Are ticket agents punishing passengers with extra screening?
No one wants to find a dreaded “SSSSSS” on their boarding pass, because it means they’ll be subjected to a once-over by TSA agents. The “selectee” designation is usually randomly generated by the airline, but a ticket agent can also add it manually. And they often do — especially if they don’t like you.
At least that’s the contention of Barbara Arbani, a frequent flier and self-described “innocuous-looking grandmother” who recently had a run-in with a rude US Airways ticket agent while traveling with her daughter.
“When we checked in at the counter we asked the agent if there were any seats closer to the front of the aircraft,” she remembers. “The agent had been speaking with a co-worker. It was just a social conversation, not work-related, and she felt we had interrupted her.”
The irritated ticket agent arbitrarily picked two seats closer to the front of the aircraft. They were worse than Arbani’s original seats.
“My daughter and I said we preferred the seats further back,” she said.
The agent then harumphed, rolled her eyes at her co-worker, and reprinted the original seat. But these boarding passes were different. These had a line of red Ss stamped across the top.
“At security, we were quite surprised when we were both taken to a special line and our bags were individually opened and searched, as we were. An agent explained to us that a red ‘S’ had been stamped on our boarding passes by the previous perturbed agent. He asked us if we knew why. We said only that we had taken too much of her time, and the TSA agent smiled and said, ‘This sometimes happens.’”
I’ve written about who can and can’t add you as a selectee in the past (full disclosure: I’ve been subjected to additional screening as punishment for my behavior, too, and I didn’t like it).
As I review the available information about how you become a selectee, I’m impressed by how many people seem to have the authority to subject you to additional screening. It’s conceivable that you could be sent to the special line for not tipping the skycap adequately.
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14 Responses to “Are ticket agents punishing passengers with extra screening?”
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This is why I check in online. Some sites let you change seats without having to interact with a real person.
For a short period of time - each of my trips through O’Hare I was “awarded” the SSSSS. But with long security lines there - it actually worked to my benefit - the lines were much shorter and I often got through security much faster than if II didn’t have the stamp. I don’t recall if it was due to an interaction - but it didn’t seem very random as it was 5 flights in a row.
As a former Agent and Supervisor of the U.S.’s largest discount airline, I will tell you that Ticket Agents and skycaps can absolutely make someone a “selectee” by the simple touch of a button. By telling the computer that the person has “no I.D.”, they automatically become a selectee. This was used very sparingly- mainly reserved for those customers who insist on gabbing on thier cell phones while you are trying to assist them, EXTREMELY difficult passengers (not at all like the lady and her daughter in the original story)- but the jerks who put up a 10 minute fight over a $12.00 upgrade fee, the people that threw thier I.D.’s or credit cards AT YOU, the people that don’t even acknowledge you when you say “hello”, the passenger that is demanding compensation for a 20 minute weather delay… and my favorite:the occasional husband who is flat out rude and embarrassing to his wife, or vice versa. That would always give me just a little bit of joy to hear a husband tell his wife to “shut the $(&# up”, or do something to belittle her (God knows what happens when they aren’t in public)…then I would make HIM a selectee, and process her normally…wait about 2 minutes and slowly walk to security and stand back and watch him escorted out of line and throw a fit at the TSA…on a good day, maybe he had been drinking and the police are called because he is becoming violent, but I digress. The wife goes through the rest of the line and stands there watching her husband make an ass out of himself, but trying not to bust out laughing at him. Then I return to the Ticket Counter and know that I and the wife were both laughing inside.
Y’all come back now, ya hear! (TPA)
I have been behind travelers who are rude, obnoxious and generally distasteful to Agents who have been gentle and accepted the abuse of these types. If I had been the Agent I would have done everything in my power to “get even” for the rude treatment and smiled through the process. It’s unthinkable how some people treat others. Whatever happened to civility?? In today’s world everyone thinks its a right to have precisely what they want regardless of their behaviour.
As a former airline employee and currently in the travel field, I am disappointed in some of your travelers responses to this article.
Putting passengers in for additional screening, merely out of personal revenge wastes valuable time for the screeners, when they are looking for terrorists. That is the whole reason this system at great cost to the tax payer was set up after 9/11
Screening an innocent passenger, whose ticket was stamped out of sheer nonsense by a disgruntled counter agent costs time to pull them out of line, and go through the the special screening, which takes at least one extra employee to administer that and takes away from possibly screening of a passenger who poses a real threat to security.
Again I go back to pulling a fire alarm, and equipment responds to that location, when a real fire could go unchecked for another 15 minutes or more at another location, because the fire personnel are answering the fake alarm.
And it is a complete misuse of the system by bitter airline personnel, and you are naive if you think this is not happening after 9/11 in particular.The job of ticket agent or gate agent does not include the words, misuse the security system because you have had a bad hair day.
I think that airline personnel should be suspended and or fired for even the first infraction. This is probably a Federal offense to tag some one for the full screening, when you you are doing thiis for a personal reason. It is like pulling a fire alarm when there is no fire.
So those of you that took this completely wrong should rethink your comments. Even if a passenger is a complete idiot checking in, unless they are intoxicated, on drugs, or exhibiting behavior of a suspicious criminal nature, crying uncle (putting them on the dreaded full search or more category) is also criminal.
This Grandmother did nothing wrong, except want a seat change. Since she is not a frequent business traveler, she probably did not know online check in. She was entitled to fair treatment, instead of what she got.
I am tired of seeing security personnel tied up with a passenger that is not a threat to anyone, because some counter agent who is in a bad mood, decided to take out their misery on the next hapless passenger. And to you naesayers, it could be YOU the next time.
Chris you should have taken up this womans story all the way to the top. IT goes on way too often now days, and you should really do a feature article in a newspaper on this. There are thousands of innocent travelers a year, that have this done to them, along with a few idiots.
Just because a passenger in line acted in an arrogant manner, still does NOT give the airline employee the right to target them for a full blown screening. I will stay this again, the time wasted on this pettiness, could be at the expense of allowing a real threat to board.
It is a two way street. It is not always the passenger who causes this, as witnessed by the article you published. I have plenty of airline friends, who delight at parties, telling stories of how they got back at hapless passengers. And at times, I have spoken up and told them they may be upset with the airline, but they had no right to take it out on the petty things they have done. I like these people, but they have no right to misuse the system like this. And I stand by what I say here.
PS Further addenda to my previous comment. Chris I agree with you that skycaps, and tsa personnel also abuse their authority when dealing with passengers. However, the topic of this story, was the Grandmothers incident with an airline employee. So that was what my comments were focused on.
This extra power has given far too many types of employee’s at an airport, the ability to make anyones life miserable upon arriving. The one person who submitted comments admits to pushing the button on a passenger because he did not like him and then enjoyed seeing him being taken away by as his wife looked on.
And this person is gleefully telling you this in writing. IF we all acted on our impulses I am sure waiters would be putting things in the food they deliver to patrons they did not like at dining spots, day care workers would file false reports of child abuse about parents they did not like. And so on. We are all intimidated at airports now.
NO one seems to be checking on these people to make sure they are not abusing the system.
This is something that should be brought to the attention of the Inspector General at the Dept of Homeland Security. While those who can trigger the “extra scrutiny” process should not be penalized for simply being wrong (i.e., real suspicions should be enough), such because-I-can misuse is akin to not liking a neighbor so you call the police and say you think he’s dealing drugs from his house — in other words, filing a false police report. If a waiter at a club doesn’t like your attitude and so asks the bouncer to escort you to the door, that may be unfair but it’s a private business. At an airport, the bouncer — TSA — is a government law enforcement agency and making a false report is a federal crime. Title 18, section 1001.
I had an idiot tsa person notice my name was spelled wrong on the ticket and it did not match my id, went back to the counter and the agent marked “exempt” on the boarding pass and the ticked tsa guy said “go on through”, so out there somewhere was that rare helpful ticket agent
I too have experienced “payback” from a ticket counter agent (and I used to be one myself) - in my case it was because I questioned him on 2 counts - firstly, he incorrectly tagged my bag to the wrong destination, and then I asked for a better seat. He claimed there were no aisle seats available, but lo and behold, at the gate there was a miraculous appearance of aisle seats to choose from!
I know that this particular agent is a real menace and I now make sure that I don’t have anything to do with him - not because I really mind the extra screening (though as a previous reader pointed out, this diverts attention from potential threats), but because I know that he will mess up anything he touches.
The idea that someone completely incompetent and vindictive has any power at all is very scary and I agree that Chris should follow this up!
On another related note…why is it that some people are tagged as a selectee on some airlines, but not on others? Any answers? The whole system is messed up! These agents are also providing a “first line defense” if they do suspect someone is acting strange. 99% of the time, if someone is made a selectee when they were not deemed one before is NOT “because I can”, rather “because I think I’d rather be safe than sorry”.
There are many factors that go into the system deciding if someone will be a selectee, not simply which airline you are on.
And as for Nancy….if you used to be a ticket counter agent and cannot come up with at least a dozen reasons why there may have been an aisle seat available at the gate and not in the lobby, then you certainly were one of the least-informed agents I would know. This is a tiny example of people thinking the world is out to get them.
If you go to the wikipedia article “secondary security screening selection at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_Security_Screening_Selection you will discover there are a multitude of reasons that you were selected, none of which are rudeness, payback by an agent, angering a TSA screener, or any other such reason.
I’ve been pulled out of line by a TSA screener for “an additional random check” and I’ve also been tagged by the airline as an SSSS selectee. The two things were completely different. The random check was just a quick sliding pat down of my extremities and torso, they an “ok, that’s it” from the screener. The SSSS selectee inspection included a search of my luggage and testing it with a piece of some kind of paper. I was told by one TSA screener that they cannot make somebody an SSSS selectee, only the airlines do this when they print out the ticket.
They do seem to have some new people who can tap you for extra scrutiny (see http://www.tsa.gov/press/happenings/bwi_story.shtm) but it doesn’t sound like these guys are the same ones you see inside the security checkpoint, since the article says the suspicious guy was noticed by one of their new behavior screeners at a ticket counter.
Like someone else already pointed out, there are bad apples in every aspect of life, bad cops, corrupt politicians, customer service agents who don’t seem to grasp what that term means, etc… But I’ve personally had and witnessed more positive experiences with TSA at various airports. I’ve seen tsa screeners treating disabled passengers with dignity and courtesy, and I’ve seen them maintain control and continue to be courteous and pleasant to the rudest, nastiest people you could ever imagine. I’ve seen very little of the bad behavior talked about here. Maybe thats because I plan ahead, read the posted rules and follow them accordingly. Or maybe it’s because people as a whole would rather read about the one rotten apple than to admire the quality of the rest of the bushel.
Will you all please stay on the topic here. WE are not debating nor discussing the actual conduct of TSA screeners. We are focusing on what happened to this Grandmother, and her screening, was put into motion by the airline personnel when she checked in.
This is the one of the KEY people in this whole taking a trip process, who has the power to do just about anything to make your flight and check in pleasant or miserable. Then comes the gate agent, and then the cabin crew. All airline employee’s.
No one is being paranoid here, I am an former airline employee, from an airline family, Dad was 30 years, my cousin was many years. I get talked to all the time by airline employee’s I still know. And the depth of their bitterness towards the public just awes me at times.
So many things they can do, that YOU do NOT even fathom.
The changes in the last 40 years in this industry have left many employees bitter, disappointed, and some are getting their little paybacks, thanks to 9/11 and all the new laws enacted.
I can understand why many of my former coworkers are bitter and frustrated. But I still do not feel that gives them the right to abuse the TSA rules and make a passenger’s flight uncomfortable. Some cases, of course it is warranted. They have done some type of behavior that warrants being arrested or extra pre boarding screening. But many times lately, NOT.
We all have run into people in our daily lives we might like to have revenge on in some small ways.,
In my airline job, for years I was told to smile and handle rude passengers, know matter how outrageous they got. And many things I had to “handle”, but. nowdays the cabin crew don’t want to. So out comes the TSA threat.
On board if you ring the call button too much, your children are too loud, you are old and go the bathroom a lot (bathrooms have become the haunt of terriorists apparently) question something, or you innocently touch the arn of a flight attendant as they go by, you may get told now YOU are in trouble!
And if you don’t meekly apologize to their satisfaction, you may be told that they were going to have security, or the FBI waiting for you at the airport when they land, because you were interfering with cabin crew or the security of the plane in flight.
This is not terrorists, this is malice and payback time from airline employee’s in many cases. And it is hard to prove Other passengers dont want to speak up.
Crew are going to stand behind crew.
So not only does the prospective passenger possibly get singled out for unnecessary airport screening, it can follow you on the plane, and even further then that.
YOUR name can be highlighted in the paperwork, the gate agent hands the senior flight attendant or Purser, on board just before the flight pushes back and the cabin doors are set for departure.
These lists many times note VIP’s, passengers needing wheelchair assistance at the destination, , special meals (all but disappeared nowdays) and any ” potential security risk” passengers on board. And it lists your name and seat number.
And there are some further things that can happen, if you irk the wrong airline employee, but I am not mentioning them here. George Orwell was just a bit too early. 1984 should have been titled 2001, Losing all our rights!
Think about it, since then long security lines, no blankets, no pillows, no meals, lost luggage, flights sitting on the tarmac with you stuck for hours, no or little compensation, no apologies, and you have no real recourse.
You just have to be very quiet, stay in your seat and take it! You have no rights in todays airline world.
Do you feel like a valued customer these days by the airlines?
I also have a question: will the airline agents treat people of different colors differently?
I am a Chinese people and had a flight from San Fransisco to Hancock airport in Jan.2007.
I was selected as SSSS. That was my second flight in the US, and the first time to be a seletee.
I remember very early at that morning I got up( I slept in the airport ) and checked in by the device. However I didn’t know what to enter at one step. Then I asked the personnel whether she could help me check-in. She said yes and took my paper ticket.But I read sth from her eyes. I didn’t pay much attention to that but I could clearly feet that she must dislike me.
Then I got a boarding pass with SSSS. I was led to a special line for a further but stupid security check. As a Chinese, I had never have such experience in China or other Asian countries. And I got very unhappy.
Then I felt intersted in what kind of people would become the selectees. So I slowly picked my bag( the official couldn’t put back the clothes into my bag! ) and watched.
I found that two girls with south-Asian look were under checked. Then again a man with darker skin. At the same time I could see those who passed the normal line were all white people.
I think there must be some unffair. The airline agents wrongly use the system and the system itself is stupid. The whole procedure consists of host hostility, which clearly demonstrates: you are suspected and punished and not welcome.