I have been doing a lot of travelling this summer and there is one constant that annoys me at almost every airport; security.
Now I am not complaining about the need for security, I totally understand it is in place to ensure I arrive safely at my destination without being hijacked, blown up or crashed into a building.
However, it could be carried out with a bit more customer service and a bit less aggression and ignorance.
Traversing an airport for a flight is a stressful experience anyway – and the most stressful part is going through security.
Is it laptops out or in this week? Is it belts and shoes off, or just belts this week? There seems to be no uniformity.
Then there is the beep when you walk through the metal detector and try to explain you have a metal pin in your leg.
No-one is denying that airport security staff have an onerous task as they have to deal with passengers who are also grumpy and annoyed, and this comes out as frequent arguments between staff and security personnel.
Heathrow is particularly bad and we are always told to please leave enough time to clear security before our flight.
That’s all very well if you are starting your journey at Heathrow and can get there three hours before departure.
What happens when you are in transit and your incoming flight is delayed, so now you only have 45 minutes but you still need to go through the same security checks – despite the fact that you went through security at your original departure airport?
Then your bag gets put in the check lane with four bags in front of it and no-one clearing them.
Or if there is someone, they are talking 20 minutes for each bag and you cannot ask them if you can jump the line because you are going to miss your flight, so you’re now really getting into a bad mood.
This is where airport operators and security managers could help.
Why don’t they give their operatives customer service training?
Smile at the customers instead of scowling at them.
When there is a problem, explain to the customer what is happening and how it will be resolved.
Take the tension out of the situation with a simple bit of communication.
If a passenger mentions their flight is due soon ask to see their boarding pass and, if true, clear their bags quickly.
Half the time it is the water you have brought from your incoming flight that you stuck in your bag and forgot about.
I have even been stopped because I had a free wash bag from the incoming flight, which I stuck in my bag not realising that it had liquids and gels in it. For crying out loud, these are previously checked liquids anyway that we have acquired after initial security.
Because we, the passengers, do not want to spend any more than we have to for tickets, airport operators need to keep their costs down.
This means the salaries paid to security personnel are minimum wage, which of course means that whether or not the quality of the staff is high or low, the motivation is low.
But just a bit of customer service training and a few more smiles would make the job so much easier, while improving the passenger experience.