PAT Downs
 

Last week we had ZERO complaints. I have performed about 20 a week and no one is getting really pissed about it. I hear the famed "anything to make us safe" A LOT

And what would "getting really pissed about it" accomplish at a checkpoint?

I'm still not sure what I think about AIT, and the accompanying patdowns. But if I decide I disagree, the last thing I'm going to do is complain about it at the checkpoint. In that environment, TSA has the upper hand.

All I'm saying is don't interpret the lack of complaints as an endorsement of TSA policies. Silence is simply silence; it neither shows agreement nor disagreement.

+1

It's our word against the screening clerks..

If you are dealing with a boss (three striper, higher up) that you absolutely can not stand, are you foolish enough to let him/her see your contempt?

If your boss walked up and decided to use you to demo an open-palm package-n-all grope for your fellow workers, are you going to let him see that it's not your idea of fun?

A lot of the folks you are frisking probably can't wait to get it over with so they can get to a restroom and wash up. You know, sort of that unpleasant sensation you feel after your doctor has given you an up-close-and-personal examination. You just want to get the hell out of there.

And believe it or not, I have met a surprising number of folks who don't complain because 1) they don't think it will do any good and 2) they worry that their name will end up on a list and they'll be subject to future harassment.

Of course, there is the possibility that you follow your SOP and are professional and respectful. You know, you treat the pax you 'handle' kind of like you would treat your own grandpa if you were frisking him. Or your manager's son.

Nice post!

Not with 40 plus cameras present

When a passenger has needed footage to prove that a screening clerk was in the wrong, when was it available? It seems that it has a habit of disappearing.

Which have an annoying habit of being non-operational, or pointed in the wrong direction, or whatever, when a passenger requests to review the tapes of a checkpoint incident ...

Not at DEN. There have been at least 5 TSA people let go for things that the camera sees.

Silence does not mean assent.

To test your theory, however, let's have the TSA hire an independent third party company that will hand out comment cards to travelers after they have to deal with the pat downs that specifically ask for their thoughts and views of the pat down experience anonymously. The card can then be dropped in the U.S. mail anywhere in the U.S. for delivery.

Let's see what the results are.

Trust me, my complaint will be written, with your name and ID number prominently placed where it needs to be, and sent off to just about everyone.

About the only thing you'll see from me leaving the checkpoint is an angry scowl.

Depending on the outcome the results will be that there was a conspired effort to mask the truth.

Especially when those cameras never seem to have been working when the evidence doesn't support TSA's version of events.

I would have to defer to the TSA detractors to see when the last issue with a camera failure occured. I can only say that the ones in DEN work very well ALL the time. We can read the names on boarding passes and ID's.

Funny thing about those complaint cards. They could also be used for compliments - if they could be found.

I transited a checkpoint Sunday AM. The TSO on the other side of the belt who was rearranging everything said 'thank you' to me because my kippie bag was out and sitting on top of my rollaboard. I said, 'Thanks for not barking. I'd put in a compliment card, but I don't see any around and I don't have time to wait for a supervisor to get me one. Maybe next time'.

It's true - I did appreciate not being barked at, and there were no compliment cards anywhere to be seen. He said he could get a supervisor down 'really quick', but I said I had to catch my flight, couldn't wait (also true).

Besides, I know the supervisor will insist on seeing my ID before giving me a form. Are they readily available at your checkpoint, eyecue?

yeah yeah, and Arbeit macht frei too. Just cause someone says it doesn't make it so. You fondling 20 unsuspecting innocent people a week in no way makes us any safer but it does show that you end up interacting with a bunch of really unintelligent people.