Consistency is the only key to getting people to quit bit.. er, griping about what goes on at the checkpoints. Many of my trips are same day round trips, so I'm wearing the same clothing on each end of the trip. ORD is my usual starting point and UA is my normal airline. UA at ORD is the only place (amazingly enough) where I have had no issues with TSA. They have those Boy Scout designed shoe metal detectors and I have never been told to take off my tennis shoes at ORD.

What bugs me is when I get to some podunk town and they must have the metal detectors turned all the way up (this was true before 9/11, BTW). I can be wearing exactly the same clothing, no coins, no forgotten pens, etc. and the darn thing will go off. I've commented about this a few times and the TSA guy will usually tell me that ORD "isn't doing it right". Uh huh.

The other thing that I have noticed is the clueless tourists that muck things up. Yes, there are other clueless idiots out there, but I'm continually amazed how some tourists will waltz through the detector with cell phones, pagers, hiking boots, overcoat, etc. and then wail when they get pulled aside. I saw this in Detroit just last week. The ID checker mentioned cell phones, the guy providing tubs mentioned cell phones, the guy at the metal detector mentioned cell phones. Then, while I was putting my dress shoes (i.e. metal inserts) back on, I watched this idiot walk right through and light up the machine, then complain because he then had to lose his cell phone, his belt (big buckle too), boots, and overcoat.

I'll take the hassle of getting a special background check if it means I can go to a special screening line and breeze through because we know how to do it.

But back to my point. I'm really bugged when one location wants shoes off and the others don't. When the settings on the machines are variable. When the screeners are impolite no matter what. Don't make me guess and I'll be the nicest guy you screen all day. Make me unload all my electronic gear (not just the laptop) and I'll not be real happy.

The WTMD are set by the company from what I'm told.

Trust us, we constantly complain about ours. Pilots have said we're one of the worse airports as far as WTMD's go. But the company says that everyone is set the same, that the surroundings and how close the WTMD's are can play off each other.

"we, the people, can protest directly to a TSA employee expressing our displeasure at your organization and its leaders.

... Nothing personal towards the individual screeners (in most cases), but face it, you are symbols of your agency and the US government."

So complain to a person that is just following orders make a living so they can support their family. Complaining to the TSA Screeners is going to do absolutely nothing. Please complain to those who can do something the TSA Administrator and/or congress. While you are complaining how about complaining that there aren’t enough screeners to get you through the checkpoint faster.

It's not a shortage of people that makes for long lines. It's your agency's asinine policies.

"I was only following orders?" Seems we're heard that defense attempt before. My sympathy level remains the same.

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

Consistence will never happen in TSA.

For some reason, some airports require you to take everything out of your laptop bag, why?

Or some airports require you to place everything in a bin, why?

Because those things work best for that airport, why? No clue.

I hate people placing everything in bins, because you guys don't pick them up usually and it just clogs the belt. My area FSD allowed us to place a laptop in a bin and stuff to the side of the laptop, keeping it to one bin.

Little things make the process that much quicker. Im now trying to get people to just place stuff in their pockets into their carryon before reaching the belt. Makes it easier and you have a better chance of not having your bin picked up by stranger who was mistaken.

Why I feel consistence will ever be done is because of how long it's been. The screeners and Supervisors have a process that works for them.

This will probably shock most of you but I work at the inbound international gate of my airport and we as screeners sweep and mop our floors WITH ALCOHOL at least once a day. This process, naturally began when we had the big SARS scare. Dealing with inbound passengers from the asian countries scared the h..ll out of us and so to at least make an attempt at keeping down possible infection these proceedures along with wiping down all surfaces and bins after each flight occurred.
Our checkpoint is small (3 lanes) and so is easy to keep relatively clean. The passengers aren't aware of this extra level of cleaning, but we are.

Unless your "lane" is cleaned with alcohol every time a de-shoed customer passes through then big deal it's still filthy and I will continue to be secondarily screened because of my refusal to walk sock/bare footed through your "immaculate", cleaned with alcohol, lane. Your kidding right?

You TSA folks continue to side with "us" re: the shoe policy then you attempt to justify it?!? You TSA'ers can't really be this ignorant. Support the troops/against the war?

Go wave the flag at Grandma. She'll kindly remove her shoes in the name of safety.

CarmelGreg, now how did I know that you weren't going to be happy with that. How about if, when you come through our checkpoint you raise you feet up and we spray the bottoms with the alcohol. It is probably you that are passing around that toe fungus anyway. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif
Once again I say, you will never be happy with any attempted changes or improvements.
With all of the changes accomplished that you think need to be accomplished you would still be the first to ***** because you have nothing to ***** about. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

You can't seriously think it's an acceptable option to ask people to walk sock/bare footed through this metal detector, after dozens/hundreds of other people, do you? That's just plain obscene.

...understand that greg, spiff, and others of their ilk will just not be happy until airport screening goes the way of the dinosaurs, no matter who is doing it(feds, private, whatever-regardless of what they say to the contrary about private)...

...their underlying opposition to screening is basically a combination of the inconvenience they percieve to suffer and their feeling that their civil liberties are being trampled on-as such, nothing i suspect will make them happy until the day the can breeze into an airport and waltz right up to their gate like people did 25 years ago...

unfortunately, due to the problems of today's world, this more than likely will never happen and EVEN IF THE TSA IMPLEMENTED ALL THE CHANGES that greg and spiif have "suggested" in their myriad posts on this board, the truth is-they would never be satsfied regardless...

individual travelors are welcome to make any demands they want to protect their personal hygeine coming thru checkpoints-as a screener i support that and will accomadate a passenger as much as possible, even when they are making demands just to harass the screener(as flieswaytoomuch stated)...

but don't think for a moment that anyone here believes that the complainers on this board are complaining for any realistic change in screening policies-they just want the screening process to go away so they won't be bothered and inconvenienced anymore...


[This message has been edited by jrjcd (edited Dec 06, 2003).]

Nope....FAA regulates.

FAA reps test ours constantly.

As they waltz up to the gate to get on that plane after we are gone their likely dancing partner may be a terrorist.
Where else but a board like this can someone like that go and actually have others listen to his b..tches. People probably just walk the other way when they see them comming in person. ;-)

TakeScissorsAway

Thats weird, we've had a guy, same guy, from the company not once but twice come to our airport and reset the machines. The ASI's used to mess with them but stopped.

What machine are you guys using ?

Um, actually, I know why we have screeners. I am still trying to understand why I have to take my flip-flops off to go through the Magnometer when this is not done either at CDG or by ELAL.

And what can be hidden in the sole of the typical flip-flop (rubber sandals) that cannot be hidden in between the typical butt cheeks?

Another thing to note: last week at LAX, the T6 checkpoint was doing the shoe-thing (albeit lying about it, ala "We strongly recommend...") while T7 (the two are connected) was not. Such total insulting nonsense!


[This message has been edited by HeHateY (edited Dec 06, 2003).]