching improvement since I started working here, I will continue to preach improvement from here on out. One of the reasons I come in the online forums is to get different points of view, sometimes it points out things I may not have noticed. Case in point - carrying extra gloves in pockets or a fanny pack is a no-go, I had not considered that prior to someone pointing it out to me. If you are getting new gloves, it should be out of the box (there are others as well, but that one jumps out most often).

I try my best to not give sympathy to anyone based simply on the fact that they have physical limitations - that is due to the fact that some of the folks I have interacted with before get offended by sympathy. I rather try and meet each situation with as much help or as little help as is needed and determined by that individual passenger. Each person is different and each situation is different, staying fluid enough to help as much/as little as needed helps things move long based on the passengers pace, instead of trying to shoehorn everyone into the same interaction every time they come through. I have had the same passenger need help more on one trip than on the next, so helping them as they need, allows them to feel more comfortable as opposed to feeling rushed or forced.

swanhild

Sometimes you really can't just trust anyone so the best thing to do is to go on somewhere safer than those with tons of issues about terrorism.

nikitasingh

It also makes sense to keep your family and close friends in loop about your whereabouts so that they can be assured of your safety. Using personal safety apps or calling them regularly are some of the ways to do so.