Badenoch

If you initiate a confrontation or otherwise act like a jerk and the agent decides to escalate the situation flying might not be an immediate option for you. What is more important to you? Getting on your flight or making some meaningless gesture of defiance?

jerseytom

Yup, it sure is immature. And the pragmatic answer is to just ignore the whole thing and go on to your gate, or fill out a comment card if you're really spun out about it.

First, someone saying "You all need to pay attention" isn't a power trip.

Second, I think that's being a bit generous to the crowd. Some are polite, experienced, rule abiding travelers. Some are jerks. Some are oblivious. TSA has been around for ages now and every time I go through security there are still people trying to bring a bottle of water through or generally seem to have no idea what they're doing, so yes - they do need to pay attention.

Third, "you need to pay attention" sounds like a fairly general statement and not specific to the bins.

InTheAirGuy

Complain via online. They actually respond.

I was going SAN-IAH back in May, and using my Ontario (Canada) drivers licence. it's clearly defined by TSA as an acceptable form, and I use it all the time.

The TSA agent was rude, disruptive and commented, "This is America, get used to it."

I wrote in and complained.

I got a call within two days.

I received three followup emails, including one final one several months later that 'corrective' action had been taken.

The organization might be full of bozos, but I think someone, somewhere, actually gives a .....

BearX220

You do whatever you have to do to make your flight, then write a mature and thoughtful letter afterwards if you really want to. Getting into childish, silly. unproductive exchanges with a bad TSA agent on the spot won't change anything except -- perhaps -- your flying plans.

pfreet

Never respond, there's zero upside for you. Just shake your head and chuckle.

DCAFly

Just let it go - it doesn't even merit a response. We've all been hassled by TSA agents in the past and as someone pointed out, it's a miserable job. Having a miserable job is no excuse for behaving badly, but that is some context to consider, especially when a (perceived?) slight from an agent is so negligible.

I've only complained one time and that was after leaving the airport. It was somewhere in the 2004-2005 timeframe. Long line at IAD, one lane open, everyone agitated, and the TSA agent just let three guys through. And by let them through I mean remove the retractable belt and let them bypass the scanners (seriously). Not crew, not airport personnel, but just regular guys. I said something like - we've all been waiting in line 45 minutes - why do they get to jump the line. He gets right up in my face and says "why don't you just mind your own business and shut the F&*$ up." Which is exactly what I did. He didn't have a name tag and his badge was turned around so I couldn't see his name, but I did report the incident through some channel at either TSA or IAD. They said they investigated it but couldn't figure out who it was, which I find hard to believe since the agent must have topped 300 pounds.

LarryJ

The TSO's comment is indicative of frustration. When we get frustrated we often say things that, in retrospect, we shouldn't. This happens to everyone regardless of their profession.

Super Mario

Let's make a wild assumption here. Let's pretend that the officer acts this way not because they chose to "have a power trip" but because this is what happens all day, every day. Let's also secretly pretend that you, and every other traveler around you expects them to stomp out delays and inefficiencies in the process.

In the end, your ego doesn't sound as important anymore.

Boggie Dog

Discretely video record for inclusion with any complaint reporting.

Silver Fox

I think that if they had one of those how satisfied are you with your experience today stands, you should have pressed the sad face button. It's usually the red one. Not sure whether it was worthy of escalating it to sideways look or frosty stare in all honesty, perhaps a raise of the eyebrows might have got the message across.

Carl Johnson

How is that terse efficiency, or any kind of efficiency? The clerk is giving orders for the sake of giving orders, and if there were any kind of genuine threat to aviation, his diversion of attention away from his actual job would compromise his performance and increase the possibility of an attack.

Superfluous disparaging remarks to passengers who cannot see what he's telling them to "pay attention" to doesn't do anything but distract passengers and other clerks.

It isn't delicate treatment that passengers want, it's basic competence.

GUWonder

Trying to teach rude adults to be polite and getting them to stay polite is like teaching an old dog new tricks: it ain’t easy and it’s not commonly worth the effort.

The TSA has been around long enough now that it’s clear it’s not going to get better anytime soon. But if you want to decrease your chances of having encounters with the rudest segment of the TSA bunch, it’s probably best to try to originate and terminate US flight journeys at smaller, less busy airports as much as possible.

studentff

In retaliation for Roger Vanderklok asking to file a complaint against TSA, screeners fabricated a story about him making a threat and got police to jail him overnight.

In retaliation for asking for clean gloves and complaining about an overly intrusive retaliatory search of both her person and her papers (phone, etc.), Nadine Pellegrino was locked up overnight and had to spend two years fighting criminal charges.

Google for details. These are not good people. People who stand up to TSA in any form are heroes IMO, but they are also taking the risks that heroes take.

lost_perspicacity

I once got into a verbal altercation with the non-TSA airport employee "guarding" entry to the Pre Check line. She was on her phone not paying attention so I just held up my boarding pass towards her and walked by. I was nearly at the podium when she started screaming at me to come back to show me her boarding pass. I answered back with a few expletives and my frank opinion of her mental capabilities and ability to do her job. The TSA agent at the podium looked a bit put off by me but I didn't get a secondary or anything.

Carl Johnson

In 2010 Stacey Armato had to argue with TSA clerks at Phoenix and show them the rule that breast milk doesn't have to go through the x-ray machine. Next time she went through they were on the lookout for her and locked her in a glass cell for over an hour while passengers passed around her and the TSA clerks stood around until she had missed her flight. She complained about that and the TSA had somebody shadow her the next time she came through and the clerks at the checkpoint tried to give her grief AGAIN, but her shadow spoke up and told them to knock it off. She sued the TSA and got a settlement of $75,000 in 2014, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the clerks that falsely imprisoned her and cost the government $75,000 are still on the job. And then LATER, she had to do community service for the city she lived in and she is still doing community service to this day. (Elected to Hermosa Beach City Council in 2016, Mayor in 2018). OK, well, maybe her community service wasn't forced on her by the TSA, but maybe that incident did raise her spirit of public-mindedness to a higher level and caused her to decide to serve the public in this way.

If I were the OP I would not confront the clerk directly over this rude and incompetent behavior because they would not listen and I believe the TSA teaches their clerks to exhibit a "command presence," which I guess means being rude and not knowing the rules and refusing to listen to or be shown the rules or to listen to complaints about their rudeness. I might contact the TSA and complain about it though. If the OP is so motivated, it might make some other passenger's life a little easier.