Complaining...what is the purpose?
 

I have had some issues with TSA...the latest with my children:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=684849

Several FT's have told me to complain.

I am an avid 'complainer' to the private sector, but frankly I do not see the point to complain to the government sector other than raising my blood pressure. I only complain when I see a reasonable chance of someone accepting the input for the better.

For better or worse I have just learned to accept what the govt dishes.

Why do you complain?

Should I complain?

Do you think it really matters?

Run up the complaint numbers. Hopefully the GAO will notice and Congress will eventually shut down this disgrace of an agency.

I am in the unique situation on having unique travel situations not encountered by many (i.e. for example I have not mentioned that I flew myself for DTW this time...and that was one of the reasons we late). We travel millions of miles as a family which put us in a unique group that runs into unique situations. Last year we left the country for a year and lived in NZ....we are thinking of doing this later this year in Europe. Unique situations lead to unique issues.

It makes me wonder when someone like myself that genuinely wants to give valid input is so 'worn down' by the TSA that I genuinely don't think it would matter.

Are you completely worn down right now or just temporarily tired?

Honestly, I do not think it matters...I just want someone to convince me [and others] that complaining to the government matters...I really do think it is a waste of time and that even in the best case they have no way to absorb the input constructively.

I'm positive that sometimes it results in change.

A lot of people seem to say "File those complaints!" but I honestly think it does no good. Do they bother to get read? Do they go straight into the paper shredder? What happens to them?
I'm sure that if all those complaints were read, the TSA's policies and procedures would've changed for the better (even though I think they're just doing what they're told, and doing their job.)

There have been noted instances of the government under reporting statistics and hence this could be one more instance where they can scrub their numbers to make it look good. The dog ate the complaints...;)

After I filled out a complaint form about an unbelievably rude and "make up the rules as he went along" 3-stripe supervisor, I did get a call from the "Customer Service" representative for the TSA at ORD. Talked to him for about 45 minutes and he seemend to be genuinely concerned.

To test to see if my complaint went on deaf ears or not, I purposely went through the same lane where said screener was working at my next visit to ORD. The result was a positive one (well, if anything can be positive with the TSA) and the supervisor went by the SOP.

Can you FOIA the complaints? Might be a good way of finding out if they're going straight into the circular file if you can.

Send complaints to your Senator and your Congressional representative. They have the most chance of being effective there.

I don't complain to the gov either. I am afraid they will be spying on me from then on. They might even put some voodoo hex on me. :D

Where desired by the government, it would be done with or without your filing of a complaint.

Complaints ended groping
 

If you will recall, the groping of women ended after thousands of complaints were filed at many different levels - even while DHS/TSA was denying that there were complaints in that number. The last number I recall seeing from TSA was that they'd received less than 300 complaints - and this was immediately before the groping was ended.

Complaints do work if sent to the correct people.

Dhs Ig
 

Don't forget the DHS IG. The TSA doesn't have one of its own. Any FSD or TSA office HAS to respond to an IG complaint. The DHS has a statutory IG, meaning the position was created in law with direct reporting requirements to Congress. The IG is also supposed to be immune from organizational pressure and bias, but, back in the 100% Republican government days, the executive branch managed to get rid of a great IG who -- Clark Kent Ervin -- but I'm not sure that would happen today in this "post-election world."

The IG is especially effective if you believe the hotline or other complaint system has blown you off. If you are 100% professional and not a whiner when you call or email the IG Hotline, rest assured you will ruin someone's day.

http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/about/gc_1163703329805.shtm

FT...where everyone is above average, all members are equal except newbies are more equal than others and every question is "unique," no matter how many times it is asked.

To quote Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'."

Facts are best, but absent them, diversity and differences of opinion make FT better.

It is interesting the treatment that Newbies receive. It is always either very very nice or very very rude. Never anything in the middle.

I think that re-asking questions [esp by newbies] actually serves a good purpose from time to time. A lot of the old timers sometimes forget what is common knowledge and what is not...and what is important today versus yesterday.

As far as 'complaining' I think the whole Security forum is meant to get us to think of what we do or do not want our government to do. It is the most frequently quoted forum in correspondence to my friends that blindly accept 'security' as it stands today. Long term I think this forum has the most amount of value to all travelers of all airlines.

p.s. I did do a search on 'complaining' before I posted :)

While I don't really consider any of these situations unique, a family that travels millions of BIS miles per year together is certainly unique. Since millions is plural, they must travel at least 2 million miles per year as a family. If they take weekends off, that means they travel a maximum of 250 days per year. To do 2 million BIS miles in 250 days means that they average 8000 miles per day. At 500 MPH, 8000 miles is 16 hours per day, not counting checkin, TSA screenings, boarding, connections, waiting for luggage, etc. Another way of looking at it is it is spending 80 hours per week aloft. And all this is just for the minimum, for all we know the OP and his family travel 4 million BIS miles per year, which means that they would never land, and would spend 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, aloft. I'd be a little cranky with the TSA, too.

if i had the resources, i'd set up an auto dial bank in a heart beat. you think sanjaya got "banked calls"..... wheeeeeee ;)

Thanks for your math...I will have to actually total up the miles, without bonuses, etc. for last year. My statement was accurate, but misses the point. I wanted to illustrate that with the raw number of times going through security in a 5 person group we do run into situations that a business person or a couple probably do not encounter.

Between all of us we have earned a little less than 20 million miles. Obviously not all last year, obviously not all flying (even though the actual flying number IS in the millions), obviously not all with AA (as I mentioned I had flown ourselves for the first segment on this flight). Nevertheless, I think that 2 round-the-world trips in 12 months (+ 100 further segments) (+ 2 RTW scheduled for the next 12 months) for a SIX year old is unique, but perhaps I do not know FT demographics as well as I thought.

I do feel that we are uniquely qualified to give input in the security process both here and abroad when in reference to going through it with children.

I was about to call to register a complaint, but backed down.

I really feel uncomfortable giving my name, address, etc. to the government [yes, I know they have it anyways].

I don't think I would have felt like this a few years back...I just don't want to get into a 'bad list' or any list for that matter.

In some ways I think it will not help and can only hurt me. Is this the right way to feel in the USA?

Put away your fears. I have complained many, many times and I still have no problems with online check-in and I have not had to shoot anyone who has shown up at my door without a warrant. ;)

I don't think it matters either. And furthermore, customer service and concern over complaints seems to be completely a thing of the past. Sad but true.

Remind me to never deliver a pizza to Spiff's house.

:D

I was kidding - the pizza guy/gal is always welcome and receives a decent tip too.

A possible "warm" reception is reserved for those who break and enter w/o a warrant, regardless of who they work for. :)

It's confirmed Spiff is in my short list of people I would like to go though security with.

I just re-read FliesWay2Much's quote

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. (Jefferson)

I think there might be tyranny...

A very good reason to complain, as others have pointed out, is that the TSA frequently brags about its complaint levels in PR. "Most people are happy, complaints are down, etc.!" they shout.

While I have much doubt that any individual complaint gets read (and I can say from experience they frequently are not read, at least not by human beings), much less will effect any change, receiving many complaints cannot make the agency look good under the broader eye of government and media scrutiny.

Folks,

I've had to remove a number of posts, or parts thereof, in the last 24 hours for either remarks aimed at the character of another poster or arguments developed b/c of them. Please please please refrain from taking the bait, even if you're the target. Use the Report Bad Post function to call attention to harassing and argumentative behavior.

Thank you.

essxjay
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TS/S moderator

If your statement was accurate, then your family does travel 2,000,000+ BIS miles/year as a family. But do total it up and let us know, based on what you've told us, I'm guessing the real figure is less than 10% of that.

Don't forget about the news media in trying to air your complaints. DHS uses the media to its advantage; you can do the same. And don't limit it to local media; networks will be only too happy to do an expose if there is enough raw meat thrown their way.

I fwded my complaint to all my congresspeople, the media at home and away (TSA Insult site), and even the tourism board and local BBBs. What FINALLY got me a response from the TSA Public Relations Rep from the airport where I was groped was that I complained to the office of Civil Rights AT the TSA headquarters, letting them know I was the only old, white grandpa getting the TSA SOP Criminal Frisk prior to my flight. (I let them know for the umpteenth time how and why it was a RETALIATORY grope.)

Yes, I was eventually adjudged Not To Have A Case (probably by the head office letter opener, you don't get to meet your 'judge' even in the Civil Rights Division of the TSA... go figga!) but it required SOMETHING to get that P.R. guy into such an alert and agitated state. He called me and spoke to me... COUPLE times... eight months after the fact! (Ah, yes. Short, terse conversations which caused lots of throat clearing and incomprehensible murmurings on his part.) But I DID get attention, for what good it did me. Did it get me restitution beyond the obligatory 'apology'? What do you think?

TSA has absolutely NO problem at all making You Who Still Fly into Public Examples at whim. The least that could be done as a result is to hold them and their dimwit tactics out in plain sight as long and as often as possible.