Work for the sake of work
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So, I’m walking to through the Las Vegas Airport on my way to security. As I am walking up to the line, a TSA rep stops me (never mind that I am on the phone) and asks if I would help them assess the wait. I’m thinkin’ hell ya. Anything I can do to help make these stupid long lines shorter. She hands me a card that is time stamped and asks that as I get through screening give it to the TSA rep at the end of the security process. She informs me he will time stamp it on his end. This will allow them to measure security line wait. Pumped to help, I stand in line, work my way up, go through security and hand my timestamped card to Mr. TSA. I’m waiting to watch him time stamp my card and finalize my commitment to expedition.
But, not so fast my friend. What does he do? He puts it on the screening machine and just leaves it sitting there. And whadda ya know, there is already one sitting there. No immediate time stamp, no thanks for participating, nothing. I don’t know what happened to my little yellow card, but it didn’t seem like anyone really cared.
Making work for the sake of work happens far too often. If ya don’t value the work, don’t do it. Don’t waste your customers time and don’t waste your employees time. Far too often people and companies get caught up in busy work for the sake of being busy. Being busy doesn’t mean being good. Showing you care, doesn’t mean ya do!
Knowing how this was managed don’t expect too many improvements trying to get through Vegas security. Maybe they could put some slot machines in line. This way I can loose a few more bucks while I’m just standing around.
Comments
Oh that sucks.
Last time I was at airport they made me throw out my 2 ounce bottle of shampoo, but let me keep my lighter. Yeah… I could have lit a fart and made a bigger explosion than with that tiny bottle of shampoo would have made.
Airports suck, so there and so do people who pretend to care. I am not a good pretender though, so if you see me looking like I care….look out because I probably do.
Comment from Jennifer on March 16, 2007, 3:54 pm
Funny, my experience in going to Florida was something like yours, Antman, with one difference: When the card was pocketed by the TSA worker after going through security I asked him to please give me back the card. When he refused I asked to see the supervisor. This rather substantial woman came over and identified herself as the supervisor and asked what I wanted. I told her abou t my experience, politely, and then told her that I was not going to willingly participate in needless involvement in what looked to me to be an exercise in futility. She asked, with sternness in her voice for the card from the employee I pointed out. She then asked how long ago I actually passed through, stamped my card, deducted three minutes, initialed the card and kept it with her. She apologized and I thought that that was going to be the end of it. A Suit approached me and asked me to step aside. I complied and he also thanked me. He told me he watched the whole exchange on a monitor behind a screen. He was “conducting research” for future employee training and also “gathering information on customer/passenger behavior” and told me that only one in four hundred customer/passengers ever actually questioned why the card was not stamped as they had been told it would be when given it at the front end of the line. His “guess” was that most people are not that security conscious, or are stressed with the whole process and see themselves as “victimized enough” by all the changes and just want to be left alone, in his words “oblivious” and “not willing to be delayed or inconvenienced any further”. He responded to my question “I guess you could say that, sir, people don’t really actively engage as a member in the ‘team’ that is responsible for security”.
I gave me two things to think about, among others: I’m glad I did take the time to question and get answers; and, second, it scared the hell out of me that so few customer/passengers see themselves as part of the ‘team’ of those responsible, not only for their own safety, but also for the safety of their fellow travelers.
It’s all well and good to see other pooints of view, or to scoff at what is necessary and inconvenient in our lives; or, to deride people who may or may not do their jobs or who might not thank you, or may even interfere, by their own indifference or laziness with the proper conduct of business realities and thereby participate unconsciously in the reduced effectiveness of public safety, but let’s also leave room for us to develop OUR consciousness about encountering people or systems or government or businesses whose line and staff are not doing their job or fulfilling expectations that we as customers/passengers of LIFE in present day America are set up to expect by the requests/rules/policies etc. that are introduced to us. WE have a part to play in constructing a world populated by Responsible Partners, too!
Best to you, Antman! Thanks for having your experience and sharing it with us, it made an opportunity for me to share mine to many more people than I did.
Comment from Matthew on March 19, 2007, 8:40 am
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