my two cents.
i have been reading the thread for a while now and as a few have said, there are some muppets on here.
let me tell you a bit about myself. i work in security.
now before you all start pulling crash axes out for me, i work in night clubs but with many of the same people who do day work at heathrow or any other of the main UK airports. oh, and im also a pilot albiet still in training (hopefully in 3 weeks have my IR done).
there are alot of people who ive worked with every weekend when im in the clubs that are smart well educated guys who run their own business or are in some form of skilled job. these range from IT consultants, actors trying to get onto tv, to even one guy who works on the trading floor of a finance bank within the square mile. lets call this group 1
there are also alot of people who work the clubs during the nights, then are in day security. they eat sleep and talk security and all they know about is their SIA badge. they could be event staff, static guards, site security or even airport security. lets call this group 2
ive been working in clubs for about four and a half years now. two and a half years in management and two years as door staff, so have worked with a good few people. there is a HUGE difference in attitudes door staff show customers, depending which group they come out from.
Group 1 door staff are generaly more polite, relaxed and make better judgements about customers either coming in or if we have to remove them. they use their head and make a good decission and will let some stuff slip inorder to keep the peace. at the end of the day the guys on the front door dont want an ear ache just because someone tripped up on the stairs and doorstaff think they are hammered when they are not.
Group 2 door staff just see black and white. everything has to be either or. there is no grey area as this is what they have be told/ trained. when something happens out of the normal they are the ones screaming down the radios sounding like they have never seen a fight before. they are the ones who talk down to customers and basicaly wind them up, they are the ones who normaly get complaints (plenty of experiance of this when i was management and all for stupid little things), they are the ones who tend to cause more trouble than two guys fighting over a knocked over drink.
and guess what. at the end of the night when having a meeting or a drink, group 1 door staff talk together and group 2 door staff are on the other sofa. ofcourse its not fully seperate but one can feel the attitudes in the air. they all get on well but at the end of the day there is a different intelectual level in the conversations you can have between one group and another.
i agree with what pilots have to say about security as i do believe there is way too much stupidity and way too little common sence used. policies have been issued on knee jerk reactions by people who dont have a clue what they are talking about and just want to look like they are doing somthing in the public eye. the same policies are then inforced by people who cannot comprehend anything that falls inbetween the lines.
thats my two cents anyway. however if anyone out there is looking for a fresh young pilot any time soon give me a shout!!!