Coming back, I had brought fine canned food from a friend's factory. I declared it fully knowing the customs would have to search my bags. Where the previous search could have been seen as, well, necessary unpleasantness, this was just downright hostile. The thing is, none of what I had brought was illegal. I was well within my right to bring these items, so what they were doing was simply checking that I wasn't bringing anything dangerous. The mentality however was that they were dealing with some sort of criminal. In truth, this is just bad customer service.
Customs are the first impression people have in a country. Pleasant custom agents are key in having tourists (and investors) see the country in a favorable light. The first row customs agents at the Montreal-Trudeau airport were nice enough but every single element of the customs department should act towards serving the country AND their customers.
Actually, the whole way the customs are handled at the airport is flawed. The declaration card is filled in on the plane by the customers. They decide what they write on it. This is only effective if there is little penalty for saying the truth or a high chance of finding a lie. The first case comes back to my "bad customer service" gripe. A person might think that it's better to not declare anything that they brought. They aren't running drugs so why should they be treated like criminals? Of course, some people ARE running drugs or bringing potentially dangerous items in the country. 1 People who would bring these items knowing it is illegal would not write it on their card. I know the custom agents do random checks of people luggage but a simple way to make more certain would be to search everyone. We have the technology, why not apply it? Searching by hand is annoying to both the passenger and the customs agents. It can also be dangerous. Using scanners seems like a no-brainer. Yet…
1note, by dangerous, I'm not talking about bombs or weapons as these would probably be stopped before getting on the plane. This is more about the things that might affect the ecosystem like raw meat or vegetables.
2 comments:
Welcome back! I’ve noticed your disappearance from the cyber world. Glad to hear you have been enjoying yourself in France! So, what really happened at the customs? I agree with you, customs officers are a real pain to deal with. I always get nervous at the customs for no reason. I often have nothing to declare (and I mean nothing!) and I feel terrible. In fact I realized that they make me feel like that. So it's not us it's them!
About two years ago, I was returning from my overseas trip and I was asked borderline illegal questions by this terribly unpleasant customs officer who was having a bad day. He went on to ask about my occupation, income, and even details of my personal relationships! Not to mention he flirted in a very inappropriate way with me the whole time and in the end, he asked who was paying for my tuition and rent? I was in shock! That was my worst welcome back to Canada experience ever. Needless to say, I managed to control myself and say nothing offensive to that man. It wasn’t easy!
This reminds me of classical psychological research done my Milgram in 1960s about power of authority and that humans have a tendency to abuse it whenever we are given the opportunity to do so.
The thing is it shouldn't be authority. As I said, we should be treated as customers when we come back from abroad, not criminals. Hell, everyone should always be treated with respect.
BTW, there wasn't a lot of people there when they searched my luggage, so it's not as if they were overworked and had no time. It means that this behavior is ingrained.
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