birdstrike

No, you haven't. Depending on how infrequently the passenger flys they may be stating the absolute facts as they saw them. I still have my WTMD friendly shoes. ^

No frequent flyer would make such a claim today. Ma and Pa Kettle might well do so.

birdstrike

I think Bart believes the TSA is performing a valuable service. @:-)

A charismatic leader might be the worse possible outcome for a security organization. ^

FliesWay2Much

...except for the famous cross-dresser in DEN...

lupine

Originally Posted by lupineBart's reply:If the TSA training and follow-up was really effective then passengers would experience a consistent and consistently good TSA screening experience.

There is much evidence -- mine and others -- that the process today is anything but consistent, and unfortunately, all too often rude or inconsiderate.

I'm kind of a process person myself, and my general experience is that when you encounter one jerk, you've encountered one jerk. When you repeatedly encounter different people behaving in jerklike manner in the same organization, you have a design and training problem compounded by management complacency. And when the organization as a whole repeatedly shows an inability to detect that which it was put there to detect, you have a bigger design and training problem, and a management that has its head in the sand.

There's a great book called, "If Disney Ran Your Hospital." Different environment, but a lot of the same concepts apply. All of us would likely have a better experience if TSA employed this approach, and I suspect that those who work for TSA would also find that work was a nicer place with this kind of approach.

birdstrike

Ibid.

Bart

I don't know. That's my humorous explanation for why certain bureaucracies act the way they do. It was my theory that all of this nitty gritty detail just had to be the result of someone somewhere mishandling an incident involving a monkey. It was a throwback to my early Army days when we wore subdued rank on our uniforms until one day there was a change requiring that the rank insignia worn on headgear be unsubdued. A crusty old NCO theorized that some officer somewhere probably didn't get saluted. I'm willing to bet that's not far from the truth.

Agreed. I was making a parenthetical comment about how Disney would react to negative publicity but remembered and commended Disney for its open policy regarding gays. Very bold move in the face of a lot of negative publicity. You are absolutely right: it should not make a difference as long as the individual's behavior is appropriate.

Disagree with you if you think it wouldn't make any difference to many members of this board who pretend to be open-minded. Based on my observations at the checkpoint, I opine that many folks are truly homophobic, particularly if in a pat-down situation. Just an opinion, that's all. But you are correct again: being patted down by someone who's gay doesn't make you gay.

stupidhead

This makes no sense. But then since when has TSA EVER engaged in any kind of rational thought?

If I had a kid, I'm not letting any TSO lay their hands on him/her. Thus, I want to be able to hold their hand when they go through the metal detector. It makes sense for the child to go through with their parent. It's scary enough being in an unfamiliar place as a 2 year old; they don't need the stress of being separated from their parent added to that list.

I also heard somewhere that incompetence is not grounds for termination in the federal government. No wonder the managers are so ineffective....he's managing an ineffective team. That, and money, I guess is why I would never work for the government. Because I think outside the box and demand the ability to assemble an effective team as I see fit.

etch5895

Comparing Disney to the TSA is not the best of analogies.

Disney is a for-profit corporation that wants people to spend money at their parks. The TSA is a government organization that is designed for a specific purpose. If people don't like Disney (southern baptists) they don't have to go to a Disney park. TSA is an organization that if you fly, you must deal with.

Now, if TSA could emulate some of Disney's practices, they might make a better travel experience. However, given the 'I want my low cost air travel and I want it NOW' mentality of the average US air traveler, it is highly unlikely that most travelers give the TSA a second thought once they are past the checkpoint. I would guess that most people simply look at TSA as one of the necessary evils involved with air travel. TSA also has a lot more oversight as to how they spend their budget at the Congressional level, whereas Disney answers to their stockholders. Different priorities. With TSA it comes down to individuals who either shine and make peoples' days a little brighter or people who want others to share in their misery.