Don't be yellow jacket guy

A few months ago I was flying back home from visiting family in New Jersey. Despite being pretty early in the morning, the line for TSA precheck was long. It snaked past the stanchions and partway down the hallway by the shops.

A lot of us were somewhat disappointed by this long line. After all, many of us paid and went through background checks and even fingerprinting to avoid the regular line. (This process is well worth it if you travel a lot, see my post on TSA precheck vs global entry for more.)

One guy in a yellow jacket was having none of it. He was incredulous with the woman who directed us into lines. He even argued that he wanted to be on the shorter line. He at one point poked her rudely and then said something angrily and joined the shorter line. Several others went as well, although without causing scenes.

Turns out the pre-check line was longer outside the hallway, leading to the gates but the other line was longer inside the hallway. Much longer. I cleared security several minutes before him. He had started at least a dozen people ahead of me in the original line. But his manipulation ended up with him behind dozens more people.

Don’t be yellow jacket guy. The woman was trying to be helpful. It seems all of us in the area were watching for him as we passed the regular line and commenting to each other about how rude he was. The firm poke on the shoulder is what we will remember.