Thursday, May 19, 2022

Being patted down in an Zurich airport cubicle

Is an iPad a laptop?

Both of my Zurich Airport visits included special time in an enclosed cubicle for "extra checks."¹ But even when things go more smoothly, airport security is like a board game where the rules change every turn but nobody tells you and someone might scream at you for not noticing.

The staff treat you like a fool for taking your shoes off — even though when you entered the country a week ago you juggled your shoes, laptop, and toiletries while hunch-shuffling along to keep your now-belt-less pants up.

There is a real "Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia" energy to it all. From the staff's³ point of view, no doubt, it is obvious. They have seen thousands of people go through the current process, and have lost all perspective of how confusing and stressful it can be.

I trust that the service experiences you deliver your customers are better, but we are not immune from the same loss of perspective. We know how our products and systems work, what they are called, how they are priced and what they can and can't do.

We lose that "beginner's eye" so quickly, and can fail to communicate clearly to customers who lack our own experience and context. Fortunately, we have some tools to help us maintain empathy and perspective:

Pay your support staff well, and treat them with respect. It will flow on to your customers.
Listen to your newest team members. Ask them what they find odd or confusing.
Define a QA process that checks for appropriate tone and language.
Practice analytical reading.
Work to prevent and address burnout.
Create a culture of kindness and service.

For many, many reasons our airport security experience is unlikely to improve much in the near future. But that particular bar is so low it could be in a Coober Pedy hotel. We can do better.

¹ I don't know why. Perhaps I had retweeted a rumor that Roger Federer hates Toblerones.

² Probably Milton Bradley has a Twister: LAX TSA edition already. No shoes and a lot of being told to stand in weird positions. A perfect brand match.

³ Not just the security staff either. Even an airline CEO might blame customers for delays, in a truly impressive own-goal of publicity.

Mat Patterson
Help Scout

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