Aww,

Please don't close or delete this thread. It has evolved in some interesting ways, with Bart and eyecue weighing in with valid comments about OP's apparent lack of credibility, Elvis, some mistaken sarcasm. It is everything that TS/S threads can be, in one thread.

Some might say that his grammar and spelling is exactly what would be expected of a screener.

Tongue and cheek, Bart and eyecue.

The truth of the matter is that you may be correct.
Bart, eyecue and the other regulars here appear to be highly intelligent and well-spoken.
Not to mention that they have also developed hides of leather from posting in this forum.....
But as we've said in many other threads around this forum, the TSA folks in this forum shouldn't assume that their brethren around the US are the same clear and rational thinkers. It appears to me, as time goes by, that the TSA is lowering the bar in whom they employ.
IMO, the first set of folks in 2002 were gung-ho and more professional than the newbies I've seen lately. And I pretty much can recognize the newbies in the airports I fly through on a regular basis.
I don't know if it's the payscale, the turnover, the mundane job duties or what but the new crew doesn't seem as gung-ho and professional as in the past.
Just my two pesos worth as usual. YMMV.....

Verbatim what happened to me in LAS last month.

Jeez, Cholula; is retirement so boring that you have to start acting like the trigger-happy moderators on other fora and start deleting posts? Can you at least PM me the juicy parts?

Hey vasantn.
The TS/S Forum has always been like the Old Wild West. Folks generally shoot first and ask questions later. And martial law is usually in effect.
The inmates are always trying to take over the asylum but, generally, as long as the bloodshed is held to a minimum, the forum is allowed to operate as semi-controlled mayhem......

I agree on both counts.

I agree here as well. It took awhile for some to realize that. We don't make this stuff up.

Actually, we were discussing this topic this week, but applied it to a broader scale of govies.

The government is generally a good place to work. Pay's ok, and some agencies offer decent benefits, and it's stable; but being a govie isn't all the glitz it used to be. It's wrapped up in bureacratic procedure to the max. If you saw the Dilbert calendar's comic for today, it was pretty darn accurate that it's difficult to get anything done. Benefits aren't as great as many would believe. A lot of people use their spouse's health plans because they're often cheaper and better. Promotions only happen once a year, and they're political. Yadda, yadda.

Even my agency is having a difficult time retaining people. I think it is because most govie jobs are mundane and the glamor wears off after awhile. A lot of agencies care more about procedure than getting something done. And it frustrates the hell out of the younger workers there.

That doesn't mean there aren't good people working at these agencies, but it's getting to be a lot harder to keep the good ones because they look for greener pastures. So who do you replace them with? Whoever shows up a lot of times.

Working in a government job usually provides great benefits as well as better job security even though the salaries may not be as high as compared to those private firms.

Do you also propose to clear up some of the misconceptions that many TSA screeners and admin types have? Like that shoes are a credible threat, or that Granny is going to use her shoes to blow up a plane?


Tell that to several screeners I and other FTers have encountered. I have been told at two different airports by three different screeners that I could not proceed through the WTMD until I removed my shoes--the moat dragon physically blocked the WTMD arch until I removed them. I complained to the TSA twice and got form letters both times saying, "You do not have to remove your shoes..."


Again, this is a misconception that is shared by many TSA screeners. I argued with one today who yelled (not in response to me--she simply didn't seem to have a "normal" voice and could only yell everything she said) that "those shoes do too fit the profile" (flip-flops with at most 1/2" thick soles, no metal)

The problem is that they frequently cut off the TSA locks, too. I checked a bag at DCA and was told by the CTX operator, "You'll have to unlock that." I said, "This is a TSA-approved lock, and you've got the key to do so." He stared at the lock for a minute, then repeated, "You'll have to unlock that. All bags must be unlocked." My wife's bag had her TSA lock cut off on a trip a week later through DCA, and her mom's bag had not only its TSA lock cut off, but also its zipper ruined.


Thanks, though, for taking the time to post ... many TSA staff seem to simply not care about their jobs or the way passengers perceive them. You took the time to explain several items, at least ^

The problem with the pay is that it's uniform across the board. Locality pay doesn't do much to address this.

When you factor in what it costs to live areas like WAS, SFO, NYC, etc, the pay isn't that great. You're right that the private sector pays more ... I have a friend that turned down a govie job to go work for a govie contractor because they offered him significantly more. And a lot of govies leave, only to turn around and come right back as contractors making significantly more.

In smaller towns and areas where the cost of living isn't real high (like my hometown), the government pay is quite good.

It can get pretty good if you stick around for years on end too.

I ALWAYS wait for my luggage to be hand-searched & re-locked & stickered (or papered) by TSA. I never had a problem. Then, in Dallas Texas, April 2004, I watched 2 guys pointing & making comments about what was in my trunk. After that, I had my luggage broken into & all the jewelry was stolen out of it. ONLY in Dallas Ft. Worth did they keep my luggage from making the flight, & store it overnight so that they could ransack it. The TSA claims they are NOT responsible for what their employees do. They have a licence to steal! I filed police reports, & spoke with many authorities to no avail, & they denied my 2 claims.
How can the TSA justify spending all that $$ on their awards banquets & potted plants for their offices, etc.. & deny my legit claims???!! ~Jay Lee

[QUOTE=TSAman]
7. TSA recommends all bags be left unlocked at all times. Yes you can lock your bag with any lock, but it will be cut off if we have to go inside your bag. It just saves your locks and our time not to have locks on there. TSA locks do help out alot.

I have many TSA locks lost (missing) by the time I get my baggage back. Why can't they remember to put them back on? Or are they of cheaper metal quality (I found one bent)...

The OP starts this thread and still hasn't shown back up?

I just got back from 10 days in WI and MN and flew in/out of MSP and back to LAX. From what I read of the OP he seems to think that all airports work the same way.

My stepdad is 85, legally blind, and has a pacemaker. While the other 5 of us gleefully go through the WTMD and thank the Lord above that we didn't ring any bells, he gets the whole nine yards at @ MSP.

Tell me please what kind of danger he is with his pacemaker? His shoes had to come off and his belt. They didn't allow us @MSP to come and help him. The man can't see his feet for God's sake. When I approached the woman at Checkpoint 3, (he was taken away from us while we went through Checkpoint 2 there) and asked if I could assist him, I got a glare. I had already cleared obviously since I was on the airside of the terminal. I was really disappointed in this and my stepdad said it was the silliest thing he'd ever been through.

I was worried they might hassle me about my metal bookmark, since it was flat and 4 inches long, but it got through ok.

BTW we flew NW and why did it remind me so much of WN?

Rant over.
airline brat

I hope you filed a complaint.