We were informed today that TSA screens 2 million passengers A DAY and there have only been 500 complaints on pat downs.

And 492 of those folks are probably now on the No Fly List so the stats that come out next month will make the TSA even more self-satisfied.

Yep, we heard the same thing about the "groping" that started last September - only a few hundred complaints had been filed. When I heard from my congresscritter, he told me that "thousands" of complaints had been filed witht the TSA about the gropings.

May I ask exerda what time period this report covers - since January, since inception of the TSA, since last Sunday?

BS.

Pure and utter BS!

Actually, I think it's an accurate statistic. During a typical day of processing somewhere between 8,000 to 10,000 people at my terminal alone, perhaps three to five people will actually have something to complain about the way they were screened. A great majority of these complaints deal mostly with why they were selected for additional screening (the SSSS on their boarding passes). Of these three to five people, perhaps one or two of them will ask for a complaint form and maybe one of them will fill it out. They either fill it out at the checkpoint or at their own convenience and then mail it in. However, this is not to say that we average one complaint a day. Actually, it's more like one or two in a two-week period.

Does this mean that everybody is satisfied with airport screening? Not at all. What it does mean is that people tend to voice their frustrations and then leave it at that. Very few go to the next step of actually doing something about it either because they're in a hurry, they're skeptical that anything will be done or they change their minds for whatever reason. Just to be fair, there are a number who accept the explanations given to them for whatever it is they are complaining about. And I've had some passengers compliment me on my professionalism, courtesy and understanding; they made it clear to me that they were complaining about the system itself and not me personally. I completely understand that, and we seem to always part on good terms after I've explained how to fill out the complaint form and where to mail it.

As for the pat-down itself, it is rare that we get a complaint about that. The vast majority of the complaints deal with the selectee process and the shoe policy. (Although I get a feeling that the lighter ban policy will soon be the number one complaint.)

The same also holds true for compliments. We do receive more compliments than we do complaints; however, a lot of them are verbal, and very few people submit written compliments. Even so, of those who submit something in writing, the compliments consistently outnumber the complaints. There are also a number of compliments we receive indirectly because they are submitted to the airport manager or the particular airline the passenger flew that day.

I'm not trying to paint a rosey picture here. I'm just sharing that at San Antonio at least, the great majority of the people who travel out of there are generally pleased with our security screening. We do have our fair share of people who are not happy either about a specific incident or with the general principle behind security screening.

There was a newsstory the other day that the TSA lied about passenger data. I'm not sure why anyone should believe anything they say now. No credibility.

I have had the pleasure of traveling to San Antonio two or three times a year for many years. I agree that the TSA there is pretty reasonable. But many other airports are not.

I'd be happy to give Bart a few frequent-flyer award tickets so that he could see for himself how lousy so many other airports are. Come and visit me in Newark, Bart! You would just be amazed. It's like a different country. This is a serious offer.

Bruce

I think you meant eyecue; can't say I've ever been confused with the TSA before

THe inference was that it was since the pat downs started.

All the more reason for not believing one word of it!

Thanks Bart...and eyecue...for your ongoing professional comments in this Forum. And maybe I should also thank exerda as well since he seems to be �speaking� for the TSA now.....
I think the low level of complaints are due in part to the fact that most people going through a checkpoint don�t have the time/inclination/knowledge/intestinal fortitude to take on the TSA.
But I don�t believe the lack of complaints are necessarily a sign that the traveling public are thrilled with the process.
Yeah...I know...just an opinion.

Of course this number was made up! They would have made it more believeable if they said "499" or "501"...

First, you have to define "complaint". Clearly the verbal ones aren't recorded, and therefore don't count. How about the ones called into the hotline nobody ever listens to? Are these the complaints (however defined) received at HQ or do they count the ones received at all of the airports as well? If I were Mark Hatfield, TSA Minister of Information, I would come up with the most restrictive definition of "complaint" I thought I could get away with in order to keep the number as low as possible.

Also, as people have written here on FT and as various reporters have documented, many people are fearful of making complaints because of possible retaliation. Regardless of what one thinks about the likelihood of this ever happening, the intimidation and fear in some people is very real.

Sorry about that