Likely outcome for being rude to a passport control man
Discussion
I was on a connecting flight back to London this weekend and at the interim airport I approached the passport control desk. I began talking to the gentleman manning the desk in English (having said hello beforehand and smiled). He responded in a language I could not understand, in a talking down tone, no doubt showing off in front of the 2 female colleagues, who funny enough laughed at whatever he has said to me.
Then he carried on talking to me in English, asking irrelevant questions and carrying on being a condescending cock basically.
Anyway, that actually ruined my day cause I wanted to smash his fat face in right in front of his colleagues but couldn't.
I did think of something I wanted to tell him right there and then but didn't want to risk my already s
t connecting flight becoming even more st.
What I wanted to ask is "Do you get a bonus for being a rude pig to the passengers in your job?"
I refrained from saying it, becuase in all likelyhood, he would just up the ante and make my day worse and no matter what i did he had the upper hand in our brief "passport control man vs passenger" relationship.
Does anyone know what their powers actually are and what they can do to a passenger who is just being unhelpful/cheeky/rude?
Then he carried on talking to me in English, asking irrelevant questions and carrying on being a condescending cock basically.
Anyway, that actually ruined my day cause I wanted to smash his fat face in right in front of his colleagues but couldn't.
I did think of something I wanted to tell him right there and then but didn't want to risk my already s
t connecting flight becoming even more st.What I wanted to ask is "Do you get a bonus for being a rude pig to the passengers in your job?"
I refrained from saying it, becuase in all likelyhood, he would just up the ante and make my day worse and no matter what i did he had the upper hand in our brief "passport control man vs passenger" relationship.
Does anyone know what their powers actually are and what they can do to a passenger who is just being unhelpful/cheeky/rude?
SirTainly said:
Too bad you didn't speak whatever langauge he did, you could have thanked him profusely in that and marvelled at his priceless expression.
Just because someone chooses not to speak a language, never assume they can't.
I know it's annoying... Just because someone chooses not to speak a language, never assume they can't.
My X and I were stood in a ATM queue once, and she commented in another language how s
t the guy's in front hair looked. The guy took his cash, walked about 50 yards then returned and with a sincere interest and concern looked her in the eye, then said "Is it really that bad?"I could not stop laughing at her for at least half an hour.
I also had the pleasure of attending a meeting between my company and representatives of a another, very wealthy company. Who did not realise I speak their language. After they had finished talking amongst themselves about how can they extract the info from us without promising us any busines or in fact making us cotton on to the fact that they are there for a purpose that would more appropriately be described as competition, I politely asked the interpreter to stop wasting his time and addressed the representatives directly... I cannot begin to explain how entertained i was watching their faces and the body language from that moment on...
Gylen said:
I'm confused. You were 'abroad' and the customs man spoke to you in 'abroad', initially?
Seems normal, I would expect the onus to be on me to speak the basics of his language but I suppose he would have seen your passport etc.
But if you couldn't understand what he said, how do you know it was rude? He may have been complimenting you, passing comment to one of the colleagues about something entirely different or neither of the above? You may have just mis-interpreted his tone due to not speaking the language (like how all Italians sound like they're arguing to Brits).
Perhaps an over-reaction?
I appreciate your version.Seems normal, I would expect the onus to be on me to speak the basics of his language but I suppose he would have seen your passport etc.
But if you couldn't understand what he said, how do you know it was rude? He may have been complimenting you, passing comment to one of the colleagues about something entirely different or neither of the above? You may have just mis-interpreted his tone due to not speaking the language (like how all Italians sound like they're arguing to Brits).
Perhaps an over-reaction?
I am always one to look for plausible non-sinister verion myself, but this was not the case.
I realise I was abroad, but I have begun the conversation in another language, one that he was able to understand (as was evident by our following chat).
Also when he did talk to me in his language it was a cocky question type remark, the tone of voice and facial expression were unmistakable. You know the one when someone is having a laugh at your expense, we are all familiar with it i am sure.
Something along the lines:
Do you realise you are not in England english boy?
But ahh you cannot understand what I am saying can you?
Especially if I speak uber fast just in case you have a basic knowledge of my language eh?
Then in english and with a hit of smug cotnempt having ensured I had no comeback to his gibberish: "your passport!"
TOENHEEL said:
He was probably saying how ignorant the english are for not learning anyone elses language when we are in their country. I fall into the same category although do ask if they speak english first to avoid hassle.
Then that is an assumption and stereotyping on his part. I speak 3 other languages in addition to English, his insignificant mediocre contry just doesn't happen to be one of them...I merely chose to address him in a language I deemed the most suitable out of those I knew.
Lost soul said:
isee said:
Then that is an assumption and stereotyping on his part. I speak 3 other languages in addition to English, his insignificant mediocre contry just doesn't happen to be one of them...
I merely chose to address him in a language I deemed the most suitable out of those I knew.
I tell you what , the way you have written about this gives me a pretty good idea of your attitude I merely chose to address him in a language I deemed the most suitable out of those I knew.
my guess is you are a little bit too important for your own good
HTH
And that is you are not much of a reader are you?
I have stressed a few times that my opening was a sincere smile and a hello.
the insignificant country bit is me lashing out and venting off some frustration now, not then. And in all fairness does not reflect my view of thei country...
215cu said:
Get over it, that's nothing, a mere walk in the park.
Worst one I had at passport control was ...
OuchWorst one I had at passport control was ...
I realise it could have been much worse (hence me biting my lip at the time
I was just wondering what can they really do if the get a needle with someone and whether they have to justfy their actions
I am satisfied that what I did was the best course of action: go wth the flow, remain polite, erduce the exposure to humiliation to a minimum..
mouseymousey said:
Gylen said:
I'm confused. You were 'abroad' and the customs man spoke to you in 'abroad', initially?
Seems normal, I would expect the onus to be on me to speak the basics of his language but I suppose he would have seen your passport etc.
But if you couldn't understand what he said, how do you know it was rude? He may have been complimenting you, passing comment to one of the colleagues about something entirely different or neither of the above? You may have just mis-interpreted his tone due to not speaking the language (like how all Italians sound like they're arguing to Brits).
Perhaps an over-reaction?
Only perhaps?Seems normal, I would expect the onus to be on me to speak the basics of his language but I suppose he would have seen your passport etc.
But if you couldn't understand what he said, how do you know it was rude? He may have been complimenting you, passing comment to one of the colleagues about something entirely different or neither of the above? You may have just mis-interpreted his tone due to not speaking the language (like how all Italians sound like they're arguing to Brits).
Perhaps an over-reaction?
I think the OP might be a bit too highly strung. I mean, if that sort of episode can seriously ruin your day then you've got to have have issues, surely?
I still think that it was extrememly unprofessional and antisocial coming from a worker that deal with general public. I also had done nothing to provoke that kind of behaviour.
I've taken worse s
t and shrugged it off in the past though.SirTainly said:
Nice
Beats my tale from Sweden, getting lambasted at tram stop for "coming here and not learning the language" from some old chap also waiting for a tram. I didn't know the Swedes had such high expectations of people visiting for a weekend!
I got a "reverse" one of these too:Beats my tale from Sweden, getting lambasted at tram stop for "coming here and not learning the language" from some old chap also waiting for a tram. I didn't know the Swedes had such high expectations of people visiting for a weekend!
In a club, walked up to 5 or so gorgeous blondes sitting on a couch and started chatting them up in what I thought was their language. I'v enever felt myself blush so much once it has transpired that they were not even close to the country I thought they were from...
215cu said:
Digga said:
RDMcG said:
I travel a huge amount, (100k airmiles a year), and my basic rule is to be boringly polite,zero small talk , and never react to these folks anywhere.They have a lot of power to detain you, and its not worth the aggro.
+1In my youth (and to paraphrase Dylan Moran, it is "stupidity that propells you along when you are young") I had a run-in with officials at Chicago O'Hare.
I'd filled out a little immigration 'card' thingy on the plane - as requested - and, when I arrived at pasport control, I asked the (surly cow of a) passport inspector whether it was she who I should give the card to. She merely lowered here eyes nodded towards a huge pile of these things on her desk, to which I duly added my card.
I set off toward baggage reclaim and some stick-up-his-arse official pulls me to one side and asks for 'a card'. There is some confusion along the lines of "no, I don't have any card" and "SIR! you do have a card." I then put two and two together and ask that he looks at the huge piles of these 'cards' stacking up on evey passport inspectors desk - "is that the sort of card you mean?".
I go and fetch my 'card' and offer the polite suggestion that the inspectors should perhaps not allow people to leave the cards at their desk if they're not supposed to etc. etc. a piont which fails to make any impact on the asshole. As an aside - I'm pissed off by now and not long out of my 'beer 'n' fighting years' - I remark that the US is one of the most unpleasant and unwelcmoning places to visit and immediately I know I've overstepped the mark.
The guys face turns to thunder, I briefly fancy he's pondering whether he'll pull a sidearm on me or take me to have my 'luggage inspected' but instead he throws my passport straight at me and tells me to get "out of his sight". On reflection, I was lucky and no, I would not do this again.
If it wasn't that, thanks to previous visits to Syria & Jordan (both on business with very pretty Arabic visas in my passport) and some moderate Arab countries (Morocco, Egypt and Turkey) for hols, I guess I'm a one man walking axis of evil
Christ, that didn't go down well as he flicked through my passport (there a stamp for Slovenia did fox him - I had to remind him it was part of the former Yugoslavia and that went down really well). He even called me a Limey, f
k I was that close to recanting every single US fk up since the Boston Tea party for that.I smiled wryily, thanked him for checking my passport, wishing him a 'havva nice day' and carried on.
Saying that, on a recent holiday to Cuba, they are the security staff you really don't f
k with, it makes Russia look positively liberal. I asked the lady (a real Latina hottie in uniform - be still my aching hard on) very nicely if she would stamp my passport. She smiled very sweetly and delivered a whacking huge red stamp proudly stating "Cuba".So next time I visit the US (unlikely in the near future) my new passport has a stamp in it that will really get their security hot under the collar.
Viva la Revolucion.
TOENHEEL said:
isee said:
215cu said:
Digga said:
RDMcG said:
I travel a huge amount, (100k airmiles a year), and my basic rule is to be boringly polite,zero small talk , and never react to these folks anywhere.They have a lot of power to detain you, and its not worth the aggro.
+1In my youth (and to paraphrase Dylan Moran, it is "stupidity that propells you along when you are young") I had a run-in with officials at Chicago O'Hare.
I'd filled out a little immigration 'card' thingy on the plane - as requested - and, when I arrived at pasport control, I asked the (surly cow of a) passport inspector whether it was she who I should give the card to. She merely lowered here eyes nodded towards a huge pile of these things on her desk, to which I duly added my card.
I set off toward baggage reclaim and some stick-up-his-arse official pulls me to one side and asks for 'a card'. There is some confusion along the lines of "no, I don't have any card" and "SIR! you do have a card." I then put two and two together and ask that he looks at the huge piles of these 'cards' stacking up on evey passport inspectors desk - "is that the sort of card you mean?".
I go and fetch my 'card' and offer the polite suggestion that the inspectors should perhaps not allow people to leave the cards at their desk if they're not supposed to etc. etc. a piont which fails to make any impact on the asshole. As an aside - I'm pissed off by now and not long out of my 'beer 'n' fighting years' - I remark that the US is one of the most unpleasant and unwelcmoning places to visit and immediately I know I've overstepped the mark.
The guys face turns to thunder, I briefly fancy he's pondering whether he'll pull a sidearm on me or take me to have my 'luggage inspected' but instead he throws my passport straight at me and tells me to get "out of his sight". On reflection, I was lucky and no, I would not do this again.
If it wasn't that, thanks to previous visits to Syria & Jordan (both on business with very pretty Arabic visas in my passport) and some moderate Arab countries (Morocco, Egypt and Turkey) for hols, I guess I'm a one man walking axis of evil
Christ, that didn't go down well as he flicked through my passport (there a stamp for Slovenia did fox him - I had to remind him it was part of the former Yugoslavia and that went down really well). He even called me a Limey, f
k I was that close to recanting every single US fk up since the Boston Tea party for that.I smiled wryily, thanked him for checking my passport, wishing him a 'havva nice day' and carried on.
Saying that, on a recent holiday to Cuba, they are the security staff you really don't f
k with, it makes Russia look positively liberal. I asked the lady (a real Latina hottie in uniform - be still my aching hard on) very nicely if she would stamp my passport. She smiled very sweetly and delivered a whacking huge red stamp proudly stating "Cuba".So next time I visit the US (unlikely in the near future) my new passport has a stamp in it that will really get their security hot under the collar.
Viva la Revolucion.
PAradisus Rio de oro is the best resort in cuba (according to the locals and trip advisor) in Varadero
Also try out their skydiving offers. I wasn't sure if I had the guts to jump out of the plane, but having gone up in a 60 year old Antonov 2 I was convinced that it was safer jumping out with a parachute than landing in that plane
Blib said:
Many years ago, I was in what served as the check in area for Khartoum airport. The security cum customs guy was checking my backpack before it was to be loaded onto my flight to Ethiopia.
He handed me a form to fill in. Not having a pen I gestured to borrow his. He, in return, slung it at me in a less than friendly manner.
After filling in the form, I returned the pen to him in a similar style.......
.......two days later I was finally allowed to board a flight out of that god forsaken hell hole.
Customs men at airports? Leave well alone.
Wow...He handed me a form to fill in. Not having a pen I gestured to borrow his. He, in return, slung it at me in a less than friendly manner.
After filling in the form, I returned the pen to him in a similar style.......
.......two days later I was finally allowed to board a flight out of that god forsaken hell hole.
Customs men at airports? Leave well alone.
Well looks like I know what job I will want to get as a part time retirement job
TOENHEEL said:
isee said:
TOENHEEL said:
isee said:
215cu said:
Digga said:
RDMcG said:
I travel a huge amount, (100k airmiles a year), and my basic rule is to be boringly polite,zero small talk , and never react to these folks anywhere.They have a lot of power to detain you, and its not worth the aggro.
+1In my youth (and to paraphrase Dylan Moran, it is "stupidity that propells you along when you are young") I had a run-in with officials at Chicago O'Hare.
I'd filled out a little immigration 'card' thingy on the plane - as requested - and, when I arrived at pasport control, I asked the (surly cow of a) passport inspector whether it was she who I should give the card to. She merely lowered here eyes nodded towards a huge pile of these things on her desk, to which I duly added my card.
I set off toward baggage reclaim and some stick-up-his-arse official pulls me to one side and asks for 'a card'. There is some confusion along the lines of "no, I don't have any card" and "SIR! you do have a card." I then put two and two together and ask that he looks at the huge piles of these 'cards' stacking up on evey passport inspectors desk - "is that the sort of card you mean?".
I go and fetch my 'card' and offer the polite suggestion that the inspectors should perhaps not allow people to leave the cards at their desk if they're not supposed to etc. etc. a piont which fails to make any impact on the asshole. As an aside - I'm pissed off by now and not long out of my 'beer 'n' fighting years' - I remark that the US is one of the most unpleasant and unwelcmoning places to visit and immediately I know I've overstepped the mark.
The guys face turns to thunder, I briefly fancy he's pondering whether he'll pull a sidearm on me or take me to have my 'luggage inspected' but instead he throws my passport straight at me and tells me to get "out of his sight". On reflection, I was lucky and no, I would not do this again.
If it wasn't that, thanks to previous visits to Syria & Jordan (both on business with very pretty Arabic visas in my passport) and some moderate Arab countries (Morocco, Egypt and Turkey) for hols, I guess I'm a one man walking axis of evil
Christ, that didn't go down well as he flicked through my passport (there a stamp for Slovenia did fox him - I had to remind him it was part of the former Yugoslavia and that went down really well). He even called me a Limey, f
k I was that close to recanting every single US fk up since the Boston Tea party for that.I smiled wryily, thanked him for checking my passport, wishing him a 'havva nice day' and carried on.
Saying that, on a recent holiday to Cuba, they are the security staff you really don't f
k with, it makes Russia look positively liberal. I asked the lady (a real Latina hottie in uniform - be still my aching hard on) very nicely if she would stamp my passport. She smiled very sweetly and delivered a whacking huge red stamp proudly stating "Cuba".So next time I visit the US (unlikely in the near future) my new passport has a stamp in it that will really get their security hot under the collar.
Viva la Revolucion.
PAradisus Rio de oro is the best resort in cuba (according to the locals and trip advisor) in Varadero
Also try out their skydiving offers. I wasn't sure if I had the guts to jump out of the plane, but having gone up in a 60 year old Antonov 2 I was convinced that it was safer jumping out with a parachute than landing in that plane
Edited by TOENHEEL on Tuesday 3rd March 14:48
Lost soul said:
Rude-boy said:
Lost soul said:
stormin said:
He missed his flight......... which later crashed into an appartment building in Holland.
Bullst 
But lets not ruin a good pub story
B3Svert said:
I travel loads for work and although am generally an arsey bd according to the missus, I tend to be as polite as possible to Immigration/Customs type people. Uncontrollable fear of the rubber glove maybe...
Only sign of aggression I have ever had at an airport was coming back from Toronto to Atlanta (might even have been in transit through another US airport, can't rememeber) in 2004 following a trade show. My laptop was swabbed, the swabber called over some colleagues, a small huddle turned into a bigger huddle then suddenly I was surrounded by huge milatary fkers with machine guns pointed at me shouting "SIR, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE TRACES OF NYTROGLYCERINE ON YOUR LAPTOP??".
I can honestly say I have no idea how my breakfast didn't end up down my leg. Needless to say my bags were unceremoniously emptied all over the floor whilst everything else was checked, I tried to explain I had only had the laptop 2 weeks (had just started at the company) and had just been at a trade show where several hundred people had been using it to view interactive demos. Turns out after more rigorous checks on me and my luggage that there were only small traces on the outside of the laptop and I was allowed on my way.
Needless to say, I got stfaced immediately and now thoroughly clean my laptop before going to the airport!
That could not have been pleasant.d according to the missus, I tend to be as polite as possible to Immigration/Customs type people. Uncontrollable fear of the rubber glove maybe...Only sign of aggression I have ever had at an airport was coming back from Toronto to Atlanta (might even have been in transit through another US airport, can't rememeber) in 2004 following a trade show. My laptop was swabbed, the swabber called over some colleagues, a small huddle turned into a bigger huddle then suddenly I was surrounded by huge milatary f
kers with machine guns pointed at me shouting "SIR, CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE TRACES OF NYTROGLYCERINE ON YOUR LAPTOP??". I can honestly say I have no idea how my breakfast didn't end up down my leg. Needless to say my bags were unceremoniously emptied all over the floor whilst everything else was checked, I tried to explain I had only had the laptop 2 weeks (had just started at the company) and had just been at a trade show where several hundred people had been using it to view interactive demos. Turns out after more rigorous checks on me and my luggage that there were only small traces on the outside of the laptop and I was allowed on my way.
Needless to say, I got s
tfaced immediately and now thoroughly clean my laptop before going to the airport! I've always wondered just how uncommon is that substance the swabbers are looking for. And how likely is it be found on a genuinely innocent person. My car's doorhandles were swabbed on crossing the channel once and I remember thinking at the time, what would have happened if it was tested positive for whatever they were looking for...
audidoody said:
Friend of mine nearly found himself meeting Mr Glove after a US Immigration wonk saw his Egyptian visa stamp and asked what was the purpose of his visit to the "Middle East". Matey pointed out he had never been to the Middle East, but he had been to Africa which is where Egypt is located.
When in Egypt, I was informed by a tour guide that Egypt is not actually Africa...Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff