Unfriendly customs officers :(

[solismaris]

This weekend we went to Montreal. The Canadian customs officer was efficient but polite. Asked all the right questions with a friendly manner and when finished wished us well on our visit.

Returning to USA was the polar opposite. The officer said absolutely thing; stuck out his hand. I figured he wanted our passports. "Why were you in Canada?" I answered. "What was the purpose of your visit?". I answered. "How long?". Etc. When finished, he thrust the passports back at us with the most unfriendly demeanor imaginable and said nothing. I figured that meant he was done with us and we pulled away.

No "Thank You". No "Welcome back to the United States." Nothing but a scowl.

In my experience this was not an isolated incident.

As an Ameican I am ashamed for our Canadian friends who come to visit us. Please know that we're not all jerks. But from your first encounter at the border you could be left with that impression.

[chevor]

Most come from a military background with service being in the middle east. The Newest to the job seem to be in drill mode.

[SGardiner]

As a Canadian who travels to the US three to four times a year I find that the US border officials are professional and friendly. Coming back to Canada I find the Canadian officials are abrupt and borderline rude.

I find Americans are more polite in general. That may have something to do with it.

[lakeside013104]

explorenorth wrote:
b.s. - I've had a whole lot of attitude or even nastiness sent in my direction by border people before I ever said a thing. Some people should just not deal with people on a daily basis, I don't care what tests they pass.

I will make a wager that the chip you have on your sleeve about law enforcement was written all over your smile! :B

Safe travels.

Lakeside

[sue_t]

We've always had pleasant experiences when crossing, even the time we were pulled over for a routine inspection one evening. Regardless of direction we're travelling.

Admittedly, we were a little nervous the one trip crossing from Alaska to Yukon on the Haines Hwy, when one agent talked to us while the other stood at the front of our truck with his hand on his gun. THEN we saw it ... the black bear about 50' away. Phew!

[Veebyes]

Immigration & customs officers are like a box of chocolates. You never know when you will get a bitter one.

Can't count the number of crossings anymore. By far most crossings are uneventful & proffessionaly done even though we don't fit the usual mold of persons they have to deal with. We don't carry a US or Canadian passport, & drive a vehicle that is not directly registered to us. All of that stumps them sometimes but often breaks the ice too with the usual "BERMUDA! What are you doing here?" Or, also common, "How did you get that thing from Bermuda to here?" The answer is "Do you have any idea how fast we have to go to make it hydroplane 600 miles from Bermuda to Cape Hatterass?"

Hey, they have what is an important but mostly boring job to do. Make it as easy as possible, even brighten it up if the chance comes along.

[joe_b_]

skrams, my buddy is a citizen of both countries, so he can use the passport of either country to travel the world. A good friend, a young guy from Colorado, has both US citizenship and Australian citizenship. When outside the US he travels on his Australian passport as he feels it is much safer in many parts of the world. When he returns to the US, he uses his US Passport. One of our forum member's husband has dual citizenship, Canadian and US, so he can use the one of his choice also.

At one time the US wouldn't allow our citizens to have dual citizenship but the laws were changed on it many years back.

[atreis]

I've encountered very friendly, and very unfriendly, border agents going both ways. That said, it's been more common to encounter the former on the Canadian side, and the latter on the US side.

The border crossing we most often use (Sault Saint Marie) tends to back up horrifically for the US crossing, but not at all for the Canadian crossing. Because of that, I'd guess the US border agents have to deal with a lot more irritated unhappy people than the Canadians do.

[skrams]

joe b. wrote:
One of my Mexican buddies who is a dually, Mexican and Canadian, when he and his wife enter the U.S., they use their Canadian passports, when entering Canada, they use their Mexican passports.

He shouldn't do that. If you have citizenship in a country, you are to use that country's passport to enter.

[The_Texan]

explorenorth wrote:
b.s. - I've had a whole lot of attitude or even nastiness sent in my direction by border people before I ever said a thing. Some people should just not deal with people on a daily basis, I don't care what tests they pass.

X-2

[explorenorth]

b.s. - I've had a whole lot of attitude or even nastiness sent in my direction by border people before I ever said a thing. Some people should just not deal with people on a daily basis, I don't care what tests they pass.

[Dog_Folks]

Well said.

Especially the part that said: "If you feel you received a less than polite/professional attitude, just recall your own attitude at the very moment you drove up to the Officer. In most cases, you will receive what you give!"

With most law enforcement officers, you get back verbally exactly what you give. Be nice and respectful you get the same. Be rude and you get rude right back.

Don't believe this? Try being rude to any local cop and see what happens.

[garyhaupt]

joe b. wrote:
Having a good sense of humor is not a job requirement of the border officials, on either side. They are all federal government law enforcement officers. Over the 52 years I have been driving back and forth to/from Alaska, to give my stereotype of the treatment received, in that most times I am treated more cordially by the Canadian officers. Many of my Canadian friends say they get treated best by the U.S. officers. One of my Mexican buddies who is a dually, Mexican and Canadian, when he and his wife enter the U.S., they use their Canadian passports, when entering Canada, they use their Mexican passports. He claims to get much better treatment with that method.

I much prefer, to get a senior agent at the border, as they know the rules and are comfortable in their jobs. Sometimes the beginning agents, on both sides, are trying to hard not to mess up in front of one of their supervisors. Over the years I worked in law enforcement in Colorado, at times working with federal LEOs, from other agencies, such as ATF, DEA, FBI, etc, they all had, an on the job demeanor much the same as the border officers. Off the job, most resorted back to being almost normal people.

Life is good today, as I just received a shipment of Tim Hortons, original blend coffee, K cups, and now crave a bagel from there. ?? now all I need is some Canadian scenery to admire out my RV window. Amazon now sells Timmy's coffee.

From our RV window in Pr Rupert last Sunday morning. You may look thru it to.






Gary Haupt

[almcc]

We've had both good and bad experiences (both ways) with border crossings. Once when crossing back into Canada from the US the border guy was training a newbie, and we had some Mexican beef left over in the freezer. It took about 15 minutes at the secondary inspection for the guy there to find out the rationale for the inspection and then we were told to keep the beef but not to give it away!

[lakeside013104]

solismaris wrote:
When finished, he thrust the passports back at us with the most unfriendly demeanor imaginable and said nothing. I figured that meant he was done with us and we pulled away.

In my opinion, this inspection was unacceptable. The sign on the side of the inspection booth, in part, says that you are entitled to be treated with courtesy & professionalism. The training a CBP Officer receives instructs the Officer to open every inspection with a greeting and to end that inspection with a positive and obvious ending that the customer will recognize as their notice that they are NOW free to continue their journey.

CBP Officers are also taught to return the attitude that they receive from the customer and to always maintain control of the direction of the inspection. If you feel you received a less than polite/professional attitude, just recall your own attitude at the very moment you drove up to the Officer. In most cases, you will receive what you give!

There are variations to each and every inspection just as there are variations and issues in each and everyone one of our daily lives. These CBP Officers are human and subject to those normal emotions.

Not every Officer has had the perfect day. What does a terrorist look like? What does a smuggler look like? What does a person who intends to do you harm look like? The previous car ahead of you was an armed and dangerous one. The daily / hourly forces playing upon the CBP Officer's attitude at any given moment are immense and complicated.

For those who think that a CBP Officer's job is a cake walk or like a 'wannabe cop, go ahead and take the test. IF you pass take the physical, If you pass take the oral board. If you pass take the lie detector test. If you pass take the psychological test. If you pass take the back ground exam. If you pass all the above, then you have to go to a 26 week academy and guess what, you need to pass every part or you go home. Maybe you want to rethink the 'wannabe cop statement!

Old-Biscuit said things about right:

Not happy with his employment, boss is jerk
Had to fill in shift on his day off that he had plans for
Wife died
Is a jerk

?????????


All I care about is not hearing......."Please pull over into secondary inspection!"

Safe travels to all.

Lakeside

[joe_b_]

Having a good sense of humor is not a job requirement of the border officials, on either side. They are all federal government law enforcement officers. Over the 52 years I have been driving back and forth to/from Alaska, to give my stereotype of the treatment received, in that most times I am treated more cordially by the Canadian officers. Many of my Canadian friends say they get treated best by the U.S. officers. One of my Mexican buddies who is a dually, Mexican and Canadian, when he and his wife enter the U.S., they use their Canadian passports, when entering Canada, they use their Mexican passports. He claims to get much better treatment with that method.

I much prefer, to get a senior agent at the border, as they know the rules and are comfortable in their jobs. Sometimes the beginning agents, on both sides, are trying to hard not to mess up in front of one of their supervisors. Over the years I worked in law enforcement in Colorado, at times working with federal LEOs, from other agencies, such as ATF, DEA, FBI, etc, they all had, an on the job demeanor much the same as the border officers. Off the job, most resorted back to being almost normal people.

Life is good today, as I just received a shipment of Tim Hortons, original blend coffee, K cups, and now crave a bagel from there. ?? now all I need is some Canadian scenery to admire out my RV window. Amazon now sells Timmy's coffee.