Of course it's not an official policy! That's the entire point. The point is that all too many TSA line employees make up these kind of bogus excuses, to discourage filing of complaint forms -- and all too often TSA management doesn't seem to care whether the official policy is followed or not.

If TSA management seriously cared about customer service, they would come down like a hammer on any employee who played these kind of games. Sadly, TSA management doesn't seem to care.

TSA management seems to be in over their heads, and so whether they care or not may not make a difference. :eek:

That said, I'd love to see a customer-friendly initiative from the TSA. They can begin by jettisoning haraSSSSment.

Fair enough - and that's good enough for me. We are in agreement on at least this piece of the issue and that may well be as far as we can get for now.

I made a suggestion in the past about the best process to use for weeding out rogue screeners - either correcting their behavior officially, or terminating them.

We need an impartial team to act as mystery shoppers, observing the screening process to ensure compliance with SOP, adherance to standards and proper customer service. There is no way the TSA or DHS can be trusted to do this - a team must be compiled from the GAO, and TSA must be told that the GAO auditors have the right to fine, suspend, report or terminate any TSA employee for noncompliance - and the TSA must be forced to accept this.

I feel pretty comfortable stating if screeners knew they were being watched - and watched by people who could have them fired the same day for an infraction - their whole behavior will change, unless of course they don't care about their jobs.

It's not rocket science - we're talking about grading a screener on adherance to SOP, following set standards (to ensure all airports are operating on the same page), and proper interaction with customers. We're not grading them on screening efficiency or effectiveness, although the GAO should be taking over the audit side of that issue as well.

Deleted

In order to be effective, the program has to have teeth - and the most effective teeth come in the form of termination rights. Don't get me wrong - I don't expect these mystery shoppers to fire screeners on the spot. There should be a write-up and review process to determine if a screener has been identified in their tracking as being problematic, or if a shopper witnessed something bad enough that it falls within grounds for termination, i.e. a verbal or physical threat or intimidation against a customer, etc. The GAO office would process the termination internally once the shopper filed their report. Of course, they could also recommend censure, additional training or suspension.

As far as revenge complaints - we are talking about professional people are are doing a job, not run of the mill passengers. I doubt that would be an issue.

Let's remember that the TSA's customer is Congress, not the public. At the working level, the screener's customer is his or her boss.

Interesting observation. I had never thought about it that way before.

This is a fundamental flaw in the system. In the old days, the screeners' 'customer' was the airline or airport they contracted with. A complaining passenger going to the airline station manager or airport director with a reasonable complaint was enough to get heads rolling.

The TSA must be held accountable to the traveling public who funds it. They must be forced to establish a clearly defined complaint resolution process with entry and exit points which are visible to the public (not hidden within SSI), and they must have SLAs to enforce the complaint resolution process. The GAO should hold them accountable to this, and should have audit and punishment powers to ensure compliance.

The TSA acts as a rogue agency, accountable to no one, and this is one of the reasons I believe screeners feel empowered to act improperly - they know they are shielded from disciplinary action unless they go way over the line. They can bump up against the line, or even step over it with impunity.

Deleted

deleted

What do you want to bet he's lying? Almost nobody makes that much in a year, and the ones who do fly corporate jets. Better liars tell credible lies! :)

Bruce

Deleted

Bart, don't you work with Southwest Airlines Terminal in SAT?

Deleted