Two very different opt-out experiences
 

My first trip having to opt-out was this week, and I had two radically different experiences on each end. I was flying AA JFK-SFO, and have GE so was slightly miffed about not getting LLL at JFK. Oh well.

Got up to to the BKSX at JFK, politely said "I opt out", was directed to a WTMD, walked through without alarming it, was told "you're fine, go get your stuff" and went on my merry way.

Contrast this to the exact opposite experience at SFO (both coming through premium lines). Once up to the MMW there, politely opted out, and was told "you're behind that guy, no idea how long it will be" with a significant amount of attitude. After me and the other guy were standing there watching the rest of the security theater be performed for awhile, we got to talking and I was like "no way this isn't retaliatory" - he agreed and mentioned he was sort of ticked off too. He then asked the TSO "do they even know we're over here waiting?" and he responded something about being busy or something. A few minutes later, he barked across the checkpoint "male opt-out x2" and literally within 60 seconds someone was there to take care of the first guy, and 60 seconds after that someone took care of me. By "took care of" I mean the complete, demeaning grope - as thorough as they could conceivably do it (including reaching down into my waistband that had no belt on. What could I be hiding down there?)

ETA: FWIW (totally unrelated), I used my GE card for ID at both, and neither TDC batted an eye at it. Batting 1.00 there.

Isn't SFO private security, not TSA, or did I miss something?

Mike

SFO is private, and thus they do not have "TSOs" in the titular sense.

That said, SFO's private screeners are well-known for being among the surliest and worst in terms of attitude. They're a poster case for why simply handing the TSA contract over to the lowest bidder will not suffice, and true accountability is required in privatization.

Don't they routinely score significantly higher than TSA airports on the tests that all checkpoints undergo?

Wow, I have NEVER heard of this happening anywhere. I thought it was TSA policy that once you are selected for a scan, you must either go through it or have a pat-down.

Can you give us more details on how this happened? Did they have to open up the WTMD for you, or was it already open?

Policy does not equal reality. Several people have reported similar experiences.

It's happened to me once at DEN. It was early AM, probably 5:00 or so, and there was only one lane open at the checkpoint. It was running both MMW and WTMD, with a screener pointing people one way or another (I noticed some patterns in how she was distributing people, but won't open that can of worms here). She pointed me to the MMW, and I told her that I was opting out. She looked at me funny and said, "You're doing what?! Why?!"

I replied that I was not a criminal and I refused to be strip-searched like one. She rolled her eyes and said to go through the WTMD. I did, but she never called for a male assist, or paid any further attention to me at all. I stood around for a couple of minutes to see if anyone was coming, then grabbed my bags and went to my gate.

I recently opted out at ORD T2 and had an interesting experience. Guy manning the WTMD called for male assist. Nobody came. After a minute or so, called for another male assist, nobody came. Asked a lady moving a bin back through the x-ray to come relieve him when she's done with that so he could pat me down. She said ok, then proceeded to just go about her business and completely ignore the guy. After a couple more minutes, he called a THIRD time for male assist. After a couple more minutes, someone finally showed up. The entire time, this guy was looking around for someone to come over and help him out. All told, I stood there for about 7 minutes before someone came to pat me down. The patdown was cursory, at best. The guy went through the initial script because he said he'd get in trouble if he didn't, then quickly patted me down, checked his gloves, and sent me on my way.

Felt kinda bad for the TSA guy who was being totally ignored by his peers. I counted 10 - not including him - at the checkpoint at that time working the 2 conveyor belts and the BKSX and doing whatever else. There's a lightbulb joke in here somewhere.